Fetal Pig Dissection Project

PRE-LAB:
1. The value to students of dissecting a mammal, especially a pig because most students like to learn hands on giving them an opportunity to dissect a pig gives us a chance to give us a visual and help us understand the systems in a mammal.
2. My feeling about dissecting a pig is nervous because it is a real pig even though it is fetal. I feel like I will end up cutting the pig in the wrong spot. I am also excited to dissect the pig because I have never experienced this before and think it will be a great learning experience for me.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the fetal pig dissection is to experience the way the body looks internally.

MATERIALS AND PROCDURES:
Refer to Grade 11 Biology textbook, page 640 - 645
OBSERVATIONS:
Length of the pig: 32.5 cm Name of the pig: Oinky
Sex of the pig: Female Gestational age of the pig: 140 days

ANALYSIS:

The Digestive System-
THE MOUTH:

1. Teeth: Pigs teeth have to be sharp and pointed so they can chew their food well so it can be transferred to the stomach.
Hard Palate: The hard palate has to be hard and rippled so they food can be broke down easier, while it’s being chewed it will hit the hard palate and break down easier.
Tongue: It’s supplied with a number of muscular valves. That control and direct the amounts of food through the Digestive tract.
Epiglottis: The Epiglottis is a flap of skin that makes sure no food gets into the Respiratory tract.

2. The difference between a pig’s mouth and a humans mouth is that the hard plate is longer than a humans hard plate. Humans have a lot more teeth then a pig does, and humans tongues also lifts up more while the pig’s tongue does not lift as far as a humans.

Examining the Abdominal Organs:

1. A) The liver is the biggest organ in the body, this means the liver needs to be bigger so it can perform all of its functions. (breaks down old red blood cells, stores chemicals collected from the bloodstream, and produces Bile.
B) The pancreas is a small but long organ that is the source of several enzymes. The pancreas also makes Insulin and taking it right into the bloodstream.
C) The esophagus is a muscular tube that take food and water to the stomach. The muscles in your esophagus contract when you swallow so the food will get pushed down.
D) The stomach is sac-like with layers of muscle fibres which contract and churn food.
E) The same intestines are long narrow tubes that are mostly products of digestion are reduced to nutrients and absorbed along its length.
F) The large intestines are also a long tube that absorbs water, and dissolves minerals which is also absorbed along its length.
G) The gallbladder is a jelly bean shape. The gallbladder is a closed sac that stores the bile that the liver produces.