Names: RILLORAZA, Eunice Sandra,

ROTONI, Mark Jiron………....

Section: 12 STEM 10…………………..
Date_________________________________

Frog Dissection, Laboratory 1

External Anatomy

1. Wear your gloves. Examine the skin of the frog. Describe what it looks like and
how it feels.

In its appearance, the frog skin looks rough and scaly, however upon
touching, the frog skin’s texture is actually the opposite as it is smooth, moist and
slippery.

2. Describe the color on the belly of the frog and compare this to the color on its back.
Why do you think the frog is colored in this way? HINT: Think of predators both
above and below the water, and what they would see from each vantage point.

The color of the frog’s belly (located at the ventral side of the frog) is lighter
compared to its back (the dorsal side) is darker. This coloration is for the frogs to
blend well in their environment as both a hunter and a prey hiding against their
enemies. Its dark dorsal side makes the frog camouflage in murky waters so that
predators above will mistake it as either a stone or a part of the water. Its ventral
side, on the other hand, reflects light coming from above the frog to the
unsuspecting prey beneath so that they will not see the frog approaching and killing
them.

3. Which pair of legs is longest? Based on your observations, why do you think the
frog’s back legs are different than its front legs?

The frog’s back legs are longer as it is used for swimming, jumping and
evading. A reason for these is because the frog is a part of the amphibian species,
meaning they could walk and swim and their hind legs are the mechanisms for
survival against predators and for preys.

4. Notice the frog’s eyes located on top of the head. Why do you think they are
positioned this way, instead of on the sides of the head?

The bulging eyes of most frogs allow them to see in front, to the sides, and
partially behind them, giving them a better peripheral vision for spotting both
predators and preys.

5. Use the forceps to pull down the membrane in front of the eye. This is the third
eyelid. What do you think its function is?
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 The membrane functions as a thin protective layer that protects the frog’s
eyes from getting water when the frog hunts and swims in water. Because the
membrane is thin, it is transparent and translucent that it allows the frog to see.

6. Notice the frog’s external eardrum just behind the eyes. Does the frog have
cartilage around the outside of its ears like humans do?

Frogs don't have external ears. Instead, they have an eardrum called the
tympanum that sits just behind each eye and can be seen as it's a flat area
surrounded by a ring of cartilage.

7. Label the following structures:

- Eyes
- Eardrums
- Mouth
- Nostrils

8. Pull back the lower jaw of the frog. Notice that the tongue is attached at the front
if the mouth and the end is forked. How is this important for the frog?

The location of the frog’s tongue on the front allows the frog to easily snap
its tongue out of its mouth and wraps it around its prey. Likewise, allows for quick
pull-in of the tongue after the frog catches its prey.

9. Notice the small set of teeth that lines the upper jaw. Feel around on the roof of
the mouth for two larger teeth. What do you think these are used for (Hint: Frogs
don’t chew their food)?

The set of small teeth lined up is to have a better grip of the prey to keep it
under control.

10. Pull back the lower jaw of the frog. Draw the inside of the mouth and label the
following structures:

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 - Tongue
- Esophagus
- Teeth
- Eye sockets

Digestive System
11. Use the forceps to pinch an area of skin just above the groin. Pull the skin up and
use the scissors to make the first incision through the skin.

12. Next, use the scissors to continue the incision through the skin up to the frog’s
throat, (follow dotted Line #1 as seen in Figure 1 below). Lift the skin with the
forceps as you cut so that you only cut the skin, and not the organs below.
Figure 1: Cutting diagram

Line #2

Line #1
Line #3
Line #1

13. Now cut a horizontal incision between the front legs (follow dotted Line #2 in Figure
1). Next do the same between the back legs (Line #3 in Figure 1). You should now
be able to fold the skin back over the frog’s sides and pin it out of the way.
14. Note the muscle layer under the skin. Describe how the muscles look. Are all the
strands going in the same direction?

The muscle is similar of that of a chicken, thin, striated and uniform in color having
the same flesh color as a chicken. Its muscle strands are noted to go in the same
direction, having held together by a kind of clear tissue

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 15. Using the same technique as above, cut through the thin muscle layer so that you
can reveal the internal organs. When your scissors reach the rib cage, cut through
it carefully, holding the scissors horizontally to avoid damaging the heart below.
16. Now that the internal cavity is exposed, describe what you see.

Located on the upper top potion of the cavity, the heart sits on the middle of the
lungs, which are the deflated plastic like on the side of the cavities. Underneath
the lungs, the liver is exposed, then the stomach on the almost left side of the
cavity. After the stomach, the connected small and large intestines comes and are
fixed to the cloaca, where the waste exits to the anus.

17. Make a drawing of the frog and label the following structures from the digestive
system:
- Stomach- Stores food and mixes it with enzymes to begin digestion.
- Liver- Secretes bile and processes digested food molecules carries in the blood
from the ileum; located ventral to the lungs
- Small intestine- The principal organ of digestion and absorption of digested
food.
- Pancreas- A gland which secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine.
- Large intestine- Posterior organ of the digestive system which stores
undigested food.
- Gall bladder- Sac which stores bile (digestive juice).

Heart

Gall Liver
Bladder

Stomach
Sm.
Intestine
Pancreas

Large
Intestine

Cloaca

Human Frog

18. What is the largest organ in the frog’s body that you can see? What is its function?

We can see that the liver is the largest organ in the frog’s body. It is located in the right
upper abdomen, the liver is responsible for cleaning the blood. The liver produces bile
that aids in the digestion of fats. It also helps maintain the right level of blood sugar in the
body.

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 19. What is the function of the pancreas?
Since it is connected with the small intestine, it releases digestive juices to small
intestine

The pancreas is made up of two types of glands, the endocrine and the exocrine. The
enzymes secreted by the exocrine gland in the pancreas help break down carbohydrates,
fats, proteins, and acids in the duodenum. These enzymes travel down the pancreatic
duct into the bile duct in an inactive form. They are activated when the enter the
duodenum. The exocrine also secretes a bicarbonate so that it could neutralize stomach
acid in the duodenum. For the endocrine gland, the pancreas are insulin and glucagon,
which regulate the level of glucose in the blood, and somatostatin, which prevents the
release of insulin and glucagon.

20. What is the function of the gall bladder?

The gallbladder is involved with the production, storage and transportation of bile. Bile is
a yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver and used to break up and digest fatty foods
in the small intestine.

21. Cut the stomach open from top to bottom. Describe what you see. Did you find
any food in the stomach?

Unfortunately, the instructions given to the students did not include cutting organs open,
hence the students weren't able to figure out whether there are still undigested food in
the stomach or not.

Even when the stomach is not cut, it was not clear if it did have food or not as frog diets
includes only eating small things such as flies, which may or may not contribute to the
stomach's enlargement of surface area

22. Wear gloves. Carefully remove the liver around the heart. What is its function?
Its purpose is to pump blood to the pulmocutaneous circuit and Systemic circuit to
regulate the whole organ system together as one.

Now examine the frog’s heart. How many chambers does it have?
Basically, the frog heart has 3 chambers. There are two atria and one ventricle. The
atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the blood vessels that drain the various organs
of the body. The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and skin.

23. Does the frog have an open or a closed circulatory system (blood flowing open in
the body or flowing closed in vessels)? Why do you think so?
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Most invertabrates have open circulatory system however, vertebrates like frogs have a
closed circulatory system. Amphibians like frogs have a closed circulatory system that
forms a double circuit through their three-chambered heart. In particular, deoxygenated
blood enters the heart at the right atria and is pumped into the single ventricle, where it
exits the heart into the pulmocutaneous or systemic circulation.

24. Do you have an open or a closed circulatory system?

Human beings are known to have a closed circulatory system because it is important for
our body to have blood that are always enclosed in vessels and the heart while
circulating throughout the body. Traveling through arteries and veins, blood carries
important molecules throughout the body and is always confined.

25. Examine the lungs of the frog. Describe what you see.

The frog's lungs are a pair of thin-walled sacs connected to the mouth through an opening,
the glottis. The surface area of the lungs is increased by inner partitions which are richly
supplied with blood vessels. The main functions of the lungs of a from is to helps its
buoyancy, control the blood pH, gas exchange.

26. Do the frog’s lungs seem small or large in relation to its body size? HINT: Think
of how big your lungs are in relation to your body size.

Based from our observation, the lungs of the frog when compared to the size in relation
to the human’s lungs is relatively small. The lungs of the human body have two parts,
the right and the left making it a larger lungs when compared to the lungs of the frogs
which have only one. However, Frogs also have a respiratory surface on the lining of
their mouth on which gas exchange takes place readily. Also, frogs do not have ribs or
a diaphragm unlike humans.

27. How do the heart and lungs look like?

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 28. Remove the heart and lungs and view the reproductive organs. Is your frog a male
or a female? How do you know?

Male (testis) - Passage of male gametes; located near the kidneys (kidneys are found
posterior to them)

Female (oviduct) - passageway from the ovaries to the outside of the body

29. Draw and label the reproductive system of your frog, including any fat bodies you
may see.

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Excretory, Nervous & Skeletal Systems

30. Wear gloves. Locate the kidneys and the urinary bladder of your frog. What organ
system do these organs belong to (digestive, reproductive, excretory or skeletal)?

Kidney: elongated, brownish-colored organs found in the lower part of the frog's
abdomen; located on either side of the middle of the frog; reproductive organs are
found near it

Urinary Bladder: Storage of urine before excretion, located ventral to the cloaca

Cloaca- Posterior opening; connected to the bladder (functions as anus for waste
removal and reproductive opening).

31. Draw your frog below and label the kidneys, urinary bladder and cloaca.

32. What is the function of the kidneys?

The kidneys perform many important functions which are maintaining overall fluid
balance, regulating and filtering minerals from blood, filtering waste materials from food,
medications, and toxic substances, creating hormones that help produce red blood cells,
promote bone health, and regulate blood pressure. These functions all help to make the
whole system of frogs function at its best.