Frog Dissection Guide

Purpose:

1. To investigate the anatomy of a frog.

2. To investigate the organ systems of a frog

3. To observe the relationship between the structure of an organ and its functions.

Materials: preserved frog, dissecting tray, dissecting microscope, pins, blunt and sharp probes, scissors,
scalpel.

Special notes:

1. Work with a partner or in groups of 3.

2. If your dissection takes more than 1 class, write your name on a tag, place your specimen in a plastic
bag and place in the fridge.

3. When finished with your dissection, dispose of your frog in the special biobags provided.

4. Rinse all instruments including your dissecting tray.

5. Wash your hands with soap and water before leaving the lab.

6. Use scalpel to start each incision and then finish the incision with dissecting scissors. Remember to
cut away from your hands.

7. All frog parts must be disposed of in special biobag provided.

Procedure:

I.) External Anatomy

1. Place the preserved frog in a dissecting tray.

2. Rinse your specimen will water.

3. Identify the eyes, which have a non-moveable upper and lower lid, but can be covered with a
nictitating membrane which serves to moisten the eye.

4. Locate the tympanum behind each eye.

5. Examine the external nares (nostrils). Insert a probe into the external nares and note that it protrudes
from one of the paired small openings, the internal nares inside the mouth cavity.

Tympanum

Nictitating
Membrane

Nares
6. Identify the paired appendages. The short forelimb consist of an upper arm (forearm) and a hand. The
hand has four digits and a rudimentary vestigial thumb. The hind limb consists of a thigh, shank, and a
foot. The foot has five digits and a rudimentary sixth digit.

II.) Mouth Anatomy

1. Open your frog's mouth very wide, cutting the angles of the jaw if necessary.

Tongue

Glottis

Esophagus
opening
Eustachian Tube

Vomerine teeth

Maxillary teeth

2. Identify the tongue attached to the lower jaw's anterior end. What is unusual about the attachment
of the tongue? What is the advantage of this attachment?

Frogs' tongues are designed to jut out and retrieve sustenance, a process that is occasionally called a
"lingual flip." When frogs' mouths are ajar, their tongues are driven forward by muscle contractions. This
action rapidly tugs frogs' mouths down, which then directs the rear portion of the tongues outward. The
pressure produced by the weight of the tongues leads them to stretch to roughly twice as long as when
they're at rest. When hungry frogs' tongues finally make contact with their desired prey, their muscles
contract yet again. This contraction pushes the tongues back in swiftly -- the entire process can take less
than a second, moving much faster than a human tongue can. Frogs' tongues feel gooey, which is how
they're able to successfully seize and maintain their food findings. The gooey stuff is nothing elaborate --
just sticky frog saliva.

3. Find the Eustachian tube opening into the angle of the jaws. These tubes lead to the ears. Eustachian
tubes equalize air pressure in the ears. This ensures proper tightness of the membrane for good hearing.
With your probe, follow a Eustachian tube up to the tympanic membrane. Now find the same tympanic
membrane from the outside, behind the eye.

4. Examine the maxillary teeth located along the rim of the upper jaw. Another set of teeth, the
vomerine teeth, is present just behind the mid portion of the upper jaw. What might be their function?
Vomerine teeth are absent in toads.

 Maxillary Teeth - Sharp teeth in the maxilla of a frog’s mouth that function in holding captured
prey. Vomerine Teeth - Small projections in the top of a frog's mouth that function in holding
and captured prey.

5. If your frog is a male, locate the openings to vocal sacs in the floor of the lower jaw near the hinge
joints. Why do males have vocal sacs?

 The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs. The purpose of the
vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or
development of the vocal sac is one way of externally determining the sex of a frog in many
species.

6. Locate the glottis, a slit through which air passes in and out of the trachea, the short tube from the
glottis to the lungs.

7. Identify the esophagus, which lies dorsal and posterior to the glottis and leads to the stomach.

III.) Setup for the Dissection Preparation: This section explains the steps necessary to prepare your frog
for the dissection process.

1. Place Frog in Pan Rinse the frog with water then place it in the dissection pan. The frog should be lying
on it's dorsal (back) side with the belly facing up.

2. Pin the Frog Pin the frog for dissection by securing each of the four limbs to the pan. Place the pins
through the hands and feet to secure them to the pan.

3. Begin the First Skin Incision Once the legs of the frog are securely pinned to the dissection tray begin
the first skin incision by using the forceps to lift the skin midway between the rear legs of the frog. Using
the scalpel, make a cut along the center, or midline, of the frog, bisecting it equally.

4. Continue the Skin Incision Continue the skin incision by using the scissors to cut all the way up the
frog's body to the neck. Be very careful not to cut too deeply.

5. Make the Leg Incisions Still using the scissors, make horizontal incisions just above the rear legs and
between the front legs of the frog.

6. Separate the Skin & Muscle Once you have finished the incisions between the front and rear legs of
the frog you need to separate the skin flaps from the muscle below. To do this: Pick up the flap of skin
with the forceps, and use a scalpel to help separate the skin from the muscle below.
7. Pin Skin Flaps Once the skin flaps have been cut pin them to the dissection tray using several pins.

8. Begin the First Muscle Incisions This section will describe the procedures for making the incisions
through the frog's abdominal muscles.

Now that the skin has been removed, begin the abdominal muscle incision by using the forceps to lift
the muscle midwy between the rear legs of the frog. Next use the scalpel to start the incision in the
direction of the chin.

9. Continue the Muscle Incision Using the scissors, carefully continue the incision up the midline of the
frog, but do not cut too deeply as to damage the organs.

10. Turn Scissors Blades This is very important. When you reach a point just below the front legs, turn
the scissors blades sideways to cut through the bones in the chest. This should prevent damage to the
heart or other internal organs. When your scissors reach a point just below the frog's neck you have cut
far enough.

11. Make the Second Muscle Incisions Next, using the scissors, make horizontal incisions through the
muscle between both the front legs and above the back legs.

12. Separate Muscle & Organs To finish opening up the frog's body cavity therefore exposing the
abdominal region, use the forceps to hold the muscle flaps while separating the muscle from the tissues
below with a scalpel.
13. Pin the Muscle Flaps Once the muscle flaps have been separated from the underlying tissue, they
must be pinned back. This will allow easy access to the frog's internal organs.

14. Locate the yellow fat bodies and carefully remove them.

Fat bodies

IV.) Respiratory System and Liver

 1. Insert a probe into the glottis, and observe its passage into the trachea. Enlarge the glottis by making
short cuts above and below it. When the glottis is spread open, you will see a fold on either side; these
are the vocal cords used in croaking.

2. Identify the lungs, two small sacs on either side of the midline and partially hidden under the liver.

Liver

Lungs

Gal bladder

Trace the path of air from the external nares to the lungs. The lungs are shallow and do not supply
enough oxygen to support the frog without help of the skin and mouth lining.

3. Locate the liver, the large, prominent, dark-brown organ in mid ventral portion of trunk.

4. Under the liver, find the gallbladder.

V.) Circulatory System

1. Lift the liver gently. Identify the heart, covered by a membranous covering (the pericardium). With
forceps, lift the covering, and gently slit it open. Amphibian hearts have 3 chambers. The heart consists
of a single, thick-walled ventricle and two (right and left) anterior, thin-walled atria.
 Heart

VI.) Digestive System

1. Identify the esophagus, a very short connection between the mouth and the stomach. Lift the left
liver lobe, and identify the stomach, which is whitish and J-shaped. The stomach connects with the
esophagus anteriorly and with the small intestine posteriorly.

stomach
2. Slit open the side of the stomach, and notice its ribbed internal surface. Try to identify its contents.
Remove a short piece of the small intestine, and examine the inner lining through a dissecting
microscope.

3. Find the small intestine and the large intestine, which enters the cloaca. The cloaca lies beneath the
pubic bone and is a general receptacle for the intestine, the reproductive system, and the urinary
system. It opens to the outside by way of the anus. Trace the path of food in the digestive tract from the
mouth to the cloaca.

4. As you lift the small intestine, you will see the pancreas, a thin, yellowish ribbon, between the small
intestine and the stomach.

Spleen

Large intestine

Small intestine

4. Locate the spleen, a small pea-shaped body near the stomach. It produces new blood cells and
disposes of old ones.

VII.) Urogential System

The urogenital system consists of both the urinary system and the reproductive system.

1. Identify the kidneys, which are long narrow organs lying against the dorsal wall.
2. The bladder is a thin sac attached to the cloaca, it may be difficult to locate. Identify the urinary
bladder, attached to the ventral wall of the cloaca. In frogs, urine backs up into the bladder from the
cloaca.

3. The light stripe lying on the ventral side of each kidney is the adrenal gland.

Kidney
VIII.) Male Anatomy

1. Locate the testes in the male frog. They are yellow or tan-colored, bean-shaped organs near the
anterior end of each kidney. Several small ducts, the vasa efferential, carry sperm into the kidney ducts
that also carry urine from the kidneys. Fat bodies, which store fat, are attached to the testes.

testes

IX.) Female Anatomy

1. Locate the ovaries in the female frog. They are attached to the dorsal body wall. Fat bodies are
attached to the ovaries. Highly coiled oviducts lead to the cloaca. The ostium (opening) of the oviducts is
dorsal to the liver.

Ovaries
 X.) The brain

1. Carefully cut away the skull to expose the brain. Identify the following parts of the brain.

medulla oblongata - controls reflexes like breathing and heart rate cerebellum- controls balance and
muscle coordination optic lobe - vision centre cerebrum - sensations, movement, behaviour olfactory
lobes - smell centre

Medulla oblongata

Optic lobe

Cerebrum
Cerebellum

Olfactory lobe

XI.) Cleanup

1. Dispose of all frog parts properly in the container marked Animal Waste. Do not leave any of parts in
the trash cans or sink.

2. Rinse and dry all equipment used, including the dissecting pan.
 Frog Dissection Worksheet

Part A: Show a complete classification of your frog.

Kingdom Phylum Subphylum Superclass Class Order Genus species

Animalia Chordata Vertebra Amphibia Anura Ranidae Rana

Scientific name: Rana pipiens

Part B: The Head and External Features

1. Adaptation How It Helps Survival eye position

External nostrils (nares) - Anterior openings for the entry or exit of air

Vocal sacs - The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male
frogs. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their
mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal
sac is one way of externally determining the sex of a frog in many
species.

Nictitating membrane - A transparent part of a frog’s lower eyelid that moves over the eye to
clean it and protect it

Tympanum - The eardrum - receives sound waves

Maxillary and vomerine teeth - Sharp teeth in the maxilla of a frogs mouth that function in holding
captured prey. Mandible - The lower jaw. / Small projections in the top
of a frog’s mouth that function in holding and captured prey

Vestigial thumb - it helps them by avoiding predator by stealth

Eustachian tube - Openings in the mouth that lead to tubes that connect to the middle ear
to equalize air pressure.

Tongue - Muscular structure attached to the front of the mouth which is

extended to catch insects (its food)

Part C: Respiration

Part Function

Glottis The opening from the mouth into the respiratory system.

Trachea The air passage way of the frog through the lungs.

vocal cords The airway usually important in creating a sound for calling.
lung Responsible for gas exchange.

Part D: Heart

Part Function

Right atrium Chamber of the frogs heart which receives blood from the sinus
venosus.

Left atrium The chamber of the heart that receives blood from the lungs.

Ventricle Chamber of a frog’s heart that pumps blood out of the heart to
the lungs and other parts of the body.

The ventricle has thicker, more muscular walls than the atria. Relate this difference in wall structure
to the functions of the 2 types of heart chamber.

Part E: Digestion

List the organs of digestion in order from the esophagus to cloaca.

 Esophagus, stomach, small intestine, big intestine, cloaca

Why is the inside of the stomach folded?

 The inner layer of the stomach is full of wrinkles known as rugae (or gastric folds). Rugae both
allow the stomach to stretch in order to accommodate large meals and help to grip and move
food during digestion

How are the relative lengths of the frog's small intestine and large intestine related to their functions?

 The relative length of frog's small intestine and large intestine related to their functions is
because the small intestine helps to absorb calories and nutrients from digested food. The small
intestine needs to be long enough such that it can go through a full digestion.

The cloaca is used by 2 other body systems other than digestion. What are they?

 The excretory and reproductive system also uses cloaca.

Part F: Other Organs

Part Function

Liver Secretes bile and processes digested food molecules carries in

the blood from the ileum.

gall bladder Sac which stores bile

spleen Organ in the frog’s circulatory system that makes, stores, and
destroys blood cells.

Part G: Urogenital system

Part Function

Kidneys Organs in the frog’s excretory or urogenital system that filter

the blood and remove the wastes to make urine.

Testes Male sex organs that produce sex cells (sperm).

vas deferential They are the transport system involved in the movement of
sperm.

ovaries Organs of the female reproductive system that produce the

eggs.

Oviducts Tubes of a female frog’s reproductive system that carry eggs

from the ovaries to the cloaca.

A mature female may have its body cavity full of black and white eggs. The black portion of the egg
contains the living embryo. The white portion is yolk, containing stored food. When placed in water
the eggs will float with the light side down. What is the advantage of this?

 The jelly helps keep the eggs from drying out, but must maintain contact with a moisture
source. Frogscan lay their eggs on pond vegetation, floating on the water's surface, or on the
pond bottom. ... Waterprovides this cushioning

If your frog is an immature female, you will find 2 grayish or pinkish ovaries in either side of the
abdominal cavity. The testes of the male are in the corresponding positions. Attached to these
organs are yellow fat bodies. What is the function of fat bodies?

 The fat bodies in frogs are yellowish to orange in color. They have a finger-like or spaghetti-like
shape. The fat bodies are needed for hibernating, metamorphosis and for mating. These are
areas in the body containing stored energy.
During one mating of frogs, the female lays some 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in water as the male sheds
millions of sperm over them. How do these large numbers relate to the frog’s fitness for life in water?

 A male frog sheds millions of sperm and female shed 2,000 to 3,000 in thewater, with these
numbers the survival rate increases. In water the eggs andsperm are small making them victims
to be eaten by other animals, having thisamount of egg and sperm increases the chance of
having offspring.

Part H - Brain

What do the large optic lobes of a frog’s brain suggest?

 It tells you that a large amount of their brain processing is oriented towards visual cues/stimuli.
Because they can view a much larger degree of range laterally.

What does the large olfactory lobe of a frog’s brain suggest?

 It tells you that a large amount of their brain processing is oriented towards olfactory
cues/stimuli. Because they can smell a much larger degree of range laterally.

Why does a frog have such a small cerebrum?

 A frog has a smaller than usual cerebrum because it is body is smaller than other creatures'. .
Cerebrum sends functions to the body and controls it