Rat Dissection

Hypothesis:

I will observe and conduct the dissection of a rat. I believe that the organs system of the rat is similar in structure and function to that of the human.

Materials:

• 2 straight teasing needles

• Dissection scissors

• 6 dissecting pins

• 4.5” thumb dressing forceps

• Scalpel blade (no. 10)

• Gloves

• Dissecting tray

• String

• 1 rat

Methods/Procedure:

1. I prepare my work area and materials. First I put on my latex gloves then I retrieved the embalmed rat.

2. Using string I tied up the front and hind legs by wrapping the string around the dissecting tray. This opened up the rat by stretching the body which was semi stiff.

3. Next I made an incision down the abdomen starting at the neck continuing to the genital opening. Another incision was made laterally between the shoulders and hind legs. The fur and skin was pealed back and pinned to the sides of the tray.

4. Then I removed the excess embalming fluid to make the organs more visible. I then proceeded to identify the organs.

Results:

My findings from the rat dissection determine the sex of the animal was female. The shape of the uterus is in a “Y”. The dissected rat is lacking a gall bladder. The stomach was full and contained dark grey sediment like matter. The small intestine measured 34.5 inches and the large intestine measured 5.2 inches. The lungs of the rat were separated into 2; there were 3 lobes in the right lung and 2 lobes in the left lung.

Discussion:

Based on my finding I have been able to determine the sex of the rat. The rat had uterine horns that lead to the uterus which was a “Y” shape. After careful searching and identifying all the other internal organs of the rat, I was not able to identify the gall bladder. The stomach was filled with dark grey sediment like matter; the rat was probably killed before it could digest its last meal. The length of the small intestine is similar to the human anatomy in terms of the long length. The measure of...