Frogs are organisms which belong to the Amphibians class and may live some of their adult lives on land but at times, they must return to water to reproduce. Frogs are cold blooded animals which their body temperatures depend on that of the surrounding (Maan, et al. pg 342). It has several openings in the pharynx. The one which leads to the esophagus is used to swallow food, one into the glottis and the third two leads to the Eustachian tubes which connect to the pharynx to the ear. The digestive systems consist of digestive organs and digestive glands. Bile is a digestive juice which is produced by the liver (Kinzie, et al. pg 76).
The digestion takes place in the small intestine and the indigestible materials pass via the cloaca. The respiratory systems consist of the nostrils and the pharynx which open into the lungs (Fouquet, et al. pg 67). The walls of lungs walls are filled with a meshwork of capillaries through which blood and gasses pass in and out. The circulatory system is made up of, blood, blood, vessels, and the heart. Blood is carried into the heart via the veins. Veins from different parts of the body system enter the right and the left atria (Gupta, et al. pg 12).
The blood from both atria opens into the ventricle and is then pumped to the arteries which are responsible for carrying blood away from the heart. The male reproductive organs are testes and the sperm ducts while those of the female are the ovaries, cloaca, uteri and oviduct (Chinchar, et al. pg 34). The testes produce sperms which pass via sperm ducts into the cloaca from which the sperms move out of the body. Ovaries produce female sex cells which pass through the oviducts into the uterus, and then via the cloaca and eventually out of the body (Perform-a-virtual-frog-dissection journal pg 1). Eggs are laid on water and fertilized externally.
Purpose: To observe the structure of the urinary system of a frog.
Predicted Results
The frogs have different organs just like other animals. The urinary system is made up of different structures which are responsible for various functions.
Materials used
A bag, dissecting needle, goggles, gloves, (5-10), laboratory preserved frog, a plastic storage, a twist tie, the forceps, marking pen, scissors, lab apron, dissecting pins, paper, towels and the dissecting tray.
Procedure
The safety goggles, lab apron, and gloves were put on. The frog was placed on the dissection tray. The frog was turned down on its back and legs were pinned down. The hinges of the mouth were cut and opened wide as in figure one. The probe was used to identify the various structures in the mouth i.e. esophagus, pharynx, and glottis (Rose, et al. pg 34). The cloaca openings were identified, and forceps were used to lift the skin and incisors were used to cut along the center of the body from the cloaca to the tip.
The skin was turned back and cut towards the sides of each leg, and the skin was pinned flat. Muscles were cut through breastbone to open the body cavity (figure two). Laboratory charts were used to locate the organs of the digestive system organs, circulatory system and respiratory system probe and scissors were used to lift and remove the intestines together with the liver (Robertson, et al. pg 123). However, the laboratory charts were further used to identify the parts of urinary and reproductive system.
The peritoneal membrane which was connected to the top of the kidneys was removed. Yellow fat bodies were observed (Astley, et al. pg 99). They are usually attached to the kidneys, testes, urinary bladder and sperm ducts were observed. Kidneys were removed, and the threadlike spinal nerves which extend from the spinal cord were observed (figure three).
The materials were disposed of according to the laboratory directions. The area of work was cleaned up and also, hands were washed before leaving the laboratory. ( Strauss, et al. pg 66)
Findings
The urinary tract consists of the ureters bladder, kidneys, and the cloaca. The kidneys are responsible for excreting urine. The ureter is a tube which connects each kidney. It passes the urine into the bladder which stores the urine till it passes out of the cloaca (Akpan, et al. pg 57).
Figure one showing the mouth structures and incision for dissection of the frog
Source: http://www.biologyjunction.com/frog_dissection.htm
Figure Two Showing the Abdominal and Chest Cavity of The Frog
Source: http://www.biologyjunction.com/frog_dissection.htm
Figure three showing the urinary structures of the frog
Source: http://www.biologyjunction.com/frog_dissection.htm
Works Cited
Akpan, Joseph Paul, and Thomas Andre. "Using a computer simulation before dissection to help students learn anatomy." Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching 19.3 (2000): 297-313.
Astley, Henry C., and Thomas J. Roberts. "Evidence for a vertebrate catapult: elastic energy storage in the plantaris tendon during frog jumping."Biology letters 8.3 (2012): 386-389.
Chinchar, V. Gregory, Kwang H. Yu, and James K. Jancovich. "The molecular biology of frog virus 3 and other iridoviruses infecting cold-blooded vertebrates." Viruses 3.10 (2011): 1959-1985.
Gupta, R. K., and R. D. Moore. "31P NMR studies of intracellular free Mg2+ in intact frog skeletal muscle." Journal of Biological Chemistry 255.9 (1980): 3987-3993.
Fouquet, Antoine, et al. "Multiple quaternary refugia in the eastern Guiana Shield revealed by comparative phylogeography of 12 frog species."Systematic Biology (2012): syr130.
Kinzie, Mable B., et al. "Frog dissection via the World-Wide Web: Implications for widespread delivery of instruction." Educational Technology Research and Development 44.2 (1996): 59-69.
Maan, Martine E., and Molly E. Cummings. "Poison frog colors are honest signals of toxicity, particularly for bird predators." The American Naturalist179.1 (2012): E1-E14.
Perform-a-virtual-frog-dissection journal. https://thejournal.com/articles/1997/08/01/
Rose, Christopher S. "Integrating ecology and developmental biology to explain the timing of frog metamorphosis." Trends in Ecology & Evolution20.3 (2005): 129-135.
Robertson, David, William Johnston, and Wing Nip. "Virtual frog dissection: interactive 3D graphics via the Web." Computer networks and ISDN systems28.1 (1995): 155-160.
Strauss, Richard T., and Mable B. Kinzie. "Student achievement & attitudes in a pilot study comparing an interactive videodisc simulation to conventional dissection." The American Biology Teacher (1994): 398-402.
If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the SuperbGrade website, please click below to request its removal:
- The Life of Charles Darwin: Biography
- The Tree of Life: Evolution of Species
- General Psychology on Brain and Behaviour
- Comparison of the Sheep Brain and the Human Brain
- The Telehealth Technology
- Application for the Graduate Research in Biochemistry
- Hereditary and Population Genetics Problems With Solution