Dissection Pre-Lab

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University of Wisconsin, Madison *

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151

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Biology

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by rileyepsn

Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology Pre-lab activity Complete the pre-reading and refer to your lecture notes as needed to answer the following questions. 1. What is the scientific name for your rat? Rattus norvegicus 2. Find 3 facts about this species that you did not already know. This can be information about their reproductive strategies, their digestive capabilities, dietary preferences in the wild, or other aspects of their lifestyle in the wild. For each item, describe how this information relates to the morphology or physiology of the rat (i.e. to the structure or function of their anatomy or physiology. Use this information to complete the table below. Rat fact How does this relate to their anatomy and/or physiology? Fact source (literature reference, as possible) “The mating system of R. norvegicus is best described as polygynandrous. Social animals, Norway rats tend to breed in large groups. Once a female enters her six-hour estrus period, she may mate as many as five-hundred times with competing males.” Despite mating so many times in such a short period, female rats give birth to between 6 and 20 babies at a time. She uses her sharp teeth and hands to help pull the baby out and to pull away the placenta. Armitage, D. (n.d.). Rattus norvegicus (brown rat) . Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://animaldiversity.org/ac counts/Rattus_norvegicus/ “They have good hearing and a very sensitive sense of touch. They are able to sense small vibrations in the ground and feel their way through total darkness with their paws and whiskers” Rat’s whiskers are simply keratin just like human hair, but they’re connected directly to their somatosensory cortex which is very sensitive to any sort of touch or vibration. Web, A. D. (n.d.). Critter Catalog . BioKIDS. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from http://www.biokids.umich.ed u/critters/Rattus_norvegicus/ “Brown rats are foragers and are able to survive on a huge range of foods. One study of a rat's stomach contents revealed over 4,000 different items.” Rats have incredibly strong teeth to be able to chew through tougher or harder foods. Their incisors never stop growing, so it’s necessary for them to chew on hard things to control this. Norway rat . Smithsonian's National Zoo. (2021, January 4). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/an imals/norway-rat 3. List 5 organs you will find in the abdominal cavity of the rat and include a brief description of the major function(s) for each. Colon: Removes water and nutrients from partially-digested food for the body Small intestine: Digest food coming from the stomach Large intestine: Forming and moving feces to be remove from the body Mesentary: Attaches intestines to the abdominal wall and supplies nerves to the intestines

Pancreas: Used in digestion and blood sugar regulation 4. Refer to the Dissection Vocabulary section of your pre-lab reading to answer the following questions: a. When you open the rat, you will make a cut along the ventral side of the rat that starts in the posterior region and moves anteriorly along the sagittal midline. Draw (or add) and arrow on the rat image below in the location and direction of this cut. b. Outline where the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity are located using the image below. Label the muscle that spans between these two regions (hint, this muscle assists in respiration).

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