Fetal Pig Heart Lab Report

Based on the external observation, the left side of the heart appeared bigger than the right side. When looking at the heart internally, the right ventricle pumps the blood to the lungs, and the left ventricle to the rest of the body. Therefore the left ventricle needs to be stronger and bigger, than the right ventricle, as it has a larger role in the functioning the heart.

Heart valves ensure one way blood flow through heart. The atrioventricular (AV) valves lie between the atria and the ventricles prevents the back flow of blood in to the atria while the ventricles contract. Chordae tendinae anchor AV values to papillary muscles. The left AV valve, the mitral or bicuspid valve consists of two cusps of endocardium. The right atrioventricular valve, the tricuspid valve, has three cusps. The second sets of valve are the semilunar valves. The pulmonary semilunar valves lie between the right ventricle and pulmonary trunk. Aortic semilunar valves lie between ventricle and the aorta. Semilunar valves prevent the backflow of blood into the ventricle.

The four valves of the heart are the tricuspid valve, the pulmonic valve, the mitral valve, and the aortic valve. The tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and the right ventricle. It is responsible for allowing blood to flow from the atrium to the ventricle, preventing backflow of blood into the atrium. The pulmonic valve is located between the pulmonary arteries and the right ventricle and is responsible for allowing blood flow from the heart to the lungs. The mitral valve is found between the left atrium and the left ventricle, which allow blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle preventing backflow of blood back into the left atrium. The aortic valve is found between the aorta and the left ventricle and allows blood to flow to the aorta and throughout the body.

The fetal pig was a great resource to dissect do to it’s similarities to the human body in which we study in anatomy class. In addition, the size of the organs make them easy to find and identify. Another reason we use the fetal pig is because many people do not think of pigs as pets. If people dissected cats, the mental damage done to the human dissecting it may scar them for life. It also may lead them a stray from the medical field. Fetal pigs have no real purpose, they are a product of the pork food industry. They are not intentionally bred for the purpose of dissection. Therefore, fetal pigs are the paramount of dissection. Fetal pigs are ultimately inexpensive.

The dissection of fetal pigs in the laboratory is extremely important as pigs are complex organisms with an internal structure much similar to the human body. This provides students to with the opportunity to receive insight on how their bodies work. In addition, they will also be given the opportunity to learn about evolution through the dissection of a pig.

Dissecting animals helps students better understand the anatomy of, in this case, a fetal pig, and helps us prepare for what University has to offer, depending on what one will study.

The purpose of the dissection was to develop a deeper understanding of how the anatomy and physiology of organ systems are influenced by each other. The dissection allows us to take the knowledge we’ve learned from the fetal pig and to apply it in the context of the human body, as a valuable learning experience.

The fetal pig dissection was helpful for one to understand the body and all of the body’s functions. The procedures helped the students precisely do the dissection correctly. The questions that were assigned helped the students have a deeper understanding of the pig’s body. This dissection also helped the students become familiar with some of the organs in the body like the liver, heart, and intestines. All in all, this dissection was helpful in learning all about the body.

My hypothesis was correct in addressing how similar the fetal pig and human anatomy are, and how it helps to learn more about a human. One way in which the fetal pig is particularly similar to a human is its lungs. The fetal pig’s lungs are almost identical to that of a human. They exchange oxygen for CO2, are located in the same place, and are also multi-lobed. Another similarity is the pig’s pericardium. The pericardium is a clear membrane that surrounds the heart, it is composed of an outer fibrous layer and an inner double layer of serous membrane. Its main purpose is the give the heart protection against infection and bacteria, and it provides lubrication as well. Every human has their heart surrounded by this, and so does a fetal pig. When dissecting, the dissector must make a light incision and remove the pericardium so the heart can be accessed. Although there are many similarities between the fetal pig and a human, there are also differences. The first difference resides in the liver. A normal human liver has four lobes: right, left, caudate, and quadrate. While a normal pig liver has five lobes: right lateral, right central, left central, left lateral, and caudate. Another main difference is that a fetal pig’s colon is a spiral shape. A human’s colon is shaped in a sigmoidal pattern instead (“Human/Pig Comparisons”, 2004, September, goshen.edu).

In a normal human being the heart correctly functions by the blood first entering through the right atrium from the superior and inferior vena cava. This blood flow continues through the right atrioventricular valve into the right ventricle. The right ventricle contracts forcing the pulmonary valve to open leading blood flow through the pulmonary valve and into the pulmonary trunk. Blood is then distributed from the right and left pulmonary arteries to the lungs, where carbon dioxide is unloaded and oxygen is loaded into the blood. The blood is returned from the lungs to the left

force blood through the entire body and meets resistance. R side only does pulmonary, where it meets less res 14. Semilunar valves prevent backflow into the atria venticles ; AV valves prevent backflow into the

The mitral valve is located on the left side of the heart between the left atrium and left ventricle. The purpose of the mitral valve is to form a seal between these two chambers of the heart to prevent the back flow of blood. When blood enters the left side of the heart, it is oxygenated and enters through the pulmonary veins. The blood then travels through the left atrium; the bicuspid (mitral) valve then opens to let the blood flow down to the left ventricle. The left ventricle contracts, causing the mitral valve to close (preventing the backflow of blood).When the left ventricle contracts it is pumping the blood out to the remainder of the body. (Jenkins, 2007)

To continue, I then began to examine the endocrine system of the fetal pig. I began this dissection by finding the endocrine organs that are located in the area of throat. These organs were the thyroid and thymus. The thyroid’s responsibility is to produce amino acids that will help to regulate metabolism. The shape of the thyroid is oval like, and has a dark brown tint. The second endocrine organ found in the throat is the thymus. The thymus functions to provide immunity against diseases. It has a pink appearance, and is long in length. I was successful in finding three endocrine organs in the abdominal cavity. The first organ found was the adrenal gland. The function of this gland is to produce various hormones. This gland is identifiable

The left side of the heart, has the left atrium and ventricle that takes in oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out of the aorta.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get over my fear of having to look at something being hacked into. I think the truth of the matter is I was feeling sorry for the pigs that died to become the subject for our own amusement. When the time drew nearer for the dissection I asked Mr. Johnson why we were dissecting pigs in the first place. The answer to my question was something I never really thought of. Mr. Johnson told the entire class the reason why we were dissecting fetal pigs was because it is the closest thing to a human being. The feel of pig skin has the almost exact same feel as human skin does and since we couldn’t actually dissect a human he thought that the pigs were the next best thing. After all, this is Biology and some of you might