Rabbit Dissection

***Your group needs to check your dissecting kits every day to make sure all pieces are
cleaned, dried and present. Your area needs to be cleaned every day with a cleaner after
dissection. If you do not clean your area, points will be deducted from your lab. Make
sure you
put NO animal parts in the sink.** Saige burrola, genesis gomez, rajani
martinez-howell and hayley hawkins

Name of your rabbit friend: Taquito

INTRODUCTION:
In the dissection of a mammal, you are studying one of the most complex forms of life - an animal
belonging to the biological group including man himself. Needless to say, the mammal is a complicated,
but extremely interesting subject for study. Whether the dissection is made individually or as a group
study, follow each step in the directions carefully. Proceed slowly, making close observations as you
work. Make sure you answer questions and make observations when needed.

PURPOSE:
To study the internal anatomy of a representative of the class Mammalia.

MATERIALS:
A preserved rabbit and dissecting kit.

SAFETY:
Gloves must be worn at all times!! Anyone not wearing these items will NOT dissect. Be sure to follow all
lab safety rules!

2. CLASSIFICATION: Classify the common lab rabbit from largest taxonomic group down to the
smallest. (continued on next page)

Domain: Eukaryote

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata

Class: Vertebrata

Over: _________________________________
 Family: Leporidae

Genus: Oryctolagus

Species: _______________________________

Use the cladogram below to answer the following questions.

3. What trait according to the cladogram separates rabbits and rodents from crocodiles and birds?

intrauterine development of their offspring, while crocodiles and birds are oviparous, which

represents a divergence in their evolution.

4. What traits do the rabbits and rodents share with ray-finned fish? The noticeable trait they all

share is the possession of continuously growing incisor teeth.

5. What organisms are the rabbits and rodents closely related to? Lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys,
apes, and humans are all members of the primate family.

6. What characteristics do the rabbits and rodents share with primates? They both are general
intelligence.

DIRECTIONAL TERMS:
Cranial - toward the head
Caudal - toward the rear
Dorsal - toward the spinal cord (back)
Ventral - toward the belly
Medial - toward the middle
Distal - away from
Lateral - to the side
PROCEDURE:
Observe the external features of the rabbit.

7. Humans sweat when they are too hot and shiver when they are
 too cold. Rabbits cannot sweat, so through the use of their ears they can
cool their body down when they are too hot. What is this an example of?
_____they rely on a panting action and their ears to keep them cool.
_________________________________

8. Observe the front incisor teeth of your rabbit.

How many do you see? 4 (2 on the top 2 on bottom_Describe how the
rabbit would use these teeth to eat its food.
_____________________________
________Peg and incisor cut and slice food______________________
_____________________________

9. Observe the bottom of your rabbit’s feet. How do the bottom of

the rabbit’s feet differ from a cat or dog?
______________________________They have paws that are
more narrow for running. __________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Place the rabbit in the dissecting tray, ventral side up. Tie the legs securely to the corners of the tray by
passing a string or rubber bands (2 bands together) under the tray from front leg to front leg and hind leg to
hind leg. Be sure that the specimen is held firmly before you begin dissecting.

Find the lower edge of the sternum (breastbone) and make an incision through the skin from that point to
the pelvis. This will expose the layers of the abdominal muscles. Strip the skin well back to the sides and
examine the muscle layer. Using the scissors or the scalpel, make another incision through the muscle layer.
This will expose a thin membrane, the peritoneum, which lines the abdominal cavity. Cut through the
peritoneum to expose the abdominal organs.

Open the abdominal cavity wide by making several lateral cuts and pulling the skin and muscle layer well
to the side.
Locate the diaphragm, which divides the abdominal cavity from the thoracic or chest cavity. Using your
scissors, cut through the ribs along the left and right side of the breastbone to the neck. Continue the
incision to the larynx which you detect as a hard oval lump just below the throat. The incision in the throat
should be deep enough to expose the trachea. Most of the organs you will now study are now exposed.

Locate the liver, which occupies the upper right area in the body cavity, just below the diaphragm. Raise
the liver with your forceps and find the prominent gall bladder, and the bile duct, which leads to the small
intestine. Notice the blood vessels which lead to the liver from the lower side and to the heart from the
upper region. The stomach is very prominent, although it may be partially hidden by a lobe of the liver.
Find the gullet which passes through the diaphragm and enters the stomach at its upper end. At the point
where the lower end of the stomach joins the small intestine is a muscular valve, the pylorus. The pancreas
is large in the mammal and is located below the stomach. It appears as a white, granular organ. Examine it
closely to see if you can find the pancreatic duct which empties into the intestine near the entrance of the
bile duct.
 10. What is the function of the liver? __synthesis of proteins, in the metabolism of sugars and the

storage of nutrients, in the degradation of toxins and the treatment of organic waste produced by

cells of the body._________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

11. What is the function of the pancreas? __Increase the pH to more neutral level.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

The small intestine is a coiled and twisted tube, many feet in length. It is held in place by fan-like folds of
the mesentery. Raise the small intestine at several points and examine the mesentery. Notice the many
blood vessels along the surface of the intestine through which the absorption of food takes place. The small
intestine begins at the stomach and ends at the junction with the large intestine. The large intestine appears
as a compact coil. Find the junction of the large and small intestine. Below the junction is a large, blind
end, the caecum. Trace the large intestine from the caecum to the point where it leads to the anal opening.
Press the digestive organs to one side and find the kidneys, located on either side of the spinal column.
They are red in color and bean-shaped. Find the small tubes, the ureters, which lead from the interior side
of each kidney to the bladder.

Spread the ribs apart and examine the heart. It lies in a thin-walled sac, the pericardium. Open the
pericardium and examine the surface of the heart and the great blood vessel connected to it. On either side
of the heart are the large, spongy lungs. Find the trachea which leads to the lungs. Just above the lungs, the
trachea divides to form a Y. Try to find this with your probe. Immediately under the trachea is the gullet
leading to the stomach. Follow the trachea to the larynx. As you cut through the neck tissues, watch for
white, granular lymph glands and the thyroid glands which appear as two pinkish, rounded structures, one
on either side of the trachea, but below the pharynx.

12. What is distinguishable about the trachea? _____Comprised of complete cartilage

_______________________________________

Loosen the liver from the diaphragm and cut the gullet, passing through the diaphragm just above the
stomach. Grasp the liver and pull downward gently. Using your scissors, cut the membranes which fasten
the digestive organs along the back. Continue pulling and cutting the membranes, using care NOT to cut
the large vessels running along the back or to damage the kidneys and ureters. Follow the lower end of the
large intestine and cut it just above the anal opening. You should now be able to lift out the digestive
organs and spleen in one piece. Remove the liver and spleen. Unravel the small intestine from the stomach
to the large intestine and determine its length. Loosen the coils of the large intestine and determine the
length of this portion of the digestive tract. Now estimate the length of the gullet you removed and by
adding the lengths of the gullet, stomach, small and large intestine, you should be able to determine the
total length of the alimentary canal. Cut the stomach and the pylorus laterally and examine the muscle
layers.
 13. Trace (write) the pathway of the rabbit’s digestive tract. __Brown and was stuck together.

_______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

14. How long does the small intestine measure in feet? ___1ft

4in__________________________________

15. What is the function of the small intestine? __Digest protein, fat, simple carbohydrates.

_________________________________________ 16. Describe the stomach contents. __The stomach

was big ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Discard the digestive organs and examine the kidneys. Cut under each kidney and remove it along with the
ureter tube. Cut a kidney laterally and examine its internal structure. You should find a spongy cortex on the
other curved side and a hollow pelvis on the inner concave side. See if you can find the renal blood vessels
which lead to and from the kidneys. Discard the kidneys.

17. Describe the inside of the kidney._____Red and

meaty.______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________________

18. What is the function of the kidney? Filtering out toxins from body and excreting them via the

urinary system.________________________________________________

19. Cut the trachea about halfway down its length. Now insert the pipette with the attached bulb into
the part of the trachea still leading to the lungs. What things do you observe when you squeeze the
bulb?
_______It had juice and was not hard.

_______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Cut around the larynx located high in the neck and raise it with your fingers. Using your scalpel, cut along
the trachea, lifting it as you cut. You should be able to lift the heart and the lungs from your specimen. Cut
the large blood vessels. Find the aorta, which passes between the lungs on the back side of the heart. Cut
the aorta loose. The other tube is the gullet. Trace it to the upper side of the larynx and remove it. Now lay
the lungs and heart aside. Find the epiglottis, a muscular valve at the top of the larynx. Notice the
cartilaginous rings composing the trachea. Follow the trachea to the Y just above the lungs. Each of these
divisions is called a bronchus. Cut through the lobe of the lung to see the large bronchial tubes.

Remove the heart from the lungs by cutting the pulmonary arteries and veins. If the heart is sufficiently
large, you should find the vena cava and the pulmonary veins leading to the atria and the aorta and the
pulmonary artery leading from the ventricles. Cut the heart laterally and examine the chambers. The
string-like structures in the ventricles are the tricuspid and the bicuspid valves, which are controlled by
tendons.

20. How many chambers are there in the rabbit heart? Name them. Four chambers, two atria and two
ventricles

_____________________________________________________

The dissection of the brain is difficult and tedious work. Turn the animal so that the dorsal side is up. To
expose the brain, remove the skin from the entire skull. The simplest method to exposing the brain with the
instruments you have is to cut through the skull near the center, using extreme care not to break the brain
membranes. After the skull is opened, use the handle of the scalpel to chip away the pieces. Do NOT use
the blade of the scalpel for chipping. When chipping, hold the scalpel by the side of the handle, NOT BY
THE BLADE. If bone cutters or heavy forceps are available, use them in preference to the scalpel handle
for chipping. When the brain is completely exposed, you should find the two large cerebral hemispheres
and the cerebellum posterior to the cerebrum. Unless the brain is removed, you will not find the medulla,
although the spinal cord can be found below the brain.

21. Label and color the following structures on the rabbit diagram on the next page.
• Diaphragm (Yellow) • • Small Intestine (Light Green) •
Heart (Red) Spleen (Green)
• Kidney (Pink) • Stomach (Light Blue) •
• Large Intestine (Brown) • Trachea (Dark Blue)
Liver (Black) • Urinary Bladder (Orange)
• Lung (Purple)