Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Trece Martires City Campus
🕾 235-7997 ǀ 🕾 410-5247 ǀ 🕾 437-0693
www.cvsu.edu.ph
TRECE MARTIRES CITY CAMPUS
Department of Arts and Sciences

Laboratory Exercise
Frog dissection

Name of members: __________________________ Date: __________________

__________________________________________
Course and Section: _________________________ Instructor: _______________

Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to provide students with hands-on experience in basic
anatomy through the dissection of a frog. The objectives included gaining proficiency in
using laboratory tools, understanding the anatomy of a vertebrate, and appreciating the
structure-function relationships within an organism's body. The experiment was conducted
following ethical guidelines for animal dissection, with the aim of enhancing students'
scientific knowledge.

Introduction
The dissection of a frog is a common practice in biology education to explore fundamental
principles of anatomy. By dissecting a frog, students can observe and study the internal
structures, gaining insight into the organization and function of organs within a vertebrate
organism.

Materials:
• Preserved frog specimen
• Dissection kit (scissors, forceps, scalpel)
• Dissection tray
• Gloves
• Lab coat
Methods:
1. Preparation
• Wear gloves and lab coat for personal safety.
2. Pithing
• Insert a needle through the rear base of the skull and wiggled, destroying the
brain of the specimen. This will immobilize the frog.
3. External Anatomy
• Observe the dorsal and ventral sides of the frog. Dorsal side color ___________
Ventral side color ____________

• Examine the hind legs. How many toes are present on each foot? ______ Are
they webbed? _____

• Examine the forelegs. How many toes are present? ________Are the toes
webbed? _____
Anatomy of the Frog's Mouth

Pry the frog's mouth open and use scissors to cut the angles of the frog's jaws open. Cut
deeply so that the frog's mouth opens wide enough to view the structures inside.

1. Locate the tongue. Play with the tongue. Does it attach to the front or the back of the
mouth? __________ (You may remove the tongue). Draw a sketch of the tongue, paying
attention to its shape.

2. In the center of the mouth, toward the back is a single round opening, the esophagus.
This tube leads to the stomach. Use a probe to poke into the esophagus.

3. Close to the angles of the jaw are two openings, one on each side. These are the
Eustachian tubes. They are used to equalize pressure in the inner ear while the frog is
swimming. Insert a probe into the Eustachian tube.

To what structure does the Eustachian tube attach? _____________________

4. Just behind the tongue, and before you reach the esophagus is a slit like opening.
(You may need to use your probe to get it to open up). This slit is the glottis, and it is the
opening to the lungs. The frog breathes and vocalizes with the glottis. Use your probe to
open the glottis and compare that opening to the esophagus.

5. The frog has two sets of teeth. The vomerine teeth are found on the roof of the mouth.
The maxillary teeth are found around the edge of the mouth. Both are used for holding
prey, frogs swallow their meals whole and do NOT chew. Run you finger over both sets
of teeth and note the differences between them.

6. On the roof of the mouth, you will find the two tiny openings of the nostrils, if you put
your probe into those openings, you will find they exit on the outside of the frog.

7. Label each of the structures underlined above.

 Frog Dissection: Internal Anatomy
Dissection Instructions

1. Place the frog in the dissecting pan ventral side up.

2. Use scissors to lift the abdominal muscles away from the body cavity. Cut along the
midline of the body to the forelimbs.
3. Make transverse (horizontal) cuts near the arms and legs.
4. Elevate the cutaneous flaps of the body wall and secure them in an open position
using pins.

*If your specimen is a female, the body may be filled with eggs. You may need to remove
these eggs to view the organs.

Locate each of the organs below. Check the box to indicate that you found the organs.

1. Fat Bodies --Spaghetti shaped structures that have a bright orange or yellow color, if you
have a particularly fat frog, these fat bodies may need to be removed to see the other
structures. Usually, they are located just on the inside of the abdominal wall.
2. Peritoneum A spider-web like membrane that covers many of the organs; you may
carefully pick it off to get a clear view
3. Liver--The largest structure of the the body cavity. This brown colored organ is composed of
three lobes. The right lobe, the left anterior lobe, and the left posterior lobe. The liver is
not primarily an organ of digestion, it does secrete a digestive juice called bile. Bile is
needed for the proper digestion of fats.
4. Heart - at the top of the liver, the heart is a triangular structure. The left and right
atrium can be found at the top of the heart. A single ventricle located at the bottom of the
heart. The large vessel extending out from the heart is the conus arteriosus.
5. Lungs - Locate the lungs by looking underneath and behind the heart and liver. They are
two spongy organs.
6. Gall Bladder --Lift the lobes of the liver, there will be a small green sac under the liver. This
is the gallbladder, which stores bile. (hint: it kind of looks like a booger)
7. Stomach--Curving from underneath the liver is the stomach. The stomach is the first major
site of chemical digestion. Frogs swallow their meals whole. Follow the stomach to where it
turns into the small intestine. The pyloric sphincter valve regulates the exit of digested
food from the stomach to the small intestine.
8. Small Intestine--Leading from the stomach. The first straight portion of the small intestine is
called the duodenum, the curled portion is the ileum. The ileum is held together by a
membrane called the mesentery. Note the blood vessels running through the mesentery,
they will carry absorbed nutrients away from the intestine. Absorption of digested nutrients
occurs in the small intestine.
9. Large Intestine--As you follow the small intestine down, it will widen into the large intestine.
The large intestine leads to the cloaca, which is the last stop before solid wastes, sperm,
eggs, and urine exit the frog's body. (The word "cloaca" means sewer)
10. Spleen--Return to the folds of the mesentery, this dark red spherical object serves as a
holding area for blood.
11. Esophagus--Return to the stomach and follow it upward, where it gets smaller is the
beginning of the esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that leads from the frogs mouth to
the stomach. Open the frog’s mouth and find the esophagus, poke your probe into it and see
where it leads.
Removal of the Stomach:

1. Cut the stomach out of the frog and open it up. You may find what remains of the frog's
last meal in there. Look at the texture of the stomach on the inside.

What did you find in the stomach? ______________________________________________

2. Measuring the Small intestine: Remove the small intestine from the body cavity and
carefully separate the mesentery from it. Stretch the small intestine out and measure it. Now
measure your frog. Record the measurements below in centimeters. Frog length: _______
cm Intestine length ________ cm

Urogenital System
The frog's reproductive and excretory system is combined into one system called the
urogenital system. You will need to know the structures for both the male and female frog

Kidneys - flattened bean shaped organs located at the lower back of the frog, near the
spine. They are often a dark color. The kidneys filter wastes from the blood. Often the top of
the kidneys has yellowish stringy fat bodies attached.

Testes - in male frogs, these organs are located at the top of the kidneys, they are pale
colored and round.

Oviducts - females do not have testes, though you may see a curly structure around the
outside of the kidney, these are the oviducts. Oviducts are where eggs are produced. Males
can have structures that look similar, but serve no actual purpose. In males, they are called
vestigial oviducts.

Bladder - An empty sac located at the lowest part of the body cavity. The bladder stores
urine.

Cloaca - mentioned again as part of the urogenital system - urine, sperm and eggs exit here.

Label the parts of the urogenital system.

Post Lab Questions
1. The membrane holds the coils of the small intestine together:
_________________________
2.This organ is found under the liver, it stores bile: ___________________________
3. Name the 3 lobes of the liver: _____________________, ____________________,
___________________
4. The organ that is the first major site of chemical digestion: _______________________
5. Eggs, sperm, urine and wastes all empty into this structure:
__________________________
6. The small intestine leads to the: _______________________________
7. The esophagus leads to the: ______________________________
8. Yellowish structures that serve as an energy reserve: _________________________
9. The first part of the small intestine(straight part): ____________________________
10. After food passes through the stomach it enters the: _________________________
11. A web-like membrane that covers the organs: ___________________________
12. Regulates the exit of partially digested food from the stomach:
_____________________
13. The large intestine leads to the _______________________
14. Organ found within the mesentery that stores blood: __________________________
15. The largest organ in the body cavity: __________________________

16. Label the diagram