In: Anatomy and Physiology
What observations did you make during this dissection? Were you surprised by any part of the internal anatomy of the fetal pig?
Observations in dissection :
Plant and animal bodies are dissected to analyze the structure and function of its components. Dissection is practised by students in courses of biology, botany, zoology, and veterinary science, and sometimes in arts studies. In medical schools, students dissect human cadavers to learn anatomy.
Dissection is used to help to determine the cause of death in autopsy
Most dissection involves the careful isolation and removal of individual organs, called the Virchow technique.An alternative more cumbersome technique involves the removal of the entire organ body, called the Letulle technique. This technique allows a body to be sent to a funeral director without waiting for the sometimes time-consuming dissection of individual organs.The Rokitansky method involves an in situ dissection of the organ block, and the technique of Ghon involves dissection of three separate blocks of organs - the thorax and cervical areas, gastrointestinal and abdominal organs, and urogenital organs.
Dissection of individual organs involves accessing the area in which the organ is situated, and systematically removing the anatomical connections of that organ to its surroundings. For example, when removing the heart, connects such as the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava are separated. If pathological connections exist, such as a fibrous pericardium, then this may be deliberately dissected along with the organ.
Internal anatomy of fetal pig .
Liver – the human liver has four lobes: right, left, caudate and quadrate. The fetal pig liver has five lobes: right lateral, right central, left central, left lateral, and caudate.
Intestines – there is a significant difference in the structure of the fetal pig colon compared to the human colon. The pig colon is spiral.
Adrenal glands – In the fetal pig, the adrenal glands are found near the aorta towards the cephalic end of the kidneys, instead of on top of the kidneys as is the case in humans.
Stomach, spleen, bile duct system, small intestines, kidneys, bladder, etc. – the remainder of the abdominal organs found in the fetal pig are basically the same as found in humans.
Thymus – the thymus is found in the same areas in pigs as in humans. However, it is much larger than most students1 expect. This is not a difference of pigs from other mammals. All mammals have a large (enormous) thymus gland during the fetal stage. It gradually shrinks, relative to the rest of the body, throughout life
Lungs – Like humans, pigs have multi-lobed lungs.
Blood vessels : Bicarotid trunk – In fetal pigs, the brachiocephalic artery splits into the right subclavian artery and the bicarotid trunk. The bicarotid trunk then splits into the right and left common carotid arteries. Humans do not have a bicarotid trunk; instead, the left common carotid artery branches from directly from the aorta, while only the right common carotid artery originates from the brachiocephalic artery.