Fetal Pig Dissection Essay

In Labs 22 through 26, my lab partner and I were assigned a fetal pig to perform a dissection on in order to understand anatomy, the study of an organism’s structure1, and physiology, the study of the functions and activities of a living organism2. Throughout these labs, we studied the structure of the fetal pig and performed experiments to understand four system processes: digestion, cardiovascular, respiratory, and excretory. Dissecting an organism, physically moving and seeing the different portions of the organism, especially of a fetal pig, is very important. This helps in the understanding of the skeletal structure and what series of physical and chemical processes the mammalian species body performs in order to survive.

Throughout

Through performing dissections, the interrelationships between functioning systems can be further understood. In the dissection of the fetal pig, three interrelationships can be defined: cardiovascular and respiratory, digestive and excretory, and digestive and cardiovascular. The circulatory system and respiratory system share a highly important relationship that is crucial to maintaining the life of an organism. In order for bodily processes to be performed, energy to be created, and homeostasis to be maintained, the exchange of oxygen from the external environment to the intracellular environment is performed by the relationship of these two systems. Starting at the heart, deoxygenated/carbon-dioxide (CO2)-rich blood is moved in through the superior and inferior vena cava into the right atrium, then into the right ventricle when the heart is relaxed. As the heart contracts, the deoxygenated blood is pumped through the pulmonary arteries to capillaries in the lungs. As the organism breathes and intakes oxygenated air, oxygen is exchanged with CO2 in the blood at the capillaries. As the organism breathes out, it expels the CO2 into the external environment. For the blood in the capillaries, it is then moved into pulmonary veins and make

During digestion, the body breaks down food into smaller molecules that could then be used by the body’s cells and tissues in order to perform functions. This starts off in the mouth with the physical movements of chewing and the chemical breakdown by saliva. Enzymes in the stomach break food down further after traveling from the mouth through the esophagus. The food from here then moves into the small intestine, where pancreatic juices and enzymes dissolve proteins, carbohydrates, and fibers, and bile from the liver breaks down fats into these small molecules. Any portion of the fibers or food that were unable to be broken down are passed from the small intestine to the large intestine, which is where the digestive tract transitions into the excretory tract, then the colon and out of the rectum. Any liquids that have been stripped of their nutrients by the body proceed from the stomach to the kidneys. In the kidneys, sodium ions (Na+), uric acid, and urea are exchanged with water, which moves urinary bladder and is excreted through the