ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN

Senior High School Department

Science Department
Tacloban City

ACTIVITY 2
(Group Activity)

Title: Models of the Human System

Block & Section: _______________

Class Schedule: ________________

NAME SCORE
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Please do not write anything here:

CONTENT SCORE
 Digestive System: _________
 Skeletal System: _________
 Heart: _________
 Circulatory System: _________
 Respiratory System: _________
 Urinary System: _________
Others:
 Creativity: _________
 Organization: _________
 Cleanliness: _________
 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

ACTIVITY 3
(Group Activity)

Date: _________________________ Block & Section: _______________

Class Schedule: ________________ Score: ________________________

NAME SCORE REMARKS

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I. TITLE: Frog Dissection

II. OBJECTIVE:

The dissection of frogs is an engaging introduction to vertebrate anatomy and mature body systems.
Exploring the anatomy of the frog allows discussions about adaptations and how anatomical structures are
related to their functions.

III. MATERIALS
 Live frog**
 Dissecting kit (contents: dissecting pan/plate, scissors and/or scalpel blade, dissecting knife, pin
to fasten the specimen, pithing needle, forceps)
 Surgical gloves*
 Surgical mask*
 Laboratory gown*
 Tissue**
 Wet wipes**
 Garbage bag (for trash disposal)***
 Plastic cling wrap**
 Manila paper**
 Alcohol**
(Note: * individual, ** group, *** class)

IV. PROCEDURES:
1st: Pithing
Before the experiment, you need to render the frog insensitive to pain. Pithing is one procedure to
accomplish this. Pithing will destroy the brain, which is located between the eyes. (For some experiments,
pithing will include severing the spinal cord.) Pithing is relatively
painless to the frog. Read the entire procedure before beginning so
you can perform the procedure quickly.
1. Hold the frog facing away from your body, with the lower
extremities extended.
2. Grasp the frog with your first two fingers: first finger on
the nose, second finger under the jaw. Flex the head
forward (away from your body).
 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

3. Move probe down midline until you come to the soft spot. Do not use undo pressure on the frog
skin. Frog skull is fairly hard cartilage; soft spot is at the end of the skull.
4. Insert the probe quickly into the cranial vault and sever the brain and spinal cord.
5. Move the probe into the cranial vault and move it from side to side to destroy the brain. You can
feel inside the cranial vault, but the frog can’t feel anything. Without the brain, perception of any
sensory phenomena is impossible.
6. Test for reflexes to confirm that sensory perception has been destroyed and ensure that the spinal
cord is still intact, although it is now in shock.
7. Keep the frog moist. The frog will still be breathing because frogs breathe primarily through the
skin, not the lungs, so it is important to keep the frog moist.

2nd: External Frog Anatomy

1. Place the preserved frog on the dissecting tray with the dorsal surface facing up.
2. Observe the frog appendages that have evolved to adapt to terrestrial life. The frog uses 4 limbs
to travel and move, making it a tetrapod. You will see that each forelimb includes an upper arm,
forearm, and hand. The frog’s hind limbs are divided into a thigh, lower leg, and foot.
3. Looking at the head, identify the 2 external nares at the head’s tip. These function as a means of
respiration.
4. Find the round tympanic membranes that form the frog’s external sound receptors. You will find
these on the back side of the eyes.
5. Look closely at the eyes and attempt to find the frog’s third eyelid; this is the nictitating
membrane that moistens and protects the eye. As the frog is deceased, this will appear as a cloudy
eyelid attached at the bottom of the eye; however, it would appear clear in a living frog.
6. Identify the cloaca, located at the specimen’s posterior end. The cloacal opening provides the
function of exit for all urinary, reproductive, and digestive systems.
7. Reposition the frog to lie on its dorsal side.
8. Carefully cut the jaw joints on each side of the mouth to enable you to open the mouth wide.
9. Locate the glottis (leads to the lungs) and esophagus opening (leads to the stomach). See figure at
the side.
10. Conduct a dental analysis. You will find 2 sets of teeth.
Firstly, locate the fine maxillary teeth lining the upper
jaw. Secondly, locate the two prominent vomerine teeth
located behind the mid-region of the upper jaw.
11. On the sides of the roof of the frog’s mouth, you should
see 2 openings; the eustachian tubes that lead to the
tympanic membranes you identified earlier. The function
of these tubes is to aid in pressure equalization.

3rd: Internal Frog Anatomy

1. Place the frog on the dissecting tray, ventral surface

facing up.
2. Using scissors, cut into the frog’s abdomen. To do this,
pinch the skin at the frog’s stomach and make a small cut at the
center.
3. Slice through the skin, keeping your cuts as straight and clean
as possible. Follow the cutting pattern (as shown here).
4. Using the same pattern, Slice through the layers of muscle until
you reveal the internal organs beneath.
5. Locate the frog’s liver in the abdomen body cavity; it will be
comparatively large in size and brown. The largest internal
organ, the liver consists of 3 lobes.
6. Reposition the liver lobes to reveal gallbladder beneath. The gallbladder, which stores bile, will
appear significantly smaller and greenish.
 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

4th: Maintain cleanliness. Make sure that the trash is disposed properly and clean all the equipment used.
The frog will still be used in the 5th part of this activity: Frog Bone Preservation.

5th: Bone Preservation

The process of preserving a skeleton can be tricky if you do not use proper care. It can also be dangerous
due to the risk of disease transmission when handling animal tissue and brains that may be contaminated.
However, if you are not squeamish about handling the carcass of an animal and take a few simple
precautions, you can clean and preserve a skeleton yourself, allowing you to choose how to best display
it.
1. Wear protective gloves. Remove as much flesh as possible using the skinning knife, taking care
not to scrape or damage the bones. The more flesh you can remove now, the less work will be
required later.
2. Soak the carcass for six to eight hours in warm water. Straighten the wire coat hanger. Bend one
end into a loop. Feed the coat hanger into the brain cavity and use a stirring motion to break apart
 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

the brain tissue. Rinse the brain cavity with warm water and repeat the wire stirring to remove as
much tissue as possible.
3. Fill the cooking pot with fresh water and heat it to approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 2
tbsp. of enzyme-based laundry detergent per gallon of water used in the cooking pot. When the
water is at the appropriate temperature, add the carcass.
4. Check the carcass every 15 minutes, removing flesh each time using the skinning knife and picks
or dental tools until the skeleton is clean. Strain the cooking water using a colander or wire screen
to catch any small bones or teeth that may detach from the carcass.
5. Examine the bones for any sign of a white, waxy residue. If you find this residue, degrease the
bones using undiluted ammonia or a solution of dishwashing soap and steaming (not boiling)
water.
6. Prepare a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water. Soak the bones in this solution for up to three
days to bleach them.
7. Glue the bones together using clear-drying glue.

V. EVALUATION (by group):

Directions: Briefly answer the following questions below. Give what is asked.
For items 1-3, frogs belong under what…
1. Kingdom_________________________________
2. Phylum __________________________________
3. Class ____________________________________
4. Why are frogs said to have “two lives?”

5. How are amphibians different from reptiles?

6. What are 3 adaptations that frogs have that make them amphibians?

7. List the ways in which tadpoles (immature frogs) and frogs differ from each other?

External Anatomy
8. Dorsal means?

9. Ventral means?

10. Anterior means?

11. Posterior means?

12. Frog lungs are poorly developed. How does this relate to their skin being thin and moist?

13. How does the tympanic membrane work?

 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

14. Name 2 ways forelimbs are different than hind limbs.

Critical Thinking Questions

15. The frog’s tongue is anchored in the very front – opposite to the orientation and anchoring of
humans. Why do you think this is so?

Internal Anatomy
16. Take a picture of the dissected frog, paste it in this section and label the parts. Afterwards, write
the specific organs in Column 1 as well as its corresponding function/s in Column 2.

ORGAN FUNCTION/S
A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.
Paste the printed photo here. Do not forget
to label the parts/organs. H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

M.

VI. CONCLUSION:
 ACLC COLLEGE OF TACLOBAN
Senior High School Department
Science Department
Tacloban City

VII: REFERENCES:

BIOPAC Systems, Inc.,. (2001). Retrieved from BIOPAC:

https://www.biopac.com/wp-content/uploads/a01.pdf
Southern Biological. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.southernbiological.com/frog-dissection/