Frog Dissection

CHINESE BULLFROG
In the recent years, according to experts and researchers, population of the palakang bukid, rice frog, or
the Fejervarya limnocharis are experiencing a decline as an introduced frog species is taking over. The
frog that I will be using as specimen for dissection is not the native fejervarya limnocharis.
Hoplobatrachus rugulosus aka the Chinese edible frog was found, collected rather, around year 1993. It
belongs in Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family:
Dicroglossidae > Subfamily: Dicroglossinae > Genus: Hoplobatrachus > Species: Hoplobatrachus
rugulosus. Although it is also referred to as “palakang bukid”, the Chinese bullfrog lacks the stripe
marking along its dorsal body in contrast with the native frog found in the Philippines. The Chinese
bullfrog grows bigger than our native frog. They have coarser skin and a wider mouth.
Before beginning with the dissection activity, preparation of equipment is a necessity.
We will begin the frog pithing. Pithing is a technique used to paralyze an animal. You need to hold the
frog down and position it properly. Locate the softest part of the skull in between the eyes. Position the
probe at an angle and insert it in a rotational manner.
Let us start with the external features,
Morphology, a frog has a head connected to the body without a neck or a tail.
EXTERNAL
1. Dorsal refers to the back side and ventral is the belly side. Note the difference in colours. This
actually helps the frog stay hidden when it swims in water.
2. Amphibians are recognized by their slimy skin. Frogs usually have a smooth skin, a semi-aquatic
adaptive feature. However, the Chinese bull frog have a coarser skin. The slime on their skin
serves as a gas exchange surface. They are able to absorb oxygen from the water directly
through their exterior.
3. Unlike mammalian ears, frogs have a circular ear without a hole. This is called the tympanic
membrane. It enables them to hear on land and water.
4. Examining the eyelid, there is another layer below it. It is called the nictating membrane and
acts as a goggle whenever they are underwater.
5. They have external nares, counterpart of our nostrils. As you can see, there are also nares
located at the roof of their mouth.
6. Frogs have a single hole for waste disposal (urine or solid waste) and sexual reproduction.
7. The limbs are modified to perform specific functions. The forelimbs are fairly shorter than the
hind limbs. They use it to balance themselves while standing, walking, and for bringing prey
close to their mouth. The hind legs are extremely muscular, modified for swimming and
jumping. Frogs only have webbed toes on their hind legs, again, a result of adaptation in a semi-
aquatic landscape.
1. Even though frogs appear to be toothless, they actually have fine small teeth called maxillary
teeth, big enough to hold their prey in its mouth.
2. As we all know, frogs use their tongue to capture prey. While the human’s tongue point of
attachment is at the back of our throat, frog’s tongue point of attachment is located at the front
of the lower mandible.
MUSCULAR
1. Under the skin flap are blood vessels. The under side of the skin is very vascular since the skin is
part of the major respiratory organ.
2. After removing the skin from the ventral surface, underneath the thin layer of skin is abdominal
muscle tissue.
3. Cut the abdominal muscles the same way the skin flap was cut.
4. Immediately, you can see that this frog is a female based on the presence of eggs.
5. I am first taking out the large intestine. It is distinguishable from the small intestine by looking at
the diameter and not by the length.
6. At the end of the large intestine is the cloaca where both reproduction and waste disposal come
through.
7. At the lower end of the stomach, it starts narrowing down. This is the small intestines.
8. This is the stomach of the frog, a part of its digestive tract.
9. At the lesser end of the stomach curvature are tissues called the mesentery tissues.
10. Supposedly, the pancreas should be located here, however, this frog has a poorly developed
pancreas making it difficult to locate.
11. Connected to the eggs are called oviducts, a part of the female reproductive structure.
12. I am cutting the eggs, oviduct, spleen, kidney, and the fat bodies.
13. A pair of kidneys is present at the sides of the frog. You can see it still attached to the eggs.
14. Separate them from one another so we can take a better look.
15. There is a small sac under the liver. This is the gall bladder. Bile produced by the liver is later on
stored at the gall bladder. Carefully cut it to avoid punctures and spillage of bile.
16. Now that most of the organs are removed, the tissues resembling a pouch on the pelvic region is
the urinary bladder.
17. Note the two large blood vessels. It is connected to the kidneys of the frog.
18. Frogs actually has two lobes of the liver. Remove both of the liver in order for us to get a better
view of the still beating heart and the lungs.
19. The lungs have deflated making it smaller than it looks when the frog was still breathing.
20. Now remove the heart.
21. Notice that it is still beating. Why does it still beat after removing it? That is because frog's heart
is auto excitable, it is independent of the neurological system to excite itself. There are three
chambers inside a frog heart. There is the ventricle and the atrium.
22. Going back to the muscles, it is observable upon looking at the thigh muscle of the frog that
their locomotion is highly dependent on the use of their hind legs.
23. We’ve covered the background, external anatomy, and internal anatomy of a Chinese bullfrog.
That is it, thank you for watching.

Frog Dissection

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CHINESE BULLFROG

Before beginning with the dissection activity, preparation of equipment is a necessity.

Let us start with the external features,

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