Name:____________________________________ Period ______

Due Date: ___________

Frog Anatomy

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 External & Mouth Urogenital System
Nostrils Kidneys
Nictitating membrane Urinary duct
Tympanic membrane Urinary bladder
Eustachian tubes Cloaca
Maxillary teeth Testes
Vomerine teeth Oviducts / Eggs
Eustachian Tubes
Esophagus *Identify male and female frogs
Glottis
Tongue Circulatory System
Digestive System Heart
-- left atrium / right atrium
Small intestine -- ventricle
-- duodenum -- vena cava
-- ileum -- conus arteriosus
-- mesentery
Large intestine Spleen
Cloaca
Nervous System
Liver
-- right lobe Brain (identify on picture)
-- left anterior lobe --cerebrum
-- left posterior lobe --cerebellum
Gallbladder --olfactory lobe
--bile duct --optic lobe
-- medulla oblongata
Pancreas
Fat bodies
Peritoneum
Skeletal System
Esophagus
Femur
Stomach
Tibiofibula
--Pyloric sphincter
Tarsals / Metatarsals
valve
Phalanges
--Rugae

Respiratory System
Locate each of the structures
Know their functions
Glottis Know the systems
Lungs
*Bio 2A - test is fill in blank
*Bio 2 - test is multiple choice

Name:_________________________________________Period______

Frog Dissection: External Anatomy

1. Observe the dorsal and ventral sides of the frog. How do they differ in color?
Dorsal side color ___________ Ventral side color ____________
What is the name of this adaptation? ________________________

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2. Examine the hind legs.
How many toes are present on one foot? ____ Are the toes webbed? ______

3. Examine the forelegs.

How many toes are present on one foot? _________ Are the toes webbed? _______

4. To determine the frog’s sex, look at the forelimb digits. A male frog
may have thick pads on its “thumbs,” which is one external difference
between the sexes, as shown on the diagram. Observe several frogs to
see the differences between males and females.

Is your frog male or female? _________

4. Use a ruler to measure your frog, measure from the tip of the head to
the end of the frog’s backbone (do not include the legs in your
measurement). Compare the length of your frog to other frogs

Your Frog Frog 2 Frog 3 Frog 4 Frog 5 Average Length

(length in cm)

5. Locate the frog’s eyes. The frog has three eyelids. The 2 outer ones are the color of the frog’s body.
They do not move. Locate the third eyelid. It is a transparent membrane that protects the eye while
permitting the frog to see underwater. It is called the nictitating membrane Use forceps to carefully
remove the nictitating membrane. You may also remove the eyeball.
What color is the nictitating membrane? _________
What color is the eyeball? _________

6. Just behind the eyes on the frog’s head is a circular structure called the tympanic membrane. The
tympanic membrane is used for hearing. Measure the diameter (distance across the circle) of the
tympanic membrane.
Diameter of tympanic membrane _______cm

7. Feel the frog’s skin. Is it scaly or is it slimy? ____________

Anatomy of the Frog’s Mouth

Procedure: Pry the frog’s mouth open and use scissors to cut the angles of the frog’s jaws open. Cut
deeply enough so the frog’s mouth opens wide enough to view the structures.

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)

2. In the center of the mouth, toward the back is a single round opening. This is 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.

5. The frog has two sets of teeth. The vomerine teeth are found on the roof of the mouth and the maxillary teeth
are found around the edge. Both are used for holding prey, frogs swallow their meals whole and do NOT chew.
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6. On the roof of the mouth, you will find two tiny openings, if you put your probe into those openings, you will find
they exit on the outside of the frog. These are the nostrils.

7. Label each of the structures underlined above on the frog’s mouth and complete the table.

Structure Function Location

Vomerine teeth

Eustachian tubes

Nictitating Membrane

Tympanic Membrane

Esophagus

Glottis

Frog Dissection: Internal Anatomy (Day 2)

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. Life the flaps of the body wall and pin back.
*If your specimen is a female, the body may be filled with eggs. You may
need to remove these eggs to view the organs.
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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 yellow-orange color; 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, most easily seen covering the
heart.

3. Liver--The largest structure of 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 secretes a digestive juice called bile
which is needed for the 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 two spongy lungs by looking behind the heart and liver. .

6. Gallbladder --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 food 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. Pancreas - This structure is located on the inside curve of the stomach. It is a gland that often falls apart
during the preserving process so it may not be visible on your frog. It secretes insulin and other hormones.

9. Small Intestine-- The stomach leads to the small intestine. 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.
10. 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). The opening to the outside of the body is the anus.

11. Spleen--Return to the folds of the mesentery, this dark red spherical object serves as a holding area for
blood.

12. 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 frog's mouth to the stomach. Open the frog's
mouth and find the esophagus, poke your probe into it and see where it leads.

***STOP! If you have not located each of the organs above, do not continue on to the next section!***

Removal of the Stomach and Intestine and Heart

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

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

Removal of the Heart - Carefully cut out the heart from its position
above the liver. You will need to remove the peritoneum (in the heart it is
specifically called the pericardium). The frog’s heart has 3 chambers, the
left and right atrium, and the ventricle.

The vessel on the front of the heart is the conus arteriosus, which sends
blood to the body. On the back you can find the openings for the anterior
and posterior vena cava, which return blood to the heart.

Label the heart.

- left atrium (LA)
- right atrium (RA)
- ventricle (V)
- conus arteriosus (CA)

Urogenital System - The frog's reproductive and excretory system are 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 waste from the blood. Often the top of the kidneys have 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.

Label the structures of the urogenital system in the male and female frog.

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 MALE FEMALE

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 digestive system ends at the opening called the: ___________________________
14. Organ found within the mesentery that stores blood: ____________________________
15. The largest organ in the body cavity: __________________________

Label the Diagram (use bold words throughout this handout)

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Study and Removal of the Frog's Brain

Starting at the most anterior part of the head, the olfactory

nerves connect to the nostrils and then to the olfactory
lobes (A) where odors are processed. Just posterior to the
olfactory lobes are two oval structures, the cerebrum (B),
and it is the frog's thinking center.

Posterior to the cerebrum are the optic lobes (C), which

function in vision. The ridge just behind the optic lobes is
the cerebellum (D), it is used to coordinate the frog's muscles and maintain balance.
Posterior to the cerebellum is the medulla oblongata (E) which connects the brain to the spinal cord (F).

Complete the chart:

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 Brain Part Function Letter

Cerebellum

Cerebrum

Olfactory Lobe

Optic Lobe

Medulla Oblongata

Removal of the Frog's Brain: Turn the frog dorsal side up. Cut away the skin and flesh on the head from the nose
to the base of the skull. With a scalpel, scrape the top of the skull until the bone is thin and flexible. Be sure to
scrape AWAY from you. Carefully chip away the roof of the skull to expose the brain and remove it.

FROG BONES
The femur is found in the upper thigh,
and the tibiofibula is found in the
lower part of the leg.

The tarsals make up the ankle. The

foot contains the metatarsals and then
the smaller phalanges of the toes.

Expose the frog's leg bones by

removing the thigh muscle - the
biceps femoris and the calf muscle -
the gastrocnemius.

You can leave the Achilles tendon

intact (this connects the muscle to the
bone).

Label the bones on the diagram.

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