Field Biology Vertebrate Dissection - Organ Functions
Perch
1. Mandible - the lower jaw, movable to grasp and obtain food.
2. Maxilla - the upper jaw, fixed and immovable, which serves
as a clamping base for the lower jaw.
3. Nares - ingestion of food within an animal's intestine.
4. Eye - organ for visual sensation, sensing black and white
and silouettes.
5. Anterior dorsal fin - appendage on the dorsal side of the fish
that serves as a rudder for stability in motion.
6. Posterior dorsal fin - appendage on the dorsal side of the
fish, posteior to the anterior dorsal fin, that serves as a
rudder for stability in motion.
7. Caudal fin - appendage on the fish that serves as the primary
means of propulsion.
8. Anal fin - appendage on the ventral side of the fish, posterior
to the anus, that serves as a rudder for stability in perch
motion.
9. Anus - opening for the evacuation of food from the intestine
of the perch.
10. Scale - hard round external covering, layered with other
scales like shinges, that protect the skin of the perch.
11. Pelvic fin - appendages on the perch that serve as rudders
for stability in motion, as well as paddles for changing
direction, homologous to the hind limbs of terrestrial
tetrapods.
12. Pectoral fin - appendages on the perch that serve as paddles
for changing direction, homologous to the front limbs of
terrestrial tetrapods
13. Operculum - hard plate for protecting the gills in bony
fishes.
14. Cranium - the bony protective covering of the perch that
protects the brain within
15. Vertebrae - segmented coverings of the spinal cord of the
perch which articulate with the cranium and protect the
spinal cord within
16. Muscle - the organs responsible for undulating the body and
moving the fins, propelling and steering the fish
17. Gonad - organ that produces gametes for perch reproduction
18. Intestine - organ that absorbs food nutrients to the
bloodstream
19. Stomach - organ that serves as the primary digestive organ
in the perch.
20. Pyloric caeca - secreted digestive enzymes into the digestive
tract for the digestion of food
21. Gall bladder - stores bile from the liver and drains it to the
small intestine, for the emulsification of fats.
22. Liver - organ which regulates blood chemistry, and produces
bile for the digestion of fat, which it drains to the gall
bladder.
23. Heart - organ consisting of one atrium and one ventricle,
which receives blood from a vena cava, and which a ventral
pumps blood through a ventral aorta to the gills
24. Ventral aorta - artery that passes blood from the heart
ventricle to the gills
25. Swimbladder - gas chamber which regulates the buoyancy
of the perch, also used for gas exchange in some species of
fishes.
26. Kidney - organ that filters waste products from the blood.
Rat Muscles
A. Masseter (A) - raises the mandible.
B. Acromiotrapezius - adducts the scapula.
C. Spinotrapezius - adducts and moves the scapula posteriorly.
D. Latissimus dorsi - adducts the humerus.
E. Gluteus superficialis - abducts the femur.
F. Biceps femoris - abducts the thigh.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
External oblique - tenses the abdominal wall.
Cutaneous maximus - tightens the skin to the muscles
beneath.
Triceps brachii - extend the arm.
Biceps brachii - flex the arm.
Pectoralis - adducts the arm.
Rat Organs
1. Submaxillary salivary gland - produces saliva, which
lubricates food and contains digestive enzymes for the
breakdown of carbohydrates.
2. Trachea - tube which carries air between the lungs and the
larynx.
3. Thymus gland - important organ for immunity, involved in
producing T cells for antigen recognition.
4. Right atrium - chamber which receives deoxygenated blood
from the vena cava and passes it to the right ventricle.
5. Right lung - organ that exchanges gases between air and
blood.
6. Diaphragm - sheet of muscle that pulls down on the lungs to
increase their volume for the inhalation of air.
7. Liver - organ important to the regulation of blood chemistry,
which also produces bile for the digestion of fat.
8. Small instestine - organ which completes the chemical
digestion of macromolecules in food, and absorbs nutrients
from food to the blood.
9. Larynx - the top of the trachea, which is used to emit
sounds.
10. Thyroid gland - small gland located on the trachea that
which produces thyroxine, a hormone that controls body
metabolism.
11. Esophagus - tube which connects the oral cavity to the
stomach.
12. Left atrium - chamber of the heart that receives oxygenated
blood from the lungs and passes it to the left ventricle.
13. Ventricles - the pumping chambers of the heart which pass
blood to the lungs or body.
14. Stomach - the primary digestive organ of the rat which
begins protein digestion, receiving food from the esophagus
and passing it to the small intestine.
15. Spleen - an organ involved in immunity, housing white
blood cells for the recognition of antigens.
16. Large intestine - tube of the digestive tract that receives food
from the small instestine and passes it to the anus, completes
the absorption of water and some salts from food and
turning the remaining material to feces.
17. Caecum - branch of the large intestine that helps to digest
some of the cellulose still contained in the remaining food of
the large intestine; homologous to the human appendix.