Frog Dissection Lab and Answer Sheet
Leader: ______________________________Group #: ____ Teacher: ____________________ Date: _______
Members: ___________________________________
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Dissection Instructions:
A. Pith the frog. (to immobilize the specimen)
B. Place the frog in the dissecting pan ventral side up.
C. Use the scalpel to cut through the frog’s skin so you can see the muscle tissue. Cut along the midline of the body to
the forelimb.
Once you have looked at the muscle tissue, then use your scissors or your scalpel to carefully cut through
muscle tissue without cutting the internal organs.
D. Cut far enough so the flap of muscle stays open.
Locate each of the organs below.
a. 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.
b. 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 simple ventricle located at the bottom of the heart.
The vessels attached to the heart are the arteries: arterial trunk, systemic arch, dorsal aorta and veins: posterior vena
cava, anterior vena cava.
c. Lungs—Locate the lungs by looking underneath and behind the heart and liver. They are two spongy organs.
d. Gall Bladder—Lift the lobes of the liver, there will be a small green sac under the liver.
e. Stomach—Curving from underneath the liver is the stomach. The stomach is the first major site of chemical digestion.
Frogs swallow their meals whole.
f. Small Intestine—Leading from the stomach. The first straight section is called the duodenum, the curled section is the
ileum. The ileum is held together by a membrane called mesentery. Blood vessels running through the mesentery carry
absorbed nutrients away from the intestines.
g. 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 exits the frog’s body.
h. Spleen—Return to the folds of mesentery, this dark red spherical object serves as a holding area for blood.
I. Esophagus—Return to the stomach and follow it upward, where it gets smaller is the beginning of the esophagus.
7. Measuring the small intestine- Remove the small intestine carefully separate the mesentery from it. Stretch the small
intestine out and measure it. Intestine length ______cm Compare this to your Frog length from earlier _______ cm
8. Locate each of the Urogenital System organs below.
The frog’s reproductive and excretory system is combined into one system called the urogenital system. You will need to
know the structures for both male and female frogs; however, we will only be using female frogs.
a. Kidneys—flattened bean shaped organs located at the lower back of the frog near the spine. They are a dark
color. The kidneys filter wastes from the blood.
b. Testes—in male frogs, these organs are located at the top of the kidneys.
c. Oviducts—females-you may see a curly structure near the kidneys. This is where eggs are produced.
d. Bladder—An empty sac located at the lowest part of the body cavity.
e. Cloaca—opening where urine, sperm and eggs exit.
Clean Up
Now that you have finished with your frog, please deposit your frog organs in a plastic bag and for disposal.
Rinse and dry all of your dissection tools (open scissors to dry). Wipe down your trays and your station.
