Fetal Pig Dissection

External Anatomy

Dorsal

posterior
anterior

Ventral

Medial Line

Lateral Line
Oral Cavity

Tongue

Soft Palate

Hard Palate

Epiglottis
Digestive System

Esophagus

Liver

Small intestine
gall bladder

Pancreas
gall bladder

Stomach

Large intestine
 Respiratory System

Larynx Trachea

Pleural membrane

Left lung
Right lung lobes
lobes

Diaphragm
 Circulatory system

Right atrium

Left atrium

Right ventricle

Left ventricle

Coronary artery

Aorta
 Vena cava

Pericardium
Discussion questions
b) From my observations of the mouth and throat, the function of the epiglottis is to block food from
entering the trachea and air from entering the esophagus.

c) There is a 1:5 ratio of the length of small intestine to the large intestine in both pigs and humans. A
pigs small intestine is 6-8 feet long and the large intestine is 1-3 feet. The length of the human small
intestine is 7m and the large intestine is 1.5m.

d) The trachea had rings like segments on it that were made of cartilage. These rings prevent the
trachea from collapsing and add flexibility. This suits the function because it allows easy movement of
the neck.

e) The lungs were soft to the touch. This may have felt this way because of all the alveoli that was in the
lungs. They are built to maximize surface area to let a lot of air in so the structure has a thin membrane
and makes room for air to enter which explains the soft feeling.

f) The most muscular chamber of the heart is the left ventricle. This is because it needs to push
oxygenated blood through the aorta that gets pumped to the whole body. A lot of energy and strength
is required to create the force to transport the blood.

g) The blood vessels were injected with coloured wax to easily distinguish which are arteries and which
are veins. The blue vessels were the deoxygenated veins and the red vessels were the oxygenated
arteries.