A rat dissection is a perfect way to show all the organs in the body. You can analyse the circulatory system, respiratory system and digestive system through this dissection.
As you are dealing with a organisms make sure you clean your benches after use, use gloves and a lab coat. Take the appropriate safety steps when dealing with the dissecting tools and dispose of the rat appropriately.
Materials per group
Rat
Scissors
Prod
Pins
Tweezers
Blade
Gloves
Dissecting board
Method
Step 1
Set up your work bench and pin down the rat.
Place a pin through the paws and tail.
If your pins can’t penetrate the rats limbs, tie a string to the rats limbs and pin the string down.
Make sure the string is tight.
(Click here to see how to tie the string)
Step 2
Make an incision at the centre bottom of the rat and cut towards the top. Make sure not to puncture the abdominal wall.
As you cut, you will need to strip the connective tissue and skin from the abdominal wall.
Step 3
Peal back the skin and pin it to the board.
Step 4
Again make an incision at the bottom of the abdominal wall. Cut up the abdominal wall till you feel some resistance.
Observe the image to right. The area which is till covered is the rib cage. Housing the heart and lungs.
Right now you should be able to see most of the organs in the digestive system.
Step 5
Once you have observed all the organs in the digestive system, continue cutting. There should be some resistance because you are cutting through the rib cage.
Now you should be able to see the heart and lungs.
Step 6
Cut the digestive track out. You will notice the large intestine is attached to the anus.
Step 7
Completely remove the lungs, heart and digestive system. At the back you should the kidneys and uterus.
The uterus is a thin tube, which makes a Y shape.
Step 8
Spread out the small intestines. You will notice a thin membrane, with fatty streaks throughout it. The tributary of the hepatic portal vein in the mesentery is clearly shown on the right.
Step 9
Remove all the organs in the body. Spread them out. Notice the different shapes and sizes.
Scroll over each organ to see an enlarged photo
(Scroll over the centre to see the heart)
Students should be able to identify:
Heart
Lungs
Kidneys
Uterus (if female)
Small intestines
Large intestines
Liver
Stomach
Pancreas
Spleen
If you have a pipette or straw, cut a hole in the trachea and place the pipette in. Watch the video bellow. The lungs inflate as air is blown in.
The video on the left has the lungs removed, while the one on the right shows the pipette inserted into the trachea of the rat.
As an extra, you can open the skull and remove the brain. Notice the consistence of the brain.
Take great care when removing the brain as it is very sensitive.
