Final Dissection Lab Reflection

By this point in the semester we have had multiple dissection labs. We have explored the integumentary system, skeletal system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, renal system, and muscle system. Being able to properly dissect a chicken and explore each individual system has allowed us to see how all the systems are connected and visually see how each system works. The biggest challenge for me all semester has been the timing portion of the lab. By the end of the semester we must be able to completely dissect a chicken and describe each system in ten minutes. This is such a challenge for me because in the last lab it took me at least fifteen minutes to just get the chicken’s breast muscle and scapula off. I have had a hard time removing the breast muscle from these birds since the beginning of the semester, although I am improving I still have room to grow. My biggest hurdle is finding the joint between the breast muscle and the coracoid bones to remove the breast muscle from the shoulder. However, the birds we last dissected were very large and probably larger than most birds we would be asked to dissect in the field. The biggest difference between the beginning of the physiology lab and the end is the size of the birds. I have learned that the larger the bird the harder it is to dissect and cut the breast off, but it is easier to identify and see the systems because the organs, veins, vessels, and glands are bigger in the larger birds. Something that I have really gained from the dissection labs is just being able to see what the inside of a healthy bird should look like. Since we have been dissecting birds for several weeks now it has become easier for me to quickly notice if something does not look right inside the bird. The most common problem that we have seen while dissecting the birds is ascites or water belly. We have learned in lecture that this problem can also be referred to as pulmonary hypertension syndrome. “Water belly” can be the result of high blood pressure or too much salt in the bird’s diet. This issue of ascites can easily be identified by the fact that you can visually see excess water on a chicken’s abdomen, where there should not be water. It will be very easy to see and for lack of better description looks like a water bed inside a chicken’s lower cavity. Being able to take the knowledge and information we learn in lecture and visually see the systems in the dissection lab makes it easier for us to understand the systems. This physiology lab will help us in the future by allowing us to easily identify problems while doing a necropsy and will help us understand a chicken’s bodily functions and explain it effectively.

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