GENERAL ZOOLOGY LABORATORY 1

Laboratory Exercise #10: The Skeletal System of the Frog

TARGETS
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. The students should be able to locate and identify the
a. bones of the skull of the frog
b. bones of the pectoral girdle and forelimbs
c. bones of the pelvic girdle and hindlimbs
d. bones of the vertebral column

OVERVIEW
The vertebral skeletal system is composed of bones, joints, and cartilages. It provides
rigidity to the body, surfaces for muscle attachment and protection for some body organs.
There are two kinds of skeleton: the hydrostatic and the rigid skeleton. The hydrostatic
skeleton requires two components to function: a cavity filled with fluid and a body wall that
is wrapped with sheets of muscles. This is commonly found in animals with no hard body
parts at all like the jellyfish, sea anemone, and tunicates. Hydrostatic skeleton functions by
pressure. When the muscle surrounding the cavity contract, it will create a pressure that will
squeeze the fluid forcing it to the other regions of the body. This enables the animal to
move. The same principle works in the movement of the earthworm. The muscles in the
body wall of the earthworm have no firm base for attachment but develop muscular force
by contracting against the coelomic fluids, which are enclosed within limited space and are
incompressible. Alternate contraction of the circular and longitudinal muscles of the body
wall enable the worm to thin and thicken, setting up backward moving waves of motion that
propel the animal forward. Rigid skeleton is composed of hard elements jointed at points for
muscle attachment. There are two kinds of rigid skeleton: endoskeleton and exoskeleton.
Exoskeleton is located outside the body of the animal. Animals like mollusks and arthropods
are protected by exoskeleton. The exoskeleton of the sponges is formed from the materials
like sponging, calcium carbonates, silica and chitin. The shells of the mollusks are made up
of calcium carbonate secreted by the mantle. It grows with the animal. The exoskeleton of
the arthropods is more complex. It is formed by tubular plates that hinge against each other
at flexible joints. It covers the outer body surfaces including the eyes, antennae and feet of
the arthropods. Its thickness varies from each body part. Arthropods undergo molting to
form a larger exoskeleton for its growing body parts. Endoskeleton is located inside the
body of the animal and is commonly present among vertebrates. The vertebral skeletal
system is composed of bones, joints, and cartilages, forms of dense connective tissues. It
functions for support, protection, and reservoir of calcium and phosphorous. The
endoskeleton is divided into two parts: the axial and appendicular skeleton. The axial
skeleton consists of the skull, hyoid apparatus, vertebra column, ribs, sternum and visceral
skeleton. The appendicular skeleton is composed of the pectoral girdle, bones of the
forelimbs, pelvic girdle, and bones of the hindlimbs.
 GENERAL ZOOLOGY LABORATORY 2

LABORATORY ACTIVITY PROPER

A. METHODOLOGY

Bones of the Skull

1. Use your preserved skeletal system specimen of the frog.
2. Locate and identify the different bones of the head (Dorsal and ventral).
3. Draw and label all the bones of the skull.

Bones of the Pectoral Girdle and Forelimbs

1. Locate the pectoral girdle of your frog.
2. Identify the sternum and label all its parts.
3. Identify and label the bones of the forelimbs.

Bones of the Pelvic girdle and Hindlimbs

1. Locate and identify the different bones comprising the pelvic girdle and hindlimbs.
2. Draw and label the different parts of the pelvic girdle and hindlimbs.

Bones of the Vertebral Column

1. Locate and identify the different bones comprising the vertebral column.
2. Draw and label all the parts of the vertebral column of the frog.

ENRICHMENT

Answer the following questions. Cite your reference/s in APA format.

1. What is a skeleton? What are the two kinds of skeleton?

2. What are the functions of the skeleton?
3. Explain how skeletal bones are formed.
4. What is chondrification? Explain how the process occurs.
5. Compare the digits of the frog to the digits of man.
6. What is hydrostatic skeleton? Give at least two examples of chiropractic skeleton
observed in your specimen?
7. What is a rigid skeleton? Give at least two examples of rigid skeletons observed
in your specimen.
8. Compare the bones of the hindlimb to the bones of the forelimbs.
9. Why are the atlas, sacral and urostyle classified as atypical vertebrate?
10. What are the similarities and differences of the vertebral column of the frog
compared to the vertebral column of man?
 GENERAL ZOOLOGY LABORATORY 3

ILLUSTRATIONS

Label the parts of your frog’s skeletal system and attached the picture of your frog with
labels. Draw or illustrate, for those without frogs.

a. Bones of the skull

b. Bones of the forelimbs
c. Bones of the pelvic girdle and hindlimbs
d. Bones of the vertebral column