The mouse body is covered with hair and is divided into three parts :Head, trunk and tail

"
On the head are located the mouth and the sensory organs, external nostrils,eyes, ears and whiskers. The
triangular mouth is ventral and is surrounded by two lips under which we can see two pairs of elongated
incisors which have continuous growth, which is typical of a rodent. Eyes are protected by two eyelids. The iris
of the white mouse has no pigments and its red colour is due to deep blood vessels. Two skin folds which are
outer ears or auricles surround external ear canals. Their base is strengthened by a cartilage scaffold. There are
tactile hairs or whiskers on the head

Like all mammals, whiskers are distributed into four groups, divided around the mouth, on the throat and
above the eyes. The trunk has a pair of limbs on each side. The mouse has pentadactyl caridium limbs and
these are divided into three segments. The forelimb is composed of the arm, the forearm and the hand. The
.hindlimb is composed of the thigh, the leg and the foot
The hand has five fingers of which only four are developed and have claws. The foot has five well-developed
.fingers ending with claws
The whole foot comes into contact with the ground. The mouse is a plantigrade animal. Hands and feet have
.pads on the fingertips and palmar and plantar calloses
On the ventral side of the female trunk there are five pairs of teats, divided into two groups, which extend over
the pectoral and the pelvic region
The male's teats are atrophied and not clearly visible. At the base of the trunk in the ventral position we find .
.openings for the alimentary posterior canal and the urinary and genital systems
The anal orifice is visible from behind for both sexes

For the male, a cutaneous pouch, the scrotum, hides this orifice. The position of the urinary and genital
.orifices differentiates male and female
For the female, the vagina is found anterior the anus at the vulva area. A perineum separates the anus from
the vulva. The urethra opens anterior to the vagina at the extremity of the urinary papilla. So the urinary and
.the genital tracts are utterly separated in the female
In the male, genital and urinary orifices merge at the extremity of the penis located in a skinfold, the foreskin
.or prepuce
The prepuce orifice allows the projection of the penis in erection for mating. A large perineum covered by the
.scrotum separates the anus from the foreskin orifice
The tail is as long as the rest of the body. It's covered with horny epidermal scales arranged in rings between
which there are short hairs. In order to observe the organs in place, the mouse must be opened on the ventral
.side
The mouse has to be laid down on its back. Then stretch the limbs perpendicularly to the body axis and fix
them with pins in the hands and feet. It's necessary to locate the prepuce orifice in the male and the urinary
orifice in the female. Make an incision in the skin with fine scissors about a couple of millimetres above the
orifice. From this opening, the incision must continue on the mid-ventral side up to the chin. Two lateral
incisions extend towards the extremities of forelimbs and hind limbs. The skin is separated from the underlying
muscular layer and pinned on the sides. In this step of the dissection, at the base of the head, we can notice a
part of the salivary glands. Next to the salivary glands, the main muscles of mastication, digastric and masseter
muscles, allow the mouth to open and close. At the trunk level, we distinguish two regions, the thorax and the
.abdomen. The abdominal cavity must be opened to highlight the organs in place
Abdominal muscles must be lifted and incised up to the base of the thorax. Then, two transversal incisions are
.made at this level to complete the abdominal cavity opening. Muscular foldings are pinned on the sides
The liver and a part of the intestines are now visible. In its upper part, the abdominal cavity is separated from
the thoracic cavity by a very well-developed muscle, the diaphragm. In the ventral part, the diaphragm follows
.the costal arch. The ribcage is dorsally limited by the spine, sideways by the ribs and ventrally by the sternum
The thorax dissection allows to observe organs that are in the thoracic cavity. A grooved director is inserted
under the sternum and slipped towards the head and exits at the neck level. The sternum is cut with scissors
following the grooved director. Both halves of the ribcage, now freed, are drawn aside by the action of the
pectoral muscles. The diaphragm is cut at its periphery following the costal arch and the rib foldings are
.removed. The lungs, the heart and the thymus gland are now visible

.The thymus is an immune organ involved in T-cells maturation

The respiratory system includes the larynx, the trachea and the lungs. To better see the larynx and the trachea,
the salivary glands and the neck muscles are removed. Both of the thymus lobes are excised. Now we can see
.the larynx and the trachea, strengthened by a set of cartilaginous rings
The right lung is divided into four lobes. The left lung is made of only one large lobe. At the base of the larynx
can be seen the thyroid, an endocrine gland which is not part of the respiratory system. During breathing, air
comes in through the mouth and nostrils, goes through the pharynx, the larynx and enters the trachea. Then it
follows subdivisions of bronchus and bronchioles to arrive in the pulmonary alveoli where the gaseous
exchange will happen. Alveoli are surrounded by venous and arterial capillaries that transport blood. The
.exhaled air will take the opposite path
In mammals, breathing is done through the volume variation of the ribcage. During inspiration, the ribcage
expands by contraction of the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm. Air pressure in the lungs is reduced to
.below atmospheric pressure and air enters the lungs
Exhalation happens when intercostal muscles and the diaphragm relax. Thus the thoracic cavity returns to its
initial volume. The mouse circulatory system is closed and divided into two parts. The pulmonary circulation
between the heart and lungs and the systemic circulation between the heart and the other organs of the
animal. The heart is completely partitioned and is divided into a right and a left heart. Each part includes an
".auricle and a ventricle

The mouse's digestive system is composed of a complete digestive tract going from the mouth to the anus "
.and by additional glands
The digestive tract is divided into four regions, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine and the large
.intestine
The esophagus is a simple tube going from the mouth through the neck, the thoracic region and the
diaphragm to the stomach. To better see the esophagus it's necessary to move the cardiorespiratory system
.that partially covers it. To do so, blood vessels have to be cut
The vena cava is cut at the diaphragm level. The aortic arch is severed, followed by other vessels and
connective tissues attached to the trachea and to the cardiorespiratory system. These tissues must be removed
with the help of forceps going up along the esophagus while holding the heart and lungs apart on the left. The
heart and lungs are pinned. The esophagus is now visible in its whole length. It meets the stomach in the
abdominal portion. The third part of the digestive tract, the intestine, is limited to the abdominal region and is
divided into the small intestine and the large intestine. To observe these regions, the digestive tract has to be
unrolled by going gradually back from the rectum up to the stomach. Macentaries that link the intestinal folds
.are delicately torn by pulling on the digestive tract. The unrolled intestine is pinned on the side of the animal
The small intestine is divided into three parts. The duodenum, the most anterior, the median jejunum and the
posterior ilium. The large intestine is the shortest and is composed of three parts as well. It begins with a dead
end pocket, the caecum. It continues with the colon and ends with the rectum leading to the anus. The rectum
.can be easily recognised thanks to the presence of a string of droppings inside
The digestive tract also has additional glands, the salivary glands, visible in the neck part, the liver and the
.pancreas. The liver is divided into four lobes
.The gallbladder is associated to the liver. To expose it, lift and move aside the median lobes of the liver
The common bile duct carries all the hepatic secretions to the duodenum. The second additional gland, the
pancreas, has a plumose shape and is located behind the stomach. In the abdominal cavity, the spleen is also
present. It is an immunological organ which is not part of the digestive system. The observation of the urinary
system, which is located in the abdominal cavity, requires the dissection of the alimentary canal. This urinary
system is composed of two kidneys which produce urine that's excreted through the ureters, the bladder and
.the urethra. In both sexes, the urinary system is identical up to the bladder
The kidneys are two brown-coloured bean-shaped organs located on the dorsal side of the abdominal cavity.
On the kidneys' anterior region, we can see the adrenal glands, surrounded by adipose tissue. These two
endocrine glands are not part of the excretory system. The ureters, two canals that transport the urine to the
urinary bladder, begin in the concave part of the kidneys. The bladder is a spherical bag located behind the
abdominal wall, which is used to temporarily store urine. Urine is eliminated through the urethra, a canal
which has only a urinary function in the female. In the male, the urethra has a urogenital function. It winds
.through the centre of the penis and also allows the emission of sperm
The pelvic symphysis opening allows us to observe the urethra. The symphysis, located under the urinary
bladder, corresponds to the assembly of the two half pelvis at the level of the pubis. Once the pelvic symphysis
has been severed with the use of scissors, both halves of the pelvis are moved aside. This dissection allows to
observe the urethra path that ends at the level of the urinary papilla in the female. In both sexes, in order to
observe the reproductive system, located in the abdominal cavity, requires to unroll the intestine and the
pelvic symphysis section
The female reproductive system is made of two gonads, the ovaries, two
oviducts, the uterus, the vagina and additional glands. The ovaries are two small, ovoid, pink-coloured organs,
covered with adipose tissue and located beyond the posterior edge of the kidneys. Facing the ovary, the short
oviduct starts in an auricle that collects oocytes. The oviducts join the uterus in the shape of two horns which
merge into the uterine body. The basal region of the uterus, the cervix, joins the vaginal canal that opens on
the outside at the level of the vulva. The uterus and the vagina are partly hidden by the bladder and the
urethra of the urinary system. At the base of the vagina, two clitoral glands can be noticed and they lead
directly to the outside. The male reproductive system is made up of two gonads or testicles, two vasa
deferentia, the penis, some muscles and a series of additional glands. In the mouse, the testicles are two ovoid
structures found within the abdomen. They move down into a cutaneous pouch, the scrotum, during mating
and after the animal's death. Remove them from the scrotum by pulling on the whitish adipose tissue that
covers them so that we can observe them. Fold and fix the scrotum sections and then pull and pin the adipose
box of the testicles by the sides. Suspensory ligaments can help hold the testicles in place in the abdominal
cavity. Cicuitous canals, the epididymis, extend from each testicle and move spermatozoa into the vas deferens
or ductus deferens. The observation of the reproductive system as a whole requires the opening of the pubic
symphysis. The vasa deferentia appear at the base of the urethra, which is located in the middle of the penis.
In the male, this canal is common to the urinary and the reproductive system. Two muscular masses can be
seen at the base of the penis, the ischiocavenous muscles that contribute to erection and the bulbocavenous
.muscles, which play a role in the emission of urine
The male reproductive system includes additional glands which take part in the production of sperm, the
seminal vesicles, the prostates and the caupers glands. Ram's horn shaped seminal vesicles are located at the
base of the bladder. The prostate comprises three pairs of accessory glands necessary for seminal fluid
coagulation. The most developed pair, the coagulating gland, is located within the seminal vesicles concavity.
The two other pairs, the ventral and dorsal prostates, are visible at the base of the bladder. The section of
ischiocavenous muscles allows the observation of the caupers glands, which produce secretions important
during mating. The Tyson's glands are accessory glands located between the abdominal muscles and the skin.
These cutaneous glands do not take part in the production of sperm and correspond to the clitoral glands in
.the female. The Tyson's glands secrete pheromones and lubricating compounds for mating