BIO1204 GENERAL ZOOLOGY LABORATORY

LABORATORY ACTIVITY 7
THE RESPIRATORY AND DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF THE FROG

BACKGROUND: The internal organs, also known as the viscera, are essential for the proper
functioning of the body. These organs are located in the large body cavity or coelom
inside the trunk of all land vertebrates, including amphibians, mammals, and humans.
Despite some variations in structure and function, these organs share many similarities,
making the study of one organism, such as the frog, an excellent foundation for
understanding the anatomy and physiology of the human body.

The digestive system is responsible for breaking down food into nutrients that can be
absorbed into the body. It consists of the digestive tract, also called the alimentary canal,
which runs from the mouth to the anus, and its associated glands. The main function of
the digestive system is to process and absorb food, enabling the body to use it for energy,
growth, and repair. Understanding the digestive system and how it works is vital for
maintaining a healthy body and preventing digestive disorders.

The respiratory system obtains oxygen from the environment which is necessary for
metabolic processes in the body. It also disposes the metabolic waste, carbon dioxide
which is harmful to the body. All respiratory processes involve diffusion through moist
semipermeable membranes. Like other land vertebrates, frogs and toads have lungs for
respiration. They also respire by: (1) buccopharyngeal respiration, by lowering and raising
the floor of the mouth. The air is drawn into and forced from the mouth cavity and the
oxygen—carbon dioxide exchange occurs in the moist roof of the cavity; and (2)
cutaneous respiration, through the moist skin which has many blood vessels on the inner
surface.

Figure 1. Frog Respiratory System

(Source: notesonzoology.com)

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Figure 2. Frog Digestive System

(Source: notesonzoology.com)

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lab activity, the students are expected to:
1. Identify and label the major digestive organs in a frog.
2. Locate and identify all digestive glands in a frog.
3. Explain the functions of the major digestive organs and glands of a frog.
4. Perform a cross section of the stomach wall of a frog and examine the 4 digestive
tract layers or tunics.
5. Identify and label the major respiratory organs of a frog.
6. Perform a dissection of the lungs and surrounding parts to examine their structure
and function in gas exchange.

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MATERIALS:
1. Dissecting set 9. Old newspapers
2. Dissecting tray 10. Piece of rag or tissue paper
3. Sewing Pins 11. Preserved frogs
4. Ruler 12. Sanitizer, Alcohol
5. Hand soap 13. Glass Slides and Coverslips
6. Lab gown 14. Dropper
7. Gloves 15. Haematoxylin or Eosin stain
8. Masks

PROCEDURES:

PART A: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF THE FROG

Opening the body cavity:

1. The skin and thin muscles of the ventral body wall must be cut and opened to
expose the viscera, preferably using only forceps and scissors. The instructor may
demonstrate how this dissection is to be made.
2. Lift the thin muscular abdominal wall posteriorly and make a short cut to one side
of the median white or reddish line (the linea alba).
3. Insert one point of the scissors and cut forward at one side of the mid-line through
the posterior cartilage of the pectoral girdle. Make a similar cut on the opposite
side—this leaves a narrow median strip of muscle with the abdominal vein inside
(dorsally); preserve this vein.
4. Lift and cut the median strip interiorly, then carefully dissect it free from the vein
back to the posterior end.
5. Lift and cut through the pectoral girdle (with stout scissors if available) in the
median line and continue through the muscles of the lower jaw.
6. Gently force apart the cut margins of the girdle
7. Put the frog in a dissecting pan, pin aside the edges of the body wall and also the
sides of the pectoral girdle.

DIGESTIVE TRACT
a. Mouth and mouth cavity with tongue and teeth
b. Pharynx (behind mouth cavity)
c. Esophagus (short, dorsal to heart; insert probe through pharynx to stomach to
locate)
d. Stomach (whitish; large; anterior or cardiac end smaller; posterior or pyloric end
larger with constriction or pyloric valve at end)
e. Small intestine (short interior loop beside stomach is duodenum and receives bile
duct; remainder is ileum)
f. Large intestine (dark; connects to cloaca)
g. Cloaca (within pelvic girdle; common end of digestive, excretory, and
reproductive systems)
h. Anus

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DIGESTIVE GLANDS
i. Pancreas (irregular flattish. glandular tissue, yellowish white; between the stomach
and duodenum)
j. Liver and gall bladder
8. Many microscopic glands occur in various organs of the digestive tract.
9. Trace the bile duct backward from its dorsal entrance into the duodenum.
Carefully pick away the pancreatic tissue and find the duct as a whitish thread. (It
is joined by pancreatic ducts difficult to see.) Find the cystic ducts connecting to
the gall bladder and the hepatic ducts emerging from the liver to form the bile
duct.

STOMACH WALL
10. Make a thin cross section of the stomach by two closely parallel transverse cuts
across the pyloric part with a sharp scalpel or razor blade.
11. Place the tissue on a microscope slide and add a few drops of staining solution
(haematoxylin or eosin).
12. Cover the tissue with a cover slip and press down gently to remove any air
bubbles.
13. Observe the tissue under the microscope, starting with low magnification and
gradually increasing to high magnification to identify the following layers of the
stomach wall:
10.1 Mucosa (lining of stomach cavity, contains microscopic glands)
10.2 Submucosa (thin layer of varied thickness, light to dark colored)
10.3 Muscularis (conspicuous, of uniform thickness; inner thick layer of circular
muscles and outer thin layer of longitudinal muscles)
10.4 Serosa or peritoneum (extremely thin outer covering, seen only where it
runs into mesentery)

Figure 2. Longitudinal Section of the Frog Stomach

(Source: notesonzoology.com)

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14. In frogs that contained little or no food when preserved, the stomach will be
contracted in size and the inner lining much folded.
15. Slit open the wall of the esophagus and small intestine to see the folds in the lining
of each. What purpose do these folds serve? What is a villus?

PART B: RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Opening the mouth cavity.

16. Open the mouth of the frog and locate the glottis.

Respiratory system.
17. Using scissors, cut through the floor of the pharynx and esophagus and around the
glottis in a circle to free the larynx.
18. Then carefully dissect the lungs free from their attachments in the body so as to
remove the entire respiratory system.
19. Immerse in water and identify the following parts:
a. Glottis (slit in floor of pharynx)
b. Larynx or voice box (immediately ventral to glottis)
c. Bronchii (2; short; each bronchus connects larynx to a lung)
d. Lungs (2; thin-walled and elastic)

20. Slit the larynx midventrally and spread to see the lengthwise muscular vocal
cords within.
21. In a frog, cut a piece about 10 mm. square from one lung and examine the inner
surface under a microscope.
22. Find the low partitions that subdivide the interior into compartments (alveoli) and
increase the surface area;
23. Dissect away the ventral surface of the lower jaw and find the flat hyoid
cartilage embedded in the muscles; it is moved by muscles Mylohyoid,
Sternohyoid and Petrohyoids.

NOTE: Please save the used frog for the next lab on the frog.

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Guide Questions:
1. Take a picture of your frogs with its internal organs. Paste it below and label them
using the lists of digestive tract and organs listed above.

2. What is the course of food in the digestive tract? Use an arrow to trace the flow of
food from the drawing below.

3. Why must food be digested before it can be absorbed?

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4. Identify the functions of the following structures:

Organs Function
Bile duct

Cloaca

Pancreas

Pharynx
Pyloric
valve
Stomach

5. What is the function of each of the layers named below?

Organs Function
Mucosa
Muscularis
Submucosa
Submucosa

Peritoneum

6. Take a picture of your frog’s stomach wall and label each layer.

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7. What purpose do the esophageal and small intestinal folds serve?

8. What is a villus?

9. Complete the table below.

Kinds of Organic
Digestive End Where
Organs Enzyme Compound Acted
Juice Product absorbed
Upon
Liver
Mouth
Pancreas
Small Intestine
Stomach

10. Take a picture of your frog’s respiratory organs. Paste it below and label them using
the lists of organs mentioned above.

11. How do the vocal cords act to produce sounds?

12. Can a frog croak under water? Why?

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13. How do the Mylohyoid, Sternohyoid, and Petrohyoid assist in respiratory

movements?

14. Through what organs does air pass from the external nares to the lung?

15. In what way is the action of lung respiration in the frog different from that in
man?

16. Of what special advantage is cutaneous respiration in a frog?

17. What is the difference between external and internal respiration?

REFERENCES:

Capili, NL & Flores, RV., General Zoology Laboratory Guide Manual 2nd ed. C&E Publishing
Inc., 2022. Quezon City Philippines

Evangelista, EV. & Evangelista, LT., Worktext in General Zoology 2nd ed. C&E Publishing
Inc., 2022. Quezon City Philippines

Minkoff, E.C., A Laboratory Guide to Frog Anatomy. Elsevier Inc., 1975. Maine USA

Storer, T. I., Laboratory Manual for General Zoology.McGraw-Hill Publications 1944. Maine
USA

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Supplementary Video:

Frog Digestive System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAUFQTRLumM

Respiratory Organs in Amphibians

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfojq4ikHH0

Lab Performance Rubric:

Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Score

PPE worn
PPE not worn PPE worn but correctly but PPE worn correctly /10
or worn with some with minor and all necessary
PPE Worn improperly deficiencies deficiencies equipment used
Work area is Work area is /10
Work area Work area is somewhat meticulously
organization cluttered and cluttered and Work area is organized and
and not cleaned mostly organized and completely
cleanliness up cleaned up cleaned up cleaned up
Specimens
Specimens are are Specimens are Specimens are /10
mishandled somewhat handled handled with
Proper and not mishandled correctly and exceptional care
handling of returned but returned returned and returned
specimens properly properly properly properly
Some
Poor lab inappropriate Good lab Exemplary lab /10
Lab behavior and behavior or behavior and behavior and
behavior negative negative positive consistently
and attitude attitude attitude attitude positive attitude
Report is thorough,
Report is accurate, and /60
Report is mostly Report is submitted on time, (Refer to the
incomplete or complete but complete with including clear rubric below)
not submitted with some only minor images with
Lab report on time errors errors appropriate labels
TOTAL /100

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Lab Report Rubric

Criteria Points
Accuracy of Answers / 15
Completeness of Answers / 10
Properly labeled Images and Illustrations / 10
Inclusion of Citations and References / 10
Format (Clarity, Grammar, Spelling) / 10
Organization and Overall Quality /5
TOTAL /60