Dissecting Frogs ?

Question

Today we dissected Bull Frogs in science class. They've been in storage since August and they were treated with a chemical, to preserve it. What's the name of that chemical?

I also think i might be mildly allergic to it. I was cool with the frog but there was WAY too much of that chemical in it. We had trays that were about 15 inches by 9 inches and 4 inches high. My partner cut open the frog and dumped out the excess chemical from the frog as instructed and the entire pan was filled about a half an inch with the chemical. That's way too much. Any ideas on why i've been sick all day?

Answer 1

Its more likely foramlin than formaldehyde. Make sure you're using either latex or vinyl gloves when handling your frog, and if the smell is getting to you, make sure ventilation is used. My partner for our cat dissection uses a face mask, and others use a little Vicks vaporub under their nose to get rid of the smell. Good luck and have fun with your frog!

Answer 2

The frogs may have been preserved in alcohol, or in formalin. Many people are bothered by the odor of the formalin, so it was most likely the preservative that bothered you. The odor can make you feel nauseous.

Answer 3

We dissected a cat and a pig for our AP bio class. Only the pig we had a styrofoam board we placed it on, and were given some skinny rope...we had to spread the pigs legs (breaking the bones) and tie them around the bottom side of the board...then sliced that sucker open. Gave a whole new meaning to hog tieing.

Answer 4

Might be formaldehyde. Yup, it smells bad and makes you feel awful.

Answer 5

as members of the class Amphibia, frogs may live some of their adult lives on land, but they must return to water to reproduce. Eggs are laid and fertilized in water. On the outside of the frog’s head are two external nares, or nostrils; two tympani, or eardrums; and two eyes, each of which has three lids. The third lid, called the nictitating membrane, is transparent. Inside the mouth are two internal nares, or openings into the nostrils; two vomerine teeth in the middle of the roof of the mouth; and two maxillary teeth at the sides of the mouth. Also inside the mouth behind the tongue is the pharynx, or throat.

In the pharynx, there are several openings: one into the esophagus, the tube into which food is swallowed; one into the glottis, through which air enters the larynx, or voice box; and two into the Eustachian tubes, which connect the pharynx to the ear. The digestive system consists of the organs of the digestive tract, or food tube, and the digestive glands. From the esophagus, swallowed food moves into the stomach and then into the small intestine. Bile is a digestive juice made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile flows into a tube called the common bile duct, into which pancreatic juice, a digestive juice from the pancreas, also flows. The contents of the common bile duct flow into the small intestine, where most of the digestion and absorption of food into the bloodstream takes place.

Indigestible materials pass through the large intestine and then into the cloaca, the common exit chamber of the digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems. The respiratory system consists of the nostrils and the larynx, which opens into two lungs, hollow sacs with thin walls. The walls of the lungs are filled with capillaries, which are microscopic blood vessels through which materials pass into and out of the blood. The circulatory system consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood. The heart has two receiving chambers, or atria, and one sending chamber, or ventricle. Blood is carried to the heart in vessels called veins. Veins from different parts of the body enter the right and left atria. Blood from both atria goes into the ventricle and then is pumped into the arteries, which are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.

The urinary system consists of the frog’s kidneys, ureters, bladder, and cloaca. The kidneys are organs that excrete urine. Connected to each kidney is a ureter, a tube through which urine passes into the urinary bladder, a sac that stores urine until it passes out of the body through the cloaca. The organs of the male reproductive system are the testes, sperm ducts, and cloaca. Those of the female system are the ovaries, oviducts, uteri, and cloaca. The testes produce sperm, or male sex cells, which move through sperm ducts, tubes that carry sperm into the cloaca, from which the sperm move outside the body. The ovaries produce eggs, or female sex cells, which move through oviducts into the uteri, then through the cloaca outside the body.

The central nervous system of the frog consists of the brain, which is enclosed in the skull, and the spinal cord, which is enclosed in the backbone. Nerves branch out from the spinal cord. The frog’s skeletal and muscular systems consist of its framework of bones and joints, to which nearly all the voluntary muscles of the body are attached. Voluntary muscles, which are those over which the frog has control, occur in pairs of flexors and extensors. When a flexor of a leg or other body part contracts, that part is bent. When the extensor of that body part contracts, the part straightens.

Answer 6

It was probably formalin, and lots of people are sensitive to it....sounds like you, too.

Answer 7

formaldehyde