So, it is Labor Day and it is my birthday, so what would be a perfect activity for such a nice afternoon...to cut out the heart of a pig. And that is just what I did. This isn't the first time I have dissected a pig...I do vaguely remember doing it in high school along with the worm and the frog. In college, my favorite dissection was of a bird and coolest part was that the professor said that the minute we cut into the bird (pigeons) we would know immediately if we had a boy or a girl...mine was full of eggs...a GIRL. Now, with this pig, I am not sure if I have a boy or a girl yet. I think the reproductive dissection is in a few weeks.
Today, I had to make a T incision on belly of the pig from the throat to the umbilical cord and then right under both forearms. From there, I had to cut away the epithelium and other tissue-fat and muscle to get down to the thoracic cage. I cut to the right of the breastbone hoping to miss the heart which lies more to the left of the body. I was successful and cut away the parietal tissue layer and I saw the lungs that hugged the sides of the heart and peeled those back and cut away the pericardium tough connective tissue to free the heart and finally, I cut away the arteries that connected it to the body. After successfully removing it in one piece, I cut it open to view the atrial and ventricle cavities and identified each of the arteries and veins.
Unfortunately, when I went to take my quiz, I only got a 16 out of 20 which kills me! It is so important to get an A in this class and that is 4 more little points lost. I won't know what I missed until later this week. I love the visual and hands-on aspect of the labs and even enjoy doing them at home, but it would be nice to work together with others sometimes. Oh, well. I will keep working away and studying. Happy Labor Day!!!
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