Fetal Pig Dissection Project Reflection
For dissection, I chose to dissect a fetal pig for several reasons involving ethics, personal affiliations, and personal interests. I chose the pig over the cat because of the fact that I have a love of cats and wasn't emotionally capable to dissect a cat. I chose to dissect a pig over a shark because of the fact that the sharks were captured and killed specifically for dissection use rather than using sharks that experienced natural death and additionally because I was looking for a little bit more of a challenge. The pig was specifically interesting because of the close relation of pig anatomy to human anatomy. Through dissection I learned the location and purpose of all organs and body parts. This included the larynx, trachea, thymus gland, thyroid gland, heart, lungs, gallbladder, diaphragm, liver, small and large intestine, stomach, pancreas, spleen, kidney, brain, reproductive system, and external anatomy such as nares, pinnae, and more. Additionally, through this project I verified that I do in fact have a strong interest in the anatomy and functions of the body, giving me more guidance towards possible career paths. Although initially this project was very intimidating, I was able to persevere and complete the dissection and learn as much as possible.