Students dive into piglet dissections
Launch the media gallery 1 playerNot every student gets the opportunity to dissect an animal in school. However, according to science teachers, dissection is a learning experience that proves to have many benefits. The Advanced Biology class dissected fetal pigs the first week of March and learned the anatomy of the pig while using new skills.
The fetal pig dissection process typically lasts three to five days, depending on how invested students are in the experiment.
“My favorite part was seeing how engaged everyone was in what they were doing. These classes were able to harness their energy into something productive and stay focused,” said science teacher Mrs. Jodi Bahr.
The dissection assignment consisted of both dissecting the pig and filling out different diagrams. While dissecting, students located the heart, lungs, stomach, liver, small and large intestines, brain, and other organs.
“My favorite part of the dissection process was taking out the brain because you had to be more patient. This was also one of the more challenging parts because you had to break the skull,” said junior Levi Adrian.
This was Bahr’s third year facilitating animal dissections. Previously, the class dissected cats while fetal pigs were used for the other two.
“We dissect fetal pigs because they are smaller, cheaper, and easier to cut. Plus, they are less pet-like,” said Bahr.
Students chose whether they wanted to dissect a fetal pig alone or with a partner.
Junior Taylor Braun shared how she thought she was going to be scared of dissecting and decided to work with a partner. Braun said that by the end, she was instead really interested in it and dissected more than she thought she was going to.
“This was my first time dissecting an animal,” said Braun. “I liked cutting all the organs out, getting to have a hands-on experiment, and seeing real-life organs.”
Several students shared that this was their first time dissecting an animal.
“I find anatomy interesting and medical stuff in general, and hadn’t been able to do a dissection before, so I was excited. I enjoyed the challenge of precision. I’m a perfectionist, so precision was fun,” said junior Deelinda Fry.