Cat Dissection

Cat Digestive System

1. How many lobes does the cat's liver have? Is this the same as a human?
2. Feel the cat's stomach. Describe how it feels.
3. Describe the appearance and feel of the inside of the stomach.

4. What types of structures do you find in the mesentery fold? What are their functions?

5. Is there a noticeable difference in the external anatomy of the small intestine as it changes from duodenum to jejunum to ileum? Is the internal anatomy any different? Describe any differences.

6. Does the cat have an appendix?

Cat Respiratory System

7. How many lobes do the cat's lungs have? Is this the same as a human?

8. The diaphragm is classified as a skeletal muscle. Compare its macroscopic appearance to that of one of the other skeletal muscles.

9. Feel the trachea. Are the rings complete? Is this the same as a human?

Cat Cardiovascular System

10. Judging by how the heart fills the thoracic cavity, would you think that the cat’s heart is larger or smaller than a human’s, pound for pound? Explain your answer.

11. Do the blood vessels in the cat aortic arch branch the same way a human’s does? What is extra or missing?

12. Sketch and label the superior vena cava and the branches which fuse to form it.

13. Find the hepatic portal vein. Where do the vessels that form it originate?

Cat Excretory System

14. Describe the entrance points of the ureters to the bladder. Is this similar to the description of the human ureter entry?

15. Is the wall of the bladder stretchy? Is this what you expected? Why or why not?

Cat Endocrine System

16. Is your cat male or female? Describe the structures and their placement which helped you to answer this question.

17. Identify the thymus gland in the cat. From the size of the gland, would you say your animal was old, young, or somewhere in between?