Cow Eye and Sheep Brain Dissection Lab Report Abstract The goal for this experiment was to locate different regions and compare them, study these structures, and compare the physiology of the eye of a human to the eye of a cow. Looking at the brain was another way to compare as well. In experiment 1 it shows the likeliness of a cow eye to a human eye structurally and how it all correlated together. Then in experiment 2 it did the same thing but with a sheep brain and a human brain. I hypothesized that the cow eye and sheep brain would have very if not the same characteristics of the human organs. Cow Eye and Sheep Brain Dissection The nervous system is divided into two sections: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The brain and the spine make up the central nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves that branch off from the spinal cord and go throughout the body to different areas. To allow the human body to function, the nervous system sends signals through the eyes, which then send information to the brain and the rest of the body. My hypothesis is that the sheep brain and cow eye are like the human anatomy. They have similar systems and functions. Methods Experiment 1: Cow Eye Dissection: At I started the cow eye dissection, the first thing I did was set out the items I needed for the dissection. I placed out the cow eye, safety equipment, the dissection tools, a piece of paper, dissection tray, and my phone to be able to take pictures of me completing the lab. The first thing I did once I put together my materials needed. Next, I put on my pair of gloves and got my under pad and dissection tray set up. I placed my tools up and to the side and had everything ready. I got my cow eye out of the bag it came in and placed it down on the dissection tray. Once these few steps were completed, I could begin my dissection. I got my scalpel ready and started to remove all the excess fat from around the eye. With removing the fat, I was able to locate the optic nerve and the sclera. Following this I made an incision along to coronal plane where I was able to see both the posterior and anterior features of the eye. The posterior features included where the optic nerve was attached. The anterior features included the cornea, lens, iris, and ciliary body. As I began looking at the anterior part of the eye, I was able to use my scalpel to cut through the cornea. Then, I used the forceps to remove the iris and then see the lens of the eye. I used both my scalpel and forceps to remove the lens and place it on my piece of paper. When the lens was placed on the piece of paper, I noticed that it began to shine bright, and the clarity was good. The malleability was remarkable. Next, I started to look at my posterior half of the eye. I removed to look at the retina. I was able to press on it to move it around the eyeball. I used my forceps to move the retina. Then, I looked at where the optic nerve enters the eye. Lastly, I cleaned my dissection area so I could move along to my next experiment. Experiment 2: Sheep Brain Dissection: When I began my sheep brain dissection, I followed the same beginning steps as I did for my first experiment. I already had out my safety equipment and my dissection tools. I put on a new fresh set of gloves to start. Next, I got a new under-pad for this dissection. I got out a new scalpel for this dissection and cleaned my other tools off. I placed the sheep brain onto the dissection tray so I could begin. The first thing I did was place my sheep brain forward down onto my tray. This is where I was able to see the dura mater, blood vessels on the brain, and the arachnoid mater. When I turned the brain over to the other side to see its inferior. On the inferior side I located the pons, medulla oblongata, and midbrain. When the brain was ventral side down, I was able to make my sagittal cut down longitudinally and then on the midline of the cerebellum. This made the brain in a left half and a right half. I observed the thalamus, hypothalamus, the later, third, and fourth ventricles, and the corpus callosum. Both the dissections I was able to see that my hypothesis was correct. Both the cow eye and sheep brain look atomically like the human brain in many ways. Results . Experiment 1: Cow Eye Dissection: Lens Vitreous Humor Choroid Ciliary Body Cornea Pupil Experiment 2: Sheep Brain Dissection: Longitudinal Fissure Cerebrum Brainstem Corpus Callosum Midbrain Pons Medulla Discussion When doing both experiment one and two, I was able to gather that animal anatomy is very alike to our own human anatomy. My hypothesis was supported by doing this dissection experiment. As I dissected the cow eye, I was able to see clearly how much related a cow eye is to a human eye. I could see the pupil, retina, lens, etc. I located and labeled these in my results for the cow dissection experiment and showed proof that my hypothesis was correct. Next, I completed the sheep brain dissection, which was interesting, but harder than the cow eye. I had some troubles when I faced the brain down inferior wise to locating the different parts. However, when looking back at my studies I was able to complete it appropriately. I believe that this helped to even understand our own human anatomy on ourselves. The videos provided helped me before I started the experiments so that helped for me to then locate the parts of the cow eye and sheep brain. Everything tied together in the end.