Form and Function Lab

Form and Function

Purpose

To examine a few (of many) types of animal tissues, specifically frog parts. Also to study the 4 types of tissues found in animals.

Materials  

[pic 1]

Procedure

As outlined on lab

Calculations

High Power FOV= .4mm

Frog Nerve 50 cells fit across diameter .4mm/50 x 1000 = 8 microns

Frog Striated Muscle 25 cells fit across diameter .4mm/25 x 1000= 15 microns

Frog Cleavage 45 cells fit across diameter .4mm/45 x 1000= 8.89 microns

Frog Heart Cell 34 cells fit across diameter .4mm/34 x 1000= 11.7 microns

Analysis

1.  Skeletal Muscle Cell

 These specialized cells found in bones, work together to contract and allow movement of body parts and muscles. They also contain long protein filaments that can slide past each other to shorten the cell and help movement.

Red Blood Cells

 Red blood cells carry oxygen to body tissues that require it, contain the protein haemoglobin, which binds oxygen and have no nucleus so there is more space available to carry oxygen. Red blood cells also remove carbon dioxide from your body, transporting it to the lungs for you to exhale. Red blood cells are made inside your bones, in the bone marrow. They typically live for about 120 days, and then they die.

2. Although skeletal muscle cells and red blood cells have little in common they are both key components of animal survival and demonstrate key differences that show that body completes different tasks with many different cell systems and structures. For example, red blood cells are anucleate when mature meaning they have no nucleus and have an open space for hemoglobin. While skeletal muscle cells have most of the basic parts of a normal animal cell with a few special parts like sarcolemma and myofibrils.

3. Neurons like most other cells are surrounded by a cell membrane, have a nucleus that contains genes,  contain cytoplasm, mitochondria and other organelles and carry out basic cellular processes such as protein synthesis and energy production.

However, neurons differ from other cells in the body because they have specialized cell parts called dendrites and axons, they communicate with each other through an electrochemical process and  contain some specialized structures (for example, synapses) and chemicals (for example, neurotransmitters).