Analysis
36. What three traits characterize the pig as a mammal?
Pigs give birth to live offspring, they have a spinal cord, and they have hair.
37. How can you know without dissection whether you are studying a male or a female pig?
You can know without dissection whether you are studying a male or a female fetal pig based on its genitalia.
38. How do the limbs of a pig differ markedly from those of humans?
The limbs of pigs differ markedly from those of humans because pigs are on four legs, while humans are on two, the top portion of each of the four legs of the pig are in close to the body because the pig stands on all fours, pigs' hocks are are not on the ground like us but acts as a part of the pig's leg, pigs have hooves and dewclaws, while humans have fingers and toes, and we have bones that allow us to turn our legs 180 degrees, while pigs do not, and their legs are fused pointing forward.
39. Compare the circulation of the blood in a fetal and an adult pig.
In a fetal pig, there is a hole between the ventricles and the blood that would have gone to the lungs passes through the hole and goes from the right to the left side of the heart. As a result, the blood, instead of going to the
lungs, gets pumped to the body. The blood goes into the aorta where it gets pumped to the placenta. At the placenta, the blood vessels branch off and eventually become capillaries which run next to the cappillaries located in the uterus of the mother. This causes waste products to diffuse from the fetuses blood and into the mother's
blood, and oxygen and nutrients to diffuse into the fetuses blood.
40. Compare the dorsal, ventral, anterior, and posterior regions of a pig and a human.
Since humans walk upright, structures like the anterior and posterior mesenteric arteries slightly different, and are called the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. The ventral area of a pig is similar to the anterior region in a human, and the dorsal area is similar to the posterior region in a human.
Pigs give birth to live offspring, they have a spinal cord, and they have hair.
37. How can you know without dissection whether you are studying a male or a female pig?
You can know without dissection whether you are studying a male or a female fetal pig based on its genitalia.
38. How do the limbs of a pig differ markedly from those of humans?
The limbs of pigs differ markedly from those of humans because pigs are on four legs, while humans are on two, the top portion of each of the four legs of the pig are in close to the body because the pig stands on all fours, pigs' hocks are are not on the ground like us but acts as a part of the pig's leg, pigs have hooves and dewclaws, while humans have fingers and toes, and we have bones that allow us to turn our legs 180 degrees, while pigs do not, and their legs are fused pointing forward.
39. Compare the circulation of the blood in a fetal and an adult pig.
In a fetal pig, there is a hole between the ventricles and the blood that would have gone to the lungs passes through the hole and goes from the right to the left side of the heart. As a result, the blood, instead of going to the
lungs, gets pumped to the body. The blood goes into the aorta where it gets pumped to the placenta. At the placenta, the blood vessels branch off and eventually become capillaries which run next to the cappillaries located in the uterus of the mother. This causes waste products to diffuse from the fetuses blood and into the mother's
blood, and oxygen and nutrients to diffuse into the fetuses blood.
40. Compare the dorsal, ventral, anterior, and posterior regions of a pig and a human.
Since humans walk upright, structures like the anterior and posterior mesenteric arteries slightly different, and are called the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. The ventral area of a pig is similar to the anterior region in a human, and the dorsal area is similar to the posterior region in a human.