Biology students close off the year with a dissection
To end off the year, Biology students are putting their knowledge to the test with a rat dissection. The dissection allows for students to see what they have learned about body systems in real life.
May 17, 2023
Blood.
Rat organs.
This is how biology students are spending their last days of the 2022-2023 school year: dissecting a rat to conclude their study of body systems and tie together all they have learned this year.
“The dissection connects to what we have learned because we have so far studied cells, that will make tissues, and then organs and then organ systems,” biology teacher Deana Cowger said via email. “Students will get to see the organs of the rat and the systems.”
The dissection provides an opportunity for students to apply the concepts they’ve been learning in class throughout the past few weeks, like the function of body systems, to a real-world scenario.
“I’m hoping to have a more clear understanding of how different animals and organisms are made up and the anatomy of it,” freshman Shriya Satish said.
As students conclude their exploration of the interactions of various body systems in the human body, this dissection allows students to put together all they have learned this year.
“A rat makes a great specimen to exam the major body systems and most of what students learn and see is similar to that of a human and other mammals,” Cowger said.
For many students, studying the various body systems and their interactions, along with the various other concepts students explored this year in biology, has deeply impacted their perspective on their body and its many complexities, even outside of the dissection.
“It definitely has changed the way I think that my body functions and makes me think more about what I put into my body and how exactly what I put into my body affects it,” freshman Zaara Ahmed said.
And for many others, their study of the various concepts in biology has allowed them to foster a deeper appreciation for life as a whole.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m more appreciative of life,” Satish said. “I now have a deeper understanding of the complexities of everything that’s going around and even abiotic aspects of the environment and how everything interacts to create a cohesive ecosystem,” Satish said.
