So That's Where Their Food Goes...

Week 2 Blog
The day I was most interested in was when we saw observed the digestive system. I saw the liver, stomach, small, large intestines, and so much more.. I had a little knowledge about the digestive system before this, but not even enough to identify or explain the purpose of each organ. For example, I thought the small intestine was just a tube that leads the food down the system. Now I know that the small intestine’s purpose is to absorb nutrients and minerals.
Thursday was the day to observe the nervous system. About a couple months ago, I did research on the nervous system for our project, The Power Within. I’ve learned that the Central Nervous System (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord; which controls the whole body. So this time I wanted to make sure I was one of the student’s dissecting. Our first step was to cut the skin off the scalp and all the way through the sides of the spine. I already knew that the brain and the spine both make up the central nervous system, but I wanted to see how they both connect in the organism.
After cutting the skin off, it was time to crack the pig’s skull so the brain can be exposed. I was the one who had to break the skull with the special tools, the bone cutter and the forceps. Since our pig was really close to being fully development, its skull was harder than that of other groups. I took the bone cutter and applied pressure onto the center of the skull. I notice the tool wasn’t going anywhere, so I put more pressure. Next thing you know, I went through the skull and cut the brain. I was a bit shocked and disappointed because it was our only pig. On the good hand, we got to see other people’s pigs.
Even though I went through the brain, our group still learned a lot from the research we conducted. I learned about the emotions from the brain. The amygdala is the control center of the emotions. ​