L a b To p i c 2 2

Vertebrate Anatomy I:
The Skin and Digestive System

Overview of Vertebrate Anatomy Labs

(Lab Topics 22, 23, and 24)

In Lab Topics 18 and 19, Animal Diversity I and II, you investigated several
major themes in biology as illustrated by biodiversity in the animal king-
dom. One of these themes is the relationship between form and function in
organ systems. In this and the following two lab topics, you will continue to
expand your understanding of this theme as you investigate the relationship
between form, or structure, and function in vertebrate organ systems. For
these investigations, you will be asked to view prepared slides and isolated
adult vertebrate organs, and to dissect a representative vertebrate, the fetal
pig. The purpose of these investigations is not to complete a comprehensive
study of vertebrate morphology but rather to use several select vertebrate
systems to analyze critically the relationship between form and function.
You will explore the listed concepts in the designated exercises.
1. The specialization of cells into tissues with specific functions makes
possible the development of functional units, or organs (Exercise 22.1,
Histology of the Skin).
2. Multicellular heterotrophic organisms must obtain and process food
for body maintenance, growth, and repair (Exercise 22.3, The Digestive
System in the Fetal Pig).
3. Because of their size, complexity, and level of activity, vertebrates
­require a complex system to transport nutrients and oxygen to body
­tissues and to remove waste from all body tissues (Exercise 23.1,
Glands and Respiratory Structures of the Neck and Thoracic Cavity;
­Exercise 23.2, The Heart and the Pulmonary Blood Circuit;
­Exercise 24.1, The Excretory System).
4. Reproduction is the ultimate objective of all metabolic processes.
Sexual reproduction involves the production of two different gametes,
the bringing together of the gametes for fertilization, and limited or
extensive care of the new individual (Exercise 24.2, The Reproductive
System).
5. Complex animals with many organ systems must coordinate the activi-
ties of the diverse parts. Coordination is influenced by the endocrine
and nervous systems. Integration via the endocrine system is generally
slower and more prolonged than that produced by the nervous system,
which may receive stimuli, process information, and elicit a response
very quickly (Exercise 24.3, Nervous Tissue, the Reflex Arc, and the
Vertebrate Eye).
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 612 Lab Topic 22 Vertebrate Anatomy I: The Skin and Digestive System

Laboratory Objectives
After completing this lab topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe the four main categories of tissues and give examples of each.
2. Identify tissues and structures in mammalian skin.
3. Describe the function of skin. Describe how the morphology of skin
makes possible its functions.
4. Identify structures in the fetal pig digestive system.
5. Describe the role played by each digestive structure in the digestion and
processing of food.
6. Relate tissue types to organ anatomy.
7. Apply knowledge and understanding acquired in this lab to problems in
human physiology.
8. Apply knowledge and understanding acquired in this lab to explain
­organismal adaptive strategies.

Introduction
All animals are composed of tissues, groups of cells that are similar in
structure and that perform a common function. During the embryonic
development of most animals, the body is composed of three tissue layers:
ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. (Recall from Lab Topic 18, Animal
Diversity I, that animals in the phylum Porifera lack true tissue organization
and that animals in the phylum Cnidaria have only two tissue layers—
ectoderm and endoderm.) It is from these embryonic tissue layers that all
other body tissues develop. There are four main categories of tissues: epi-
thelium, connective tissue, muscle, and nervous tissue. Organs are formed
from these tissues, and usually all four will be found in a single organ.
Tissues are composed of cells and extracellular substances. The extracel-
lular substances are secreted by the cells. Epithelial tissue has cells in close
aggregates with little extracellular substance (see Figure 22.1). These cells
may be in one continuous layer, or they may be in multiple layers. They
generally cover or line an external or internal surface of an organ or cavity.
If formed from single layers of cells, the epithelium is called simple. If cells
are in multiple layers, the epithelium is called stratified. If epithelial cells
are flat, they are called squamous. If they are cube-shaped, they are called
cuboidal. Tall, prismatic cells are called columnar. Thus, epithelium can be
stratified squamous (as in skin), simple cuboidal (as in kidney tubules), or
other combinations of characteristics. Epithelial layers may be derived from
embryonic ectoderm, mesoderm, or endoderm.
In connective tissue, cells are widely scattered in an extracellular matrix
consisting of a web of fibers and an amorphous foundation that may be
solid, gelatinous, or liquid (Figure 22.2). Loose connective tissue binds
together tissues and organs and helps hold organs in place. Fibers in this
tissue are loosely woven in a liquid matrix. Adipose tissue, another con-
nective tissue, consists of adipose cells with fibers in a soft, liquid extracel-
lular matrix. Adipose cells store droplets of fat, causing the cells to swell
and pushing the nuclei to one side. Bone and cartilage are specialized
connective tissues found in the skeleton characterized by cells embedded in,

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 Lab Topic 22 Vertebrate Anatomy I: The Skin and Digestive System 613

Epithelial tissue

Simple
squamous
epithelial
cell

a. Simple squamous

Simple
cuboidal
epithelial
cell

Connective
tissue
b. Simple cuboidal

Connective
tissue

Simple
columnar
epithelial
cell
c. Simple columnar

Stratified
squamous
epithelium

d. Stratified squamous

FIGURE 22.1
Epithelial tissue. Epithelial tissue has closely packed cells with little extracellular
matrix. Cells may be (a) squamous (flat), (b) cuboidal (cube-shaped), or
(c) columnar (elongated). They may be simple (in single layers) or (d) stratified
(in multiple layers).

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 614 Lab Topic 22 Vertebrate Anatomy I: The Skin and Digestive System

Connective tissue

Fiber
Cell
a. Loose connective tissue
Matrix

Nucleus of
adipose cell
Fat globule

b. Adipose tissue
Cytoplasm
of adipose cell

Osteocytes

Hard matrix
c. Bone

Gelatinous
matrix
d. Cartilage

Chondrocytes

Platelet

Erythrocyte

e. Blood
Leukocytes

Liquid matrix

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 Lab Topic 22 Vertebrate Anatomy I: The Skin and Digestive System 615

Muscle tissue
Muscle
fiber

a. Skeletal muscle

Nuclei

Nucleus

b. Cardiac muscle

Intercalated
discs

Smooth
muscle
cell

c. Smooth muscle

Nuclei

FIGURE 22.2 (at left) FIGURE 22.3 (above)

Connective tissue. (a) In loose connective tissue, cells are embedded in a liquid Muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is either
fibrous matrix. (b) Adipose tissue stores fat droplets in adipose cells. (c) In bone, striated or smooth. (a) Skeletal muscle
cells are embedded in a solid fibrous matrix. (d) In cartilage, cells are embedded in a is striated. (b) Cardiac muscle is also
gelatinous fibrous matrix. (e) In blood, cells are embedded in a liquid matrix. striated. (c) Smooth, or visceral, muscle
is not striated.
respectively, a hard or a gelatinous extracellular matrix. In bone the matrix
is ­secreted by cells called osteocytes. The matrix in cartilage is secreted by
cells called chondrocytes. Blood is a connective tissue consisting of cel-
lular components called erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white
blood cells), and platelets (cell fragments) in a liquid matrix called plasma.
Other connective tissues fill the spaces between various tissues, bind-
ing them together or performing other functions. Connective tissues are
­derived from the embryonic tissue layer, mesoderm.
Muscle tissue may be striated, showing a pattern of alternating light and
dark bands, or smooth, showing no banding pattern (Figure 22.3). There
are two types of striated muscle, skeletal and cardiac. Skeletal muscle
moves the skeleton and the diaphragm and is made of muscle fibers formed
by the end-to-end fusion of several cells, creating fibers with multiple ­nuclei.

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