Lizard Dissection

Students dissect a garden lizard to examine reptilian anatomy and major systems. The activity emphasizes circulation, venous and arterial pathways, cranial nerves and brain, and the urinogenital system, linking structure to function in a terrestrial ectotherm.

• Follow instructions provided in the links below.

Anole Lizard Dissection || Take Me To Your Lizard [EDU] - Silvergrass Institute:

Dissecting a Mummified Lizard - MyLameAnimations:

📄 Dissection of Garden Lizard (With Diagram) - Biology Discussion: https://www.biologydiscussion.com/zoology/dissection/dissection-of-garden-lizard-with-diagram-zoology/45189

• Consider doing a virtual dissection instead.
• Focused vascular study: inject diluted dye into the ventricle to visualize arterial branches in situ.
• Comparative lab: contrast the lizard heart and great vessels with those of a frog or a bird to highlight evolutionary changes.

• Wear gloves and a lab coat at all times.
• Use scissors for most cuts and keep blades shallow to protect underlying organs.
• Treat all tissues and fluids as biohazard; follow local disposal rules for biological waste.
• Stabilize the specimen with pins to prevent tool slips; cut away from hands and partners.
• Do not perform euthanasia in class; use ethically sourced, properly preserved specimens.
• Disinfect instruments, trays, and benches after the lab; wash hands thoroughly.

* What is the role of the sinus venosus in reptiles and where does it deliver blood? (It collects systemic venous blood and empties into the right atrium.)

• How does a three-chambered heart affect blood separation compared with a four-chambered mammalian heart? (Some mixing can occur in the ventricle, making separation less complete than in mammals.)
• What is the functional significance of the renal portal system in lizards? (It routes blood from the tail and hindlimbs through the kidneys before returning to the heart, aiding waste removal.)
• Which arteries primarily supply the head and the forelimbs, and from which trunks do they arise? (Carotids supply the head; subclavians supply forelimbs; both arise from the systemic trunks.)
• How do the male and female urinogenital tracts differ at their cloacal connections? (Males have a short shared urinogenital passage where vas deferens joins the ureter; females have ureters and paired oviducts opening separately into the cloaca.)
• Which cranial nerve provides major parasympathetic input to thoracic and abdominal organs in the lizard? (The vagus nerve.)