Aim
The aim is to compare the integumentary systems and the digestive systems of a rat to that of a cane toad.
Introduction
The Integumentary system is defined by Adam.com, Inc. as an extensive system compromising of skin, hair, nails along with sweat and sebaceous glands. It also includes specialized nerve receptors which alert us to changes around us such as touch, cold, heat, pain, and pressure. These organs help in the way that they protect internal structures, protects against entry of diseases, temperature regulation and excretion through perspiration (2001). The integumentary system then becomes more specific within the different classes of vertebrates. This is proven when the integumentary system of a rat and a cane toad are compared. A rat is a mammal and therefore has many features common to all mammalian. Cane toads, however, are amphibians and so there are many differences to a rat. A rat’s body has a thick covering of hair which is unique to mammals. This provides insulation, vital for maintaining a constant internal body temperature. A cane toad, being an amphibian, has no hair on its body. There are some similarities in the skin though. Both their skins are made up of two layers, the epidermis and the dermis, though this is a far as parallels go. Augusta State University says that the epidermis of a cane toad is lined with a layer of dead cells (2006). This aids the animal by decreasing the amount of water lost through the skin. The dermis in most amphibians is very rich in capillaries because they breathe through their skin. The blood vessels must be near the skin for effective diffusion between the oxygen in the air to the blood. For the rat, the epidermis is the upper layer and protects the animal from t...
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...The caecum inside the rat was well developed and large compared to the toad. The rat’s caecum was connected to the digestive system between the small and large intestines and extended up to behind the stomach. The toad’s caecum was a lot shorter. The large intestine in both animals was rather similar. The colon was connected to the small intestine and had a much larger diameter but wasn’t as long. In both animals the large intestine was grey in colour though the toad’s colon had a pink tinge. The rectum then joined on to the colon. The rectum was a lot shorter but was even wider in diameter. It was also a darker grey. This grey would be caused by the faeces inside the colon and rectum.
Overall, though the integumentary system of a rat and toad had a great number of differences, the digestive system of both animals had many parallels despite some minor variances.
The main similarity between minks and humans in the digestive system is that they both serv...
The integumentary system has five main functions. The five main functions of the integumentary system are protection, regulation, sensation, absorption, and secretion. It consists of the hair, nails, skin, sebaceous and sweat glands. The largest organ of the entire body is the skin. The skin consists of three different layers. The epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous layer, these are the three layers of the skin. There is a layer that is deeper than the skin and contains body fat, that layer is called the hypodermis. Sweat glands are also called sudoriferous glands. One of the functions of the skin is to maintain homeostasis. Synthesis of vitamin D, excretion of urea, excretion of salts and water are a few things that the skin is also capable of. The top layer of the skin is called the epidermis. The epidermis contains five different layers. These layers are the stratum corneum, the stratum lucidum, the stratum spinosum, and the stratum basale. In the epidermis there are four different cell types. The keratinocytes which produce keratin, the merkel cells that are sensitive to touch, the langerhans cells which is a dendritic type off cell, and the melanocytes which produce melanin.
The integumentary system is composed of the skin and the structures related to the skin, which include the hair, the finger nails, the sensory receptors and the glands (Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2009). This system has an important function since it provides protection to the body, helps to maintain body temperature, and contains sensory receptors (p.117). The skin has essential function such as regulating homeostasis and body temperature, also delaying the loss of water from deeper tissues, storing sensory receptor, synthesizing biomechanical, and discharging waste from the body (p.117). The skin has two layers: the epidermis (outer layer) and the dermis (inner layer) (p.117). There is also a subcutaneous layer or hypodermis (p.117). According to Shier, Butler, and Lewis 2009 “as its name indicates, this layer is beneath the skin and not a true layer of the skin” (p.117). This layer has the blood vessels that supply the skin (p.117).
The hindgut fermenter has a similar digestive system to that of a carnivore, but the hindgut fermenter has to digest large amounts of fibre. This means its digestive track is longer. The carnivore and hindgut fermenter have different teeth; the hindgut fermenter diastema (a space behind the canine and incisor
“The skin of amphibians is water permeable, well supplied with glands, and often colorful, with the colors and patterns of many salamanders and anurans rivaling those of brightly colored birds. It performs many functions. It protects against abrasion and pathogens, serves as a respiratory membrane, perhaps marginally so in caecilians, absorbs and releases water, provides some dry-land species during droughts with a water-loss-resistant cocoon, and through color change (in some species) a...
The hindgut fermenter has a very similar digestive system to the carnivore but the hindgut fermenter has to digested large amounts of fibre and difficult to digest components. The hindgut fermenter is enlarged compared to the carnivores
The digestive system of the horse consists of a simple stomach, small intestines, cecum, large and small colons, rectum and anus. The horse’s stomach is comparatively small for its size. The stomach of an average horse has a holding capacity of about two gallons. This may be the reason horses eat small but frequent meals. From the stomach food moves to the small intestine, which is the main site of digestion. The small intestine empties into the cecum. The cecum; along with the large colon; make up the large intestine. Digestion in the large intestine occurs by action of bacteria and protozoa. (arg.gov.sk.ca)
The digestive system process begins at the mouth and finishes at the anus. This system includes the mouth→ pharynx→ salivary glands→ larynx→ oesophagus→ stomach→ liver→ pancreas→ duodenum→ small intestine→ large intestine→ rectum→ anus.
The organs of the digestive system are in two different groups. One is the alimentary canal known by as the gastrointestinal tract. It is a muscular tube that digests the food and breaks it down and absorbs the digested fragments in the lining of the blood. The organs in the gastrointestinal tract are the mouth which the food comes into the body and out of the body by peristalsis. The pharynx called the throat which receives the food; this is where swallowing occurs, while the esophagus transports the food to the stomach. The esophagus is a muscular tube that food is pushed into by contractions caused by peristalsis. Also food is kept in the stomach by the esophageal sphincter (LES), which opens to let food pass into the stomach and closes to keep it there. Now the stomach it is the storage system and grinder of the digestive system. It secretes acids and enzymes that break down the food. Those that cannot be broken down are passed through the small intestine to be taken care of. The small intestine is made up of three sections the duodenum responsible for the breakdown of the food, jejunum, and ileum which are responsible for the absorption of food; it also has enzymes that also break down food released by the pancreas and liver. The large intestine is where the waste goes to the anus. The accessory digestive organs are the teeth, tongue, gallbladder, salivary glands, pancreas, and liver. The teeth help to chew the food while the tongue helps to reposition the food to teeth to be chewed. The salivary glands are associated with the section of saliva which cleans the mouth, dissolves food chemicals to be tasted, moisten foods, and enzymes to break down starchy food. The pancreas, liver, gallbladder are responsible for the secretio...
http://kidshealth.org/kid/cancer_center/HTBW/digestive_system.html ( I didnt copy direct quotes, however I had used the idea of the beginning in my research on the digestive system to help the reader better understand the system)
The human digestion system is very complex. It starts with the mouth, salivary glands, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, small intestine, large intestine, then ends/exits with the anus. Each step is essential to the whole system. For example, the mouth chews food and mixes it with saliva produced by the salivary glands, and then the pharynx swallows chewed food mixed with saliva, this is followed by the food traveling through the esophagus to the stomach where the food gets a bath and mixes with acids and enzymes. After the stomach, the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder produce, stores, and releases bile and bicarbonates. Bile is produced in the liver and aids in digestion and absorption of fat while the gallbladder stores bile and releases it into the small intestine when needed. Following the process into the small intestine, this is where nutrients will be absorbed into the blood or lymph (most digestion occurs here). Next is the large intestine this is where water and some vitamins and minerals are absorbed. Finally, it is the end of the road, the anus. At...
The frog’s back is usually textured with coarse tubercles. Its fingers are thinly webbed while the hind foot is more developed. Large disks exist on the fingers and toes to assist with climbing and sticking to objects (Dickerson, 1969). The male and female Grey Tree Frogs are very similar. They are distinguished by the male having a dark underside of his throat. Also the females ears are smaller then the males (Dickerson, 1969).
Compare and /or contrast the anatomy of the White Rat with that one of the Human body.
Describe the process of food digestion within the gastrointestinal tract. In your answer, make sure to address the following questions: (19 marks total)
The digestive system is a very important system in the human body. It is a group of organs that work together to turn food into energy and nutrients in the entire body. The food that was chewed in a humans’ mouth now passes through a long tube that is inside of the body that is known as the alimentary canal. The alimentary canal is made of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. Those few things are not the only important accessories of the digestive system there is also the teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.