Muscle dissection

In this activity, students compare red and white muscle flesh and relate this to muscle function and look at muscle by dissecting a chicken thigh and leg.

Types of muscle tissue

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Muscle tissues differ in structure. Skeletal muscle fibres are packed into regular parallel bundles. Smooth muscle has bundles of thin and thick filaments. Cardiac muscle bundles are branched but connected.

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By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• discuss the colour of muscle and how it is related to muscle function

• locate and describe the various tissues and structures of the leg and thigh of a chicken

• use some of the specialised vocabulary related to anatomy

• discuss some of the similarities between the chicken leg and thigh and the human leg.

Download the Word file (see link below) for:

• introduction/background notes

• what you need

• what to do

• student handout.