Essay Sample on Similarities and Differences Between a Sheep and a Fetal Pig Heart

Introduction

Both the sheep heart and the fetal pig heart have four main chambers which include right and left atria; left and right ventricle. They also both have all of the main vessels including the aorta, pulmonary veins, pulmonary arteries, superior and inferior vena cava. The two hearts do not have much fat. The muscular mass in their right and left ventricles are same while their left ventricles are having thick muscles and bigger myocardium. Differences include: in fetal pig heart, the vessels are more prominent compared to sheep. The size, thickness, and diameter of the aorta, atria, ventricles, and outer wall of the heart of the fetal pig are bigger as compared to those of the sheep. The pulmonary trunk of the sheep heart is larger than that of the pig.

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Four Valves of the Heart, Location, and Function

They include a tricuspid valve which is found between the right ventricle and the right atrium, and its function involves preventing blood to flow back to the ventricle when pumped to the atrium. Mitral valve is located between the left ventricle, and the left atrium allows blood to pass to the lower left side when coming from the upper left side. The pulmonary valve is found between the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle, and it helps in allowing blood flow to the lungs when pumped by the heart by opening up. Finally is the aortic valve which is located between the aorta and the left ventricle which allows blood flow from the heart into the aorta.

Similarities and Differences Between the Left and the Right Sides of the Heart

The similarities include; both sides have two chambers, lower ventricle and upper atria. Both have cardiac muscles the involuntarily contract to allow the pumping of blood. They also both have valves that prevent blood regurgitation. The two sides as well have a segment of the mutual muscular, atrioventricular septum which separates them. The differences of the left and right sides of the heart include; the left side operates at a higher level than the right side. The left side can drive systemic pressure circuit longer and highly while the pressure pulmonary circulation of the right side is short and low. The left side has a thicker wall than the right side. As left side circulate oxygenated blood, the right side circulates deoxygenated blood.

The Structure of the Atrioventricular Valves and the Semilunar Valves

The structure of atrioventricular valves appears like pockets while that of semilunar valves look like half-moons. The right atrioventricular valve, the tricuspid valve has three cusps that are attached to the papillary muscles by chordae tendinease. Whenever the pressure gets high enough in the ventricle, the pulmonary semilunar valve opens and closes when pressure when the pressure in the pulmonary trunk gets higher than in right ventricle.

The Appearance of Papillary Muscles

The papillary muscles refer to the small-sized muscles within the heart that are attached to the chordae tendineae. These muscles appear like tough strings when looked in the specimen of the sheep heart. The path that blood takes starting in the right atrium and ending in the superior/inferior vena cava.

Blood starts in the right atrium where it is pushed into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve and then sent into pulmonary artery through pulmonic valve towards the lungs. The oxygen-rich blood from the lungs enters the left atrium and flows into the left ventricle through the mitral valve before being pushed into the aorta past the aortic valve and gets out to the body.

Comparing the Structure of the Trachea to the Structure of the Esophagus

The trachea is surrounded by the cartilage which is hard "ring" shaped to allow it to facilitate continuous gas exchange by helping to keep it open. Both the cervical and thoracic define the trachea. Elsewhere, the esophagus structure is more flexible so that liquids and foods could move freely. Unlike trachea, cervical, thoracic, and abdominal parts define esophagus. The esophagus as well runs from the pharynx lower side to the stomach through the cardiac opening with constrictions at the place it originates.

The Structures of the Respiratory System (I.E., Trachea, Bronchi, and Lungs) Relate to Their Functions.

The bronchi, trachea, and lungs were observed in the fetal pig. The trachea appeared rigid hollow tube with some small but hard rings around it. These are the cartilage surrounding the trachea to make sure it remains upright and patent to allow the exchange of gas. The lungs appear in a pair and are cone-shaped taking up much of the space. They are involved in taking oxygen into the body of the fetal pig. The bronchi appear as hollow tubes with cartilage rings, and their function involves carrying the air to the lungs.

The Texture of The Lungs

The texture of the fetal pig lung is like of any other animal made up of smooth muscles. Its texture is spongy, smooth but is firm. Since the pig is fetal, whenever the lungs are used, they are inflated outside the womb.

Similarities and Differences Between the Left Lung and the Right Lung

The similarities include that both the left and right lungs are divided into lobes. The two lungs, right and left both have segments which are the gross functional units. Both the lungs have bronchi. The differences include; The right lung has one lobe while the left one has two. While the left lung is long and narrow, the right lung is short and wider. The left lung has one bronchus while the right one has two bronchi.

The Structure of the Fetal Pig Kidneys and the Structure of the Sheep Kidneys

The sheep kidneys are lighter in colour and are outside the renal medulla while in fetal pig the colour is deeper. The renal pelvis of sheep is fattier than those of fetal pig. Also, the renal capsule in sheep has a thicker texture than in fetal pig. Both the two kidneys have renal artery and renal vein and ureter attachment section. Both are bean-shaped and reddish-brown coloured.

Location of Kidneys in Fetal Pig

Fetal pig has two kidneys that are bean-shaped found on either side of the spine. The peritoneal membrane covered the kidneys and located retroperitoneally. The path that urine takes to exit the body starting from the kidneys, From the kidneys, urine is conducted through ureters which connect the kidneys to the bladder which is a storage chamber. From the bladder, the urine goes through the urethra by passing an internal sphincter before it is expelled outside the body.

The Endocrine Organs Located in the Throat Region

The thyroid gland and thymus are the endocrine glands in the throat region. The thyroid is found above the trachea and oval in shape in fetal pig and has a brown appearance. It helps to maintain the basic metabolic rate as well as the production of hormone thyroxine. On another hand, thymus gland is above the heart in fetal pig which is responsible for T-Cells' development and storage. Has two lobes in fetal pig and whitish.

Three Endocrine Organs Located in the Abdominal or Pelvic Cavities

These include the adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, and testicles. The pancreas is small in size with small pebbles and located behind the stomach are grey and whitish. The adrenal glands are in the anterior of the kidneys and much smaller in the fetal pig with an oval shape. The testicles are in the pelvic region near the anus and surrounded by the scrotum.

Major Digestive Organs

These include the esophagus, small intestine, stomach, and large intestine. The esophagus is located at the back of trachea and small in size, flexible tube and flat which connects to the stomach. The stomach has reggae lined around it. The pyloric sphincter below the stomach prevents back flow of food to the stomach. It leads to the small intestine which was pink in colour and smooth on its outside. The large intestine is dark in colour.