On January 15, Mrs. Sinopoli’s Anatomy & Physiology students participated in a hands-on lab where they dissected and studied a sheep brain. The purpose of the dissection was for the students to visually and physically see what a brain looks like. It was a great way to put what they have been learning into practice while learning about the nervous system. Students were instructed to separate the hemispheres of the brain and then look at all of the different parts of the brain. The reasoning behind using a sheep brain specifically is that anatomically speaking they are the closest animal brain to a human brain.
Sophomore, Koa Binder was very excited for this lab as she has always found dissections interesting and she had been looking forward to it since the beginning of the year. She explained, “The only thing I did not like was the smell of the fluids it was being kept in.” However, she said it did not affect her too much since it was not strong. She explains that she would do it again and is excited about the other dissection opportunities provided in Anatomy & Physiology. Because she was able to physically see the parts of the brain we were learning about, she found it was a great learning experience and allowed her to feel involved and grasp a better understanding of the subject. Other students, who unfortunately missed the dissection, such as Junior Allie Houck, were very disappointed as they were extremely excited about the dissection and the entire learning experience.
