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.

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Types of muscle tissue

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.

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.