LEAP YEAR

This picture is not Jeremiah, it's of Jill, his girfriend. About one inch to the right of my thumb, you can see a purpleish ball. That is the spleen. The spleen is critical in embryos (humans too) as it maked the red blood cells for bone,etc. Without it, an embryo will not survive. However, many people have their spleen removed due to traumatic abdominal injuries. How can this be? Well, as we mature, the spleen then serves as a blood resevoir for the liver. One more thing: the two, pinkish bean-shaped organs are the what make "Jill" a female. These are her ovaries.

This is "Jill" again. You can see the black eggs at the bottom of the picture. I chose to use Jill for this picture because her gall bladder was in tact. My purple gloved fingers are holding back the lobes of the liver. Seated right in the midst of the liver is a whiteish-yellow shiny ball. That is the gallbladder. It is filled with bile (poison) that is secreted from the liver. To the right of that you see the stomach, the intestines and the darkest brown spots are the kidneys.

Here's Jeremiah! Isn't he adorable? Obviously, he is still smiling and has not gotten the news about "Jill's" demise.

Here's me & Jeremiah. Would you look at the size of this frog!

As we hop from February to March with the LEAP YEAR, I thought it would be a fitting time to post my frog dissection. I'm pleased to introduce "Jeremiah the Bullfrog" and his girlfriend "Jill". As I mentioned before, he is so big, he barely fit into a gallon ziploc bag! He really is cute; one picture looks like he is smiling for the camera. And no, he was not alive in that picture. I wouldn't have the heart to hurt a living thing. At the end of the month, I have an opportunity to dissect a human cadaver. I'll spare you the postings of that event! So without further delay, meet Jeremiah and Jill!