Removal of the Heart and Lungs

2/12/15

Focus of Procedure: Remove the heart, lungs and trachea from the cat's body.

Materials Needed: scalpel, tweezers, and plastic bag,

Procedure: Part One- Removing the Heart, lungs and trachea.
1) Using a scalpel, make a vertical incision going down the center of the chest, from the sternum to the end of the ribs. This incision may be slightly off center in order to remove the sternum easier.
2) Once this incision is made, remove the sternum, but do not cut into the diaphragm, which is directly inferior the lungs and ribs. Take pictures of the sternum once it is removed from the cat's body.
3) Now that the sternum is removed, make a vertical, off centered incision that goes up the neck of the cat. Make this incision deep enough to allow you to view the trachea. Be careful not to sever the trachea. Take a picture of the trachea, larynx, epiglottis and thyroid glands. The larynx is superior the trachea and the epiglottis is superior the larynx. The thyroid glands are located on either side of the trachea, inferior the larynx and epiglottis.
4) Using your scalpel (and tweezers if necessary), begin to disconnect the trachea, allowing you to remove it from the neck of the cat. Try to keep the larynx and epiglottis intact (located superior the trachea) for labeling purposes.
5) Begin to make a deeper vertical cut down the cat's ribs and attempt to pull the ribs apart, allowing you a clear view of the heart and lungs. Take pictures of the location of the heart, lungs and diaphragm inside the cat. Also take a picture of the thymus, which is located superior the heart to the right.
6) Once the ribs are moved away from the heart and lungs, carefully detach the back of the lungs from the wall of the chest. Be sure to leave the heart connected to the lungs and do not sever any part of the lungs, heart or trachea.
7) Continue to pull the ribs apart and use your scalpel and tweezers to cautiously remove the heart, lungs and trachea. If necessary, break the ribs in order to disconnect the lungs from the chest wall.
8) Once the lungs are disconnected from the chest wall, make an incision at the bottom of the lungs, detaching the lungs from the front of the diaphragm.
9) The lungs, heart and trachea should be completely detached from the cat's body and able to be entirely removed.
10) Take pictures of the epiglottis, larynx, trachea, thyroid glands ( if still intact), thymus (if still intact), heart and lungs outside of the cat's body.
11) Place the lungs, heart and trachea into a large plastic bag when done taking pictures.

Data and Observations: Removing the trachea, heart and lungs from the chest was harder than expected. I had no difficulty removing the trachea but, I had to crack most of the ribs in order to reach the sides of the lungs and remove them. At first I was not sure what I was doing and was afraid to make an incision on the cat because I did not want to make a mistake. Once I figured out how to remove the organs, everything was easy. I really enjoyed observing these organs, especially the trachea! Observing a trachea up close was a very cool experience and observing the lungs and heart was also very interesting! This has been my favorite unit so far and I am excited to further dissect the lungs and heart in the future. Pictures and data are shown below.