The James Logan Courier

By Zohal Sharif, Courier Staff Writer

Many species that are used for dissection include cats, mice, rats, frogs, worms, dogs, rabbits, fetal pigs and fish. Some animals come from breeding facilities that cater to institutions and business that use animals in experiments, and other animals are caught in the wild. Some animals are also stolen or abandoned companion animals.

Frogs are the most commonly dissected animals below the university level. The frog dissection has been used all over the schools in the US and other countries. By moral reasons some students or their parents are against it. Some cases go as far as an A student received a C refusing to preform the task. Why a frog? Some reason are: it is small, it is easily found, it is not cute or used as a pet, and they have about the same organs as a human’s body.

Fortunately, James Logan has dissection alternatives because ecology and biology teacher, Michelle Galaria, was awarded Animalearn’s Humane Educator of the year on October 15th. With this honor, $1,000 was donated for dissection alternative tools, such as a synthetic frog dissection model. This model provides a highly sensible experience of dissecting a frog, that saves frogs and prevents trauma towards students. Read more about Galaria’s accomplishment on our webite.

Each animal who is cut open and discarded represents not only a life lost, but also a trail of animal abuse and environmental havoc.

Biology teacher, Paul Bisbiglia, could agree with that said, after sharing his personal experience dissecting a frog. “In high school, we dissected alive frogs. My teacher stuck a dissecting needle in their brain, and the heart was still beating. We had to drop chemicals into the frog’s heart to see the reactions they’d get. The image of a careless depose of life has stayed in my memory for about 45 years. Since the education code says we have to give students opportunities to dissection, we have better alternatives to teach students about the insides of an animal’s body, such as virtual dissection.”

Bisbiglia is correct, nowadays there are many very well designed virtual dissections not only of frogs, but all kind of animals, even big mammals. One can interact, and learn by themselves.

There are plenty who object using the actual frog dissection and prefer the virtual version better.

Katherine Pham, freshmen, said, “It’s sickening for us to get away with murder like that. I’m sure there are thousands virtual dissection programs out there. Those poor frogs.”

Abby Villa, freshmen, said, “It’s wrong because it’s animal cruelty. Virtual dissection is beyond better.”

Jessica Nicholson, freshmen, said, “We should not do any of this, it teaches us what we already know. There’s no point on wasting a life.”


If you are interested in sophisticated alternatives to dissection, check some of these out:

-The Digital Frog is a fully interactive CD-ROM that allows students to explore the frog through three seamlessly linked modules--dissection, anatomy, and ecology.

- Body Works offers a fascinating computer program that explore the body’s systems, structure, and functions.