Overview of Unit 6

The gross anatomy of the alimentary tract will be considered in three sections. The details are as follows:

Section 1: Alimentary Structures of the Head

Section 2: Lower Alimentary Tract of the Carnivore

Section 3: Lower Alimentary Tract of the Ungulates

The lab content is complemented by lecture presentations.  Prosections of wet and dry models will provide a substantial amount of the learning resources. Limited dissection of the cadavers is necessary to observe and identify the alimentary tract gross anatomy.  Ungulate cadaver prosections and wet and dry models will be utilized to learn comparative anatomy.

How to use this guide

To facilitate efficient dissection progress, the lab guide is generally organized into carnivore dissection sections, with ungulate comparative anatomy at the end of each section. Appendices contain helpful details to support greater understanding.  A terms list concludes labs and/or a section of material, and you should use these lists as your study guide. For quick reference, the Resource Summary page should include links to all review videos.

Pay close attention to clinical relevance information in magenta text boxes to help connect the lab content to what is discussed in lecture. Content in blue text boxes contains dissection instructions, while content in green text boxes indicates observation required only and states the structures that should be identified following successful dissection.

Where relevant, we have tried to follow dissection instructions with dissection photos. These photos may be clicked to enlarge, and Pressbooks will return you to your place in the guide when you use the back button. If photos are unsourced in the guide, you may assume that they were taken by the NCSU Anatomy Team and labeled for your use.