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14.2: Sheep Brain Dissection

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    53722
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    Sheep Brain Dissection

    Dissection of sheep brain

    Above: Posterior view of a sheep brain

    Sheep brain dissection images. The dark-colored top of the cortex is called “gray matter.” The inner, lighter layer is called “white matter.” Gray matter gets its color from the dark nuclei of the brain’s cell bodies.The axon of each brain cell reaches out through the brain to make connections with other brain cells. It is through these connections that billions of brain cells relay information to billions of other brain cells creating a communication network that makes thought possible.

    Above: Difference in size and appearance between a human brain and a sheep brain. A slice of the cerebral cortex of the sheep brain is taken to reveal the pattern of gray matter and white matter.

    Studying sheep brains can help us better understand our own brains, yet they remain mysterious. This mass of tissue can somehow take bits of information about life and store them selectively. How are they stored? Where are they stored? We still don’t have all the answers but, as in all great mysteries, we are working hard to figure them out.Dividing the sheep brain in half reveals the leaf-like structure of the cerebellum. It is here, in one of the most primitive parts of the brain that skill memories are initially processed. Your cerebellum then passes information on to basal ganglia, which are responsible for storing skill memories and refining the coordination and sequence of your movements.

    Above: A midsagittal slice of the sheep brain is made to reveal structures within the brain including the cerebellum.

    Dissection of sheep brains is an excellent way to become more familiar with mammalian brain anatomy. As you can see below, sheep brains are considerably smaller than human brains, weighing about ten times less. Even though there are obvious differences, we can observe much of the anatomy present in a human brain by dissecting a sheep brain, which is much more readily available for use in anatomy laboratories.

    third ventricle parietal lobe corpus callosum inferior colliculus cerebellu arbor vitae spinal cord occipital lobe fornix superior colliculus medulla oblongata pons fourth ventricle lateral ventricle frontal lobe thalamus optic chiasma hypothalamus

    Above: Midsagittal section of a sheep brain.


    This page titled 14.2: Sheep Brain Dissection is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rosanna Hartline.

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