the respiratory system
Pluck demonstration
Image of the organs involved in the Pluck dissection
In order to develop a mental and physical understanding of the process involved with the respiratory system the class was involved in a pluck demonstration. The pluck demonstration or dissection involved the heart, trachea, liver, lungs and gall bladder in their original composition but removed from the body of a baby sheep. To begin with, we identified the organs and felt the different textures of each one. The lungs were a soft, spongy texture and very fluid and flimsy. The heart was very dense, thick, muscular and rigid and the liver was slimy, thick and a medium toughness. The trachea was a very stiff cartilage tube. The most accurate way to describe it would be to refer to a slinky in a thin 'easy crush' plastic water bottle. There was also a distinct visual that the liver was the largest organ.
It was clear of all of the holes and branching of the bronchi on the lungs. When they were filled with a tube connected to a bike pump, pumping air into the lung we saw the lungs inflate to become larger and change colour as they became oxygenated and filled with air. They started off as a pink colour but when they were inflated they turned a pale white pink colour. The lungs made wheezing noises as part of it had been slashed as a result of it being screened for health defects and they also deflated really quickly because they had many holes in them. Because the lungs were sliced we had to pump the lungs up through various bronchioles rather than the bronchi, meaning that only sectors of the lung were inflated contrary to the whole lung being pumped up.
The pluck demo was a very worthwhile experiment and did broaden the foundation of knowledge we had established from previous classes.
It was clear of all of the holes and branching of the bronchi on the lungs. When they were filled with a tube connected to a bike pump, pumping air into the lung we saw the lungs inflate to become larger and change colour as they became oxygenated and filled with air. They started off as a pink colour but when they were inflated they turned a pale white pink colour. The lungs made wheezing noises as part of it had been slashed as a result of it being screened for health defects and they also deflated really quickly because they had many holes in them. Because the lungs were sliced we had to pump the lungs up through various bronchioles rather than the bronchi, meaning that only sectors of the lung were inflated contrary to the whole lung being pumped up.
The pluck demo was a very worthwhile experiment and did broaden the foundation of knowledge we had established from previous classes.