Sheep Brain Dissection

During our lab, we had the opportunity to open up a sheep's brain. First, we cut open the cerebrum longitudinally in order to see the different sections of the brain including the thalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, the corpus callosum, etc. The different sections of the brain are labeled below with colored pins. Some of the printed colors of pins are crossed out and replaced with other colors due to the limited colors of pins available for our lab.



Furthermore we were able to see the difference between the white matter and the grey matter in the brain. Grey matter is darker than the white tissue and contains nerve cell bodies and dendrites which in turn help with functions like sensory perception (sight, smell) and memory. White matter contains myelinated nerve projections and carry nerve impulses throughout the brain with myelin acting as an insulator that speeds up the transmission of such messages.


Sheep's Brain

The Cerebrum, the largest part of the brain, encompasses the four lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and the temporal lobe. The cerebrum also helps control the voluntary functions of the body, perception, and helps process visual and auditory information, and other sensory input. The cerebellum, located at the back of the cerebrum, helps control muscle movement, balance, coordination, and speech. Lastly, the brain stem contains the medulla oblongata, pons, and the midbrain and controls the flow of messages between the brain and the rest of the body.


Sheep's Brain cut longitudinally




Longitudinal Cut of the Sheep's brain cut Laterally