Use a dissection tray to pin down the two mantle flaps on either side of the visceral mass. Compare your specimen with the illustrated figures. Find and familiarize yourself with the organs identified and listed here:
a. Find the ink sac, this is a small dark sac near the water jet; located underneath the intestine, this dark pouch holds a
quantity of ink that the squid can release into the surrounding water to obscure itself and escape from enemies.
b. Find the esophagus, this is best found by looking into the mouth and seeing where it leads, use a prove to poke within the
mouth; this muscular tube transports food from the mouth through the liver and pancreas to the stomach by muscle
contractions. Look at the mouth and find the chiltinous jaws and the tongue-shaped cartilage with the radula
c. To find the stomach, follow the esophagus toward the posterior; it is a large round organ that lies between the two mantle
d. The anus empties into the water jet, use scissors to cut the water jet down the center so you can see the small opening of
the anus; The anus and rectum collects food wastes from the intestine, compacts them and expels them via the anus. The
fecal mass is expelled with water through the funnel.
--The intestine is located in the upper end of the rectum.
--The kidneys are two small, whitish triangular organs located on either side of the upper intestine
--Located between each kidney, the anterior aorta carried blood from the heart to the anterior body regions and head
e. Locate the gills, these are feathery structures that may be hidden under other things, there are two of them on each side;
The afferent and efferent vessels transport blood to and from the gills.
f. Follow the gills toward the interior to find an enlarged structure at their base, this is the gill heart also called branchial
hearts; one is located at the top end of each gill, they are round circular organs that pump blood into the gills;
--The systemic heart is located between the two bronchial hearts
--The posterior vena cava are triangular shaped vessels and are quite large and dark colored. They carry collected blood
from the posterior body regions into the branchial hearts
--Posterior aorta is located directly behind the systemic heart
g. All the way toward the fin is a whitish or yellowish structure, this is the gonad. The male gonad is genreally white, the
female gonad is usually more yellow to clear. They usually fill the entire posterior mantle cavity. Squid used for
dissection are generally caught during the reproductive season resulting in the large size of this organ.
--The cecum is a yellowish organ found underneath the gonad and stomach. It is a digestive organ directly connected to
h. Find the hard point at the end of the fin and gently grip it with forceps pulling away from the squid. In this way you
should be able to remove the pen in one piece
