THE RABBIT 275 



Exercise 1. Draw an outline of a side view of the rabbit and label 

 the various parts of the body. 



Exercise 2. Draw a dorsal view of the head. 



Exercise 3. Draw a front view of the head, showing the nostrils 

 and mouth. 



The Internal Organs. Place the animal on its back on a dissect- 

 ing board, and fasten each foot firmly to the board by means of 

 a nail or strong pin, or a cord. Using scissors and forceps, make 

 an incision through the skin in the midventral line the entire length 

 of the body. Separate the skin from the fat and muscles beneath 

 it for a short distance on each side of the incision. Make now 

 a midventral incision through the body wall from the pelvic 

 girdle, which may be felt through the muscles at the hinder end 

 of the trunk, to the breastbone, which may be felt a short dis- 

 tance back of the forelegs ; make also a short transverse cut, from 

 the middle of this incision, on each side. 



The cavity of the abdomen will thus be opened. The red lobes 

 of the large liver will be seen at the forward end of this cavity, 

 immediately behind the diaphragm, which is the muscular parti- 

 tion forming its forward wall. The large stomach is partially 

 covered by the liver, but a portion of it may be seen at the 

 animal's left ; extending posteriorly from the stomach is the great 

 omentum, a membrane, usually inlaid with fat, which may cover 

 some of the intestines. Without removing the great omentum 

 note the intestines, which lie beneath and behind it and the 

 stomach : the pinkish, slender small intestine ; the enormous, dark- 

 colored caecum, or blind gut, which fills about two thirds of the 

 abdominal cavity and will be recognized by its large size and the 

 spiral constrictions encircling it ; the colon, which has sacculated 

 walls and lies between the folds of the caecum ; and the rectum, in 

 the hinder part of the cavity, which will be recognized by its 

 lighter color and its irregular surface caused by the presence of 

 round masses of fecal matter in it. At the hinder end of the 

 cavity the thin-walled urinary bladder may be seen. 



The abdominal cavity contains the greater part of the digestive, 

 reproductive, and urinary organs and other important viscera. 



