Chicken Wing Anatomy Lab

Today in class, a chicken wing anatomy lab was conducted. The purpose of observing the dissection of a chicken wing was to identify the different types of tissues and organs found in the structure. We noticed the skin was peach, white, and bumpy. Also, the skin connects to the muscle.  The muscles looked like bundles of pale pink tissue. The muscles attach to the bones. There are two muscles in the wing that bend and straighten the elbow joint. Each muscle pulls on the lower wing bones in one direction (the flexor bends the joint).  Since the flexor cannot lengthen by itself to push the bone back to straighten the joint, another muscle pulls the bone in the opposite direction (extensor). The fat was white and it connects to the muscle. The ligament was white and it connects to muscle. The cartilage was white and it connects to the bone. The nerves are usually dark colored and they connect to the muscle. I learned that the type of tissue that actually moves the wing is the muscle tissue. In conclusion, chicken wings are similar to human arms because both of them have a humerus, radius, shoulder joint, elbow joint, and ulna. The difference is that we have five fingers, however, chickens have only two.