Chicken Wing Dissection-

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Lab report for Sports, Exercise and Health Science

Purpose:
To observe how the muscular and skeletal systems work together to move/support a
chicken’s wing and relate this to the arrangement of comparable anatomical structures of the
human body.

List of content:
1. Labeled sketch of the chicken wing.
2. Chicken Wing Dissection Table.
3. Photos of chicken’s wing during dissection.
4. Analysis of dissection (discussion and analysis questions).
5. Conclusion.

Sketch of the chicken wing

 # Types of Description and Function Location
Tissue(s)

1. Skin Cream (pinkish) soft outer tissue covering the whole
wing with a bit of excess on the side where the wing
bends (the inner side of the arc). It is soft, and quite
thin, however there are some visible spots/bulges
where the feathers were located. It can be stretched,
but it’s rather delicate.
Its main functions for a chicken are: protection,
regulation and attachment of feathers.
2. Fat It is a white (yellowish), soft tissue that stores energy
and build body mass. It can vary in size and has
limited flexibility. Easy to cut.
It is a superficial tissue, which
means that it is an outer layer
attached to fat and covers the
entire wing.
It’s a bit deeper than the skin
(attached to it), but in
comparison to other layers it can
be said to be quite superficial.

3. Muscle It is salmon- colored, smooth and flexible tissue that Location varies depending on
can vary in length depending on the size of bone its which bone they’re attached to
attached to. Pretty thick, cutting is possible but very
easy. Enables a wing to move.

4. Tendon Connects muscle to bone. Superficial to the joint it

surrounds.

5. Ligament It is small and smooth, thin and very elastics it can be Located deep inside, near the
stretched easily. Connects different bones and enables bones it connects together and
their movement. close to the joints it surrounds.
6. Blood Vessel The size of blood vessels is different for each of Located deep under the skin,
them, however it’s typically very small and red. They close to the muscles its attached
create some kind of net which is spread all over the to.
body (in this particular example, over the whole wing.
They’re also very delicate and can easily break.
Its main function is to transport blood cells,
nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body.

7. Cartilage It is white and usually quite small and round-shaped, Located deep in the joint, near
but it depends on the size of the bone and may differ the parts of the bones that are
in size. It is a resilient and smooth elastic tissue, a exposed to friction.
rubber-like padding, not as hard and rigid as bone,
but it is much stiffer and much less flexible than
muscle. It cannot be stretched and it is very difficult to
break.
Its principal function is to provide a smooth,
lubricated surface for articulation and to facilitate the
transmission of loads with a low frictional coefficient.

8. Bone White, thick and rather smooth in texture. Varies in We can find bones in our entire
size (length and thickness). It’s quite strong and can be body, for example, radius (lateral)
broken only by the use of great pressure. It cannot be and femur (proximal).
bended. It is as strong as steel but as light as
aluminum. In the central cavity of bone shafts there is
the medullary cavity where a soft tissue called
„marrow” is stored.
Along with the other bones not only determines the
body shape and its size, but also enables stability and
movement, protects organs, stores minerals and
produces blood.

Chicken wing during dissection Chicken wing without skin with flash

Discussion questions:

Question A
I believe that our wing is from the left side of the chicken because of the positioning of
shoulder joint.

Question B:
The shoulder joint in human body is the equivalent to joint A, because we can see that
it used to be attached to the body and it’s joining the arm, also it is the one that enables
chicken similar range of movements (in this particular example- to flap its wings), and also the
joint itself looks very similar.

Question C:
I think that joint A is a ball and socket type of joint because it is a shoulder joint.

Question D:
The elbow joint in human body is the equivalent to joint B, because thats the one that
enables chicken to slightly turn their wings (at the approximately half of the length of the
whole wing) between the upper and lower arm, just as an elbow allows people to have more

control over an arm and enables them to make more complicated movements in different
directions.

Question E:
The wrist joint in human body is equivalent to joint C, because its placement looks
similar to the human hand and the location of the thumb is the same as well.

Question F:
Muscles are able to move the bones due to the work in pairs. These are the antagonistic
muscles such as the tricep and bicep in this chicken wing. When the bicep contracts, it makes
the tricep relax and moves both: the ulna and radius upwards.
(arrangement as shown in the sketch)

Question G:
The ligaments held the bones together thanks to the strong straps located at the ends of
the bones.

Question H:
The material located on the ends of the bones is called cartilage. It is a flexible,
connective tissue found in many areas of the body including joints between bones e.g. the
elbows, knees and ankles. It can bend a bit, but resists stretching. Its main function is to
connect bones together. As the name indicates, it can be found in the cartilaginous type of
joint.






Extra task*


Question I:
The structure of chicken bone is very similar to human’s one. Some similarities include
tissue and movement. The shoulder joint is what allows the chicken to flap its wings. The
humerus is what connects the shoulder and the radius, the radius allows them to slightly turn

their wings. This is all the same for humans, with one exception: we can move our
metacarpals and chickens can’t.


Question J:
Bone is considered to be a connective tissue as it meets histologic criteria of connective
tissue. For example, they have cells and extracellular matrix that contains not only of the
ground substance, but also proteinaceous fibers, which are unique for connective tissues.

Question K:
The framework of bone is made up of a protein called collagen which provides a soft
framework and a mineral called calcium phosphate that makes it hard and strong. This
combination of collagen and calcium makes bone strong and flexible enough to withstand
stress.

Analysis Questions:


1. Muscles surrounding the bone are actually the tissue of the chicken wing that is
commonly referred to as the meat. 


2. A bird would be unable to to fly if there were torn tendons in the wing because
tendons are on the end of the muscles and connect them to the bones, so they’re responsible
for movement of the wing.

3. Two muscles found in the human upper arm (biceps and triceps) are the equivalent
of chicken’s wing muscles.


4. A chicken needs so many different bundles of muscles attaching to different parts of

the bones because there are a lot of bones in the wing and they need to move independently
of each other. Also it enables the movement of the wing many different directions.

 5. Alula (common name- „bastard wing”) is a small, specialized structure of the upper
leading edge of a bird's wing that consists of a tuft of short and stiff flight feathers attached to
the movable first wing digit. It is located at the joint between the hand wing and the arm
wings of birds. It is normally used by birds in flight, landing and maneuverability at slow
speeds.
6. In humans, the structure that is comparable to the alula is the thumb.


7. Feathers are made of lightweight material called keratin just like our fingernails and
hair.

Conclusion:


1. In the musculoskeletal system, the muscular and skeletal systems work together to
support and move the body. Ligaments help stabilize the joint, keeping it from moving outside
of its intended range of motion. Tendons connect the skeletal system to the muscular system
by attaching muscle to bone. When muscle contracts, the tendon acts on the bone, in result
causing movement of the chicken’s wing.


2. The benefits of this lab is training and better understanding of the structure of
chicken’s wing and at the same time human’s arm, since they are very similar. It also helped
me realize how some particular bones and muscles work. My favorite part of this lab was that
I could see how all of these body parts look like in real life and where they are located.