CHICKEN FOOT LAB - CCA Science-Slijk



CHICKEN FOOT LAB

Purpose:

To identify tendons and their function.

To compare chicken tendons to those in the human hand and foot.

Background: Tendons attach muscle to bone. Tendons which attach fingers or toes to upper support bones are very long and can be easily found. Muscles move in antagonistic pairs (opposite) to move a bone. So for every movement there should be a pair of tendons. One muscle and tendon to contract and close the joint, and another tendon and muscle to relax or open the joint. The chicken foot has long easy to reach tendons which make the foot ideal to use. . To stabilize the joint ligaments are used. These ligaments are arranged in groups ex knee caps are held in place by a series of ligaments. Chickens actually walk on their toes and NOT on their feet.

 

Materials: Fresh or frozen chicken feet, scissors, paper towels, forceps

 

Procedure: Find the silvery white tough connective tissue that is near the top of the foot next to the bone. Taking the sharp end of the scissors slit the chicken’s skin near the open end on the ventral (bottom) side all the way down the foot. There should be a bundle of tendons directly in the mid point. Using your fingers, grab this silvery mass and pull them from under the skin. Holding the mass of tendons, PULL!!!!

 

1. What happened to the toes?

Now separate each tendon from the bundle and pull separately.

2. How many individual tendons are there?

3. What happens when you pull ONLY ONE tendon?

Now do the same thing to the front of the foot. Slit the skin and find the tendons. They will not be in a large mass like the ventral tendons. Grab these tendons and pull.

4. What happens to the toes?

5. What happens when you stop pulling these tendons?

Pull each separate tendon like you did with the last bundle.

6. Are these 2 sets of tendons antagonistic pairs? Explain:

7. When the chicken was alive what were the tendons attached to?

Using one of your hands, form a claw with your fingers. Look at the back of your hand.

8. Do you see hard strings leaving the backs of your fingers and going to your wrists?

9. What do they look like?

10. Can you see or feel a similar set of structures in your palm?

11. Can you see them in your arm?

Encircle your arm about an inch higher than your wrist. Wiggle you fingers.

12. What do you FEEL?

13. Outline the front and back of the chicken’s foot and with red markers or pencils draw in the tendons.

14. Outline your own hand in pencil. Draw in the tendons that you found on the back of your hand. Then outline your hand with the palm up and repeat the process an inch or two past your wrist.

 

You may also take off your shoes and look at the tendons in your foot.

Feel the back of your heel. There is a large cord that runs up your leg. This is called the Achilles’ tendon.

What do you think a chicken does with its claw that you need a tool to do?

Find the pad on the palm or ventral side of the chicken’s toes.

What do you think is its function (job)?

Do you have “pads” on your toes or base of you fingers?

15. If you cut one of the tendons of the leg how does it affect it’s function? Be specific.

16. See if you can find a group of ligaments between one of the joints. Sketch the

arrangement of these ligaments.

Conclusion (The answers to these questions should be incorporated into your conclusion.)

1. Ducks have webs between their toes. Do you or the chicken?

How are the webs different from yours and the chickens?

What do you think the function of the webs between a ducks toes are?

2. It is possible to tear both ligaments and tendons. Which type of tear would

have greater consequences on the life of a free range chicken?

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