<p>Oyster dissection 1: Place the oyster left value down on a hard surface with the umbo pointing toward you. Firmly hold down the oyster with a gloved hand. Insert the oyster knife in the hinge of the oyster</p><p>2: Rotate the knife until the pressure pops the hinge</p><p>3. Orient the oyster so that the anterior end is pointed away from you. The dorsal and ventral sides of the oyster are determined by the internal anatomy. The dorsal side of the oyster is on your left, which is the location of the rectum and anus. The ventral side of the oyster is on your right, which is the location of the gills and mouth</p><p>4. Locate the visceral mass and pericardial sac. The mantle is a thin layer of tissue that lines the inner part of each valve. It contains glands that extract elements from the water and convert them to compounds that make up each valve. Calcium carbonate makes up about 98 percent of each valve, this is the same material used to make chalk</p><p>. </p><p>Obtain photographs of the pericardium or heart and part of the digestive system: labial palps or digestive gland or rectum, as you proceed through your dissection.</p><p>5. Locate the labial palps Take and label a photo of the gills. There are two labial palps, one associated with each gill. Each are bilobed, ciliated and function to sort and transfer food from the gills to the mouth. The labial palps can be considered specialized organs that control the total amount of food that is passed along to the mouth. The mouth is the U-shaped slit that is located between the palps.</p><p>Food is then passed from the mouth through a short esophogus to the stomach. The stomach is surrounded by the digestive gland that is the site for enzyme production and intracellular digestion. From the stomach undigested and digested materials are passed to the intestines where absorption of nutrients and further processing of wastes occurs. Waste products are passed onto the rectum exiting out the anus.</p><p>6. Locate the pericardial sac and then expose the heart. Label a photo of the pericardial sac. </p>