The sight of a partially dissected frog is one familiar to generations of science students. But over the past decade, interactive software and online simulations have made it possible to study the inner workings of animals without cutting them up.
Can virtual dissection replace the real thing?

Mable Kinzie, an associate professor of instructional technology at the University of Virginia, developed an interactive frog dissection six years ago, first on videodisc and then online. The online version, called Net-Frog, has counted more than a half-million users and has received 30 "Best of Web" awards.

"Our site is one way students can learn about frog anatomy without actually dissecting," Kinzie says.

Net-Frog takes users step-by-step through a dissection. Along the way, the computer mouse takes the place of the pins, scalpel, and forceps a student would ordinarily use in the laboratory. Online videos cover the different stages of the dissection. Then the students take over--clicking on the places where they would normally insert pins, make incisions, and uncover the frog's internal organs. Net-Frog lets them know if they have chosen the right locations on the screen.

Kinzie also studied how well students learn using virtual dissection versus the real thing.

"We conducted research in a number of high school classes," she says. "When students were tested on their knowledge of frog anatomy and dissection, we found that the ones using the interactive materials did every bit as well as students who actually dissected. They actually did a little better."

Explore the virtual dissection exercise in Net-Frog. In the table below, indicate the ways this online program teaches what you need to know, and the ways it may not.

• The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provides another Virtual Frog Dissection Kit, as well as a host of frog-related resources.

Pros and Cons

The interactive options have turned up the volume of the dissection debate. Organizations such as PETA have campaigned to eliminate actual dissections and to pass laws that give students alternatives. Recently, PETA recruited actress Alicia Silverstone to make an anti-dissection advertisement.

The United States Humane Society has launched the Humane Education Loan Program, which provides free use of CD-ROMs, videos, and animal models to educators as substitutes for laboratory dissection.

Mable Kinzie notes that her Net-Frog site receives more than 2,000 visits a week as well as email responses, including the following note:

It was very good I didn't have to have a frog die for my benefit. I'm in 7th grade, and I was sent to this site to write a 5-page paper so that I wouldn't have to dissect an actual frog. I like your site because one or two dead frogs educate thousands of kids.

On the other hand, the companies that supply animal specimens for dissection argue that virtual dissections cannot replace hands-on experience. So does the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), which has issued a position paper on "The Use of Animals in Biology Education."

While "NABT believes that biology teachers should foster a respect for life," the paper reads. "NABT acknowledges that no alternative can substitute for the actual experience of dissection and urges teachers to be aware of the limitations of alternatives."

Learn More

• A growing number of interactive products let users better understand human anatomy. Check out the Biology Explorer activity Heart Attack!, which simulates what happens when the heart is deprived of oxygen.

• The previous Riverdeep Today article "Here Come the Elephants" explores another controversy over our relationship to animals.

More Links

• The U.S. Humane Society offers information on Dissection and Related Issues, including its Humane Education Loan Program.

• The Carolina Biological Supply Company offers this Dissection Fact Sheet on the animal specimens its sells.

• Read the NABT's position on The Use of Animals in Biology Education.