Anatomy and Morphology of Animal Tissues

Before delving further into the concept of anatomy and morphology, let us first get familiar with the terminologies. 

Anatomy is a branch of Biology which deals with the study of the structure of living beings. To put simply, studying the internal functioning and structure of any living being can be termed as anatomy. 

Animal Morphology

Morphology is the branch of biology which studies the external structure, shape, and size of a living organism. Such studies help us in understanding the internal as well as external structure of a living being, whether its a human or animals. 

Morphology can be segregated into three kinds, as shown below.

• Cellular Morphology – It is imperative for determining the structure, form, size, and shape of cells. 

• Tissue Morphology – Tissues may change with age, and this helps determine those changes in structure, size, and form of tissues. 

• Organ Morphology – It studies the shape, size, colour, and pattern of external organs present in a living organism. 

To understand better, we will discuss animal morphology of a cockroach. 

Anatomy and Morphology of Cockroach 

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The image above shows a cockroach and its various labelled body parts. Let us understand the animal morphology and anatomy of a cockroach further. 

Morphology –  

• The adult cockroaches, known as Periplaneta Americana, are approximately 34 to 53 mm long and have wings which extend beyond the tip of the abdomen in male species. 

• A cockroach’s external structure is primarily divided into three regions – Head, thorax, and abdomen. 

• Its entire body is covered with a protective covering known as Chitinous exoskeleton. 

• A triangular section formed by fusing six segments is the head section of a cockroach which has a pair of compound eyes. The antennas ascend from the layer resting in front of eyes named as membranous sockets. 

• The mouth portion has a pair of mandibles and maxillae along with labrum and labium. It also has a median flexible lobe which acts as its tongue. 

• The head is then connected with thorax via prothorax (neck). It also has mesothorax and metathorax from which first and second pair of wings arise respectively. 

• The abdomen portion has 10 segments in both male and female cockroaches. 

Analogy – 

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• The alimentary canal inside a cockroach’s body, which is responsible for digestion, is divided into three kinds – foregut, midgut, & hindgut. 

• Inside the mouth opening, there is a tubular structure named pharynx present which goes through a narrow passage into the crop, which is a sac-like structure. 

• Foregut helps in crushing the consumed food; midgut is responsible for enzyme secretion, and hindgut for absorbing water and salts. 

• There are about 6 to 8 blind tubules present at the site connecting foregut to midgut which is responsible for secreting juices. These are known as hepatic caeca. 

•  At the place connecting midgut and hemgut, you can see several filamentous Malphigian tubules. 

• Blood vascular system of cockroaches is poorly developed and open. 

• The respiratory system of a cockroach functions like a network of the trachea which has thin branching tubes and about 10 pairs of holes named as spiracles. 

• The male reproductive system of cockroach includes a testes pair, and a vas deferens arises from it. This connects to the ejaculatory duct and opens into a gonopore male. 

• Cockroach female reproductive system consists of a pair of ovaries which are formed with 8 ovarian tubules groups. 

Now that you have understood this topic thoroughly, it will be easier for you to attempt the questions in the exam. To strengthen your knowledge of a subject and get an in-depth idea of the concept, you can go through additional study materials available in our website. You can also download Vedantu’s app to access the notes anytime.