How it works
These frog muscle diagrams are unlabeled: the frog from below at the top of the sheet, the frog from above under it. Twenty-four lines run out from the muscles, twelve on each drawing, with nothing written at their ends.
Read the full guide
The word list, drawing by drawing
From below, the ventral side: mylohyoid, pectoralis, deltoid, rectus abdominis, external oblique, triceps femoris, adductor longus, sartorius, adductor magnus, gracilis major, gracilis minor and tibialis anticus. From above, the dorsal side: temporalis, depressor mandibulae, infraspinatus, latissimus dorsi, extensor dorsi communis, gluteus, iliofibularis, semimembranosus, pyriformis, gastrocnemius, peroneus and Achilles tendon.
Six lines to the thighs of the upper frog
Both thighs are drawn alike, and the six lines are shared out, three to each. Count the bands from the edge nearest the head: triceps femoris, adductor longus, sartorius, adductor magnus, gracilis major, then gracilis minor at the back edge.
- Two patches sit by each eardrum. The small one in front, toward the eye, is the temporalis; the one behind is the depressor mandibulae.
- On the lower frog the plain band along the outer edge of the lower leg has no line. It is the tibialis anticus again.
- A textbook may print submaxillaris for mylohyoid, longissimus dorsi for extensor dorsi communis and tibialis anterior for tibialis anticus.
Questions and answers
What are the muscles of a frog to label?
Twenty-three and the Achilles tendon, twelve lines on each frog: throat, shoulder, chest, belly, thigh and shin from below; jaw, shoulder, back, hip, thigh and calf from above. The eyes, the eardrums, the forearms and the feet are drawn but have no line.
What is the ventral view of a frog's muscles?
The view from below, with the belly toward you: the upper drawing on this sheet. The dorsal view is from above, with the back toward you. It is the drawing that has the eyes.
How do you tell the adductor longus from the adductor magnus?
By width. The adductor longus is the thin sliver in front of the narrow sartorius, and on a real frog the sartorius often hides it. The adductor magnus is the thick band on the other side of the sartorius.
Which muscle closes a frog's mouth?
The temporalis is one of the muscles that do. It runs from the skull, between the eye and the eardrum, to the lower jaw, and it lifts the jaw.
Where is the gastrocnemius on a frog diagram?
On the frog from above: the large spindle on the inner side of the lower leg. A line ends on it on one leg; on the other leg a line ends on the narrow cord at the spindle's lower end, the Achilles tendon.