Squid dissection is simple.
Before you open the squid, you will examine its external anatomy.
Make a shallow cut through the mantle tissue to avoid cutting the internal organs.
Cut with the tips of the scissors pointing upwards.
The silvery black ink sac should be removed first, to prevent ink from leaking onto the internal organs.
Remove it carefully, placing it into a small dish of seawater.
This demonstration is of a Humboldt squid, a Pacific species used here because of its large size.
All the structures shown are similar to those on your market squid, but bigger.
A squid's suckers differ from those of an octopus.
Examine the suckers under a dissecting microscope.
Make a wet mount of epidermal tissue to view the chromatophores.
The mouth region consists of a bulb-like structure that houses the beaks.
Cut through the cartilaginous material in the head region to see the esophagus.
Open the bulb and remove the beaks.
Between the beaks is the radula, which may be hard to find.
It feels like a small strip of plastic covered with tiny teeth.
Make a wet mount of the radula, and examine it under the compound microscope.
After washing your hands with soap, use lemon juice to help remove squid odor.
