The purpose of the present study was to examine and compare the effectiveness of virtual frog dissection using V-Frog© and physical frog dissection on learning, retention, and affect. Subjects were secondary students enrolled in year-long life science classes in a suburban high school (N=102). Virtual dissections were done with V-Frog©, a virtual reality software application that allows users to work with a virtual specimen that can be cut and explored in ways that are therefore unique for each individual user. The study employed a pretest, posttest, delayed posttest design using the pretest as a covariate in the analysis of the posttest and delayed posttest. Scores on a posttest administered immediately following treatment indicated that the virtual group learned more than the physical group (p<.001). Delayed posttest scores indicated there were no effects for treatment found. In the area of affect, survey results were fairly even between the two groups. Students did not show superior retention using V-Frog©. However, it should be noted that with no additional instructional cost, students could repeat the virtual dissection to improve retention. The results of the study indicated that the V-Frog© provides a viable alternative to physical dissection that produces effective learning outcomes and may be appealing to teachers and students for a number of practical and/or ethical reasons.