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What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

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Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#51

Post by iends »

I got to experience a cadaver lab when my wife was taking a gross anatomy course. By the time I visited they were pretty deep into the semester, so the bodies were pretty well cut up.

I only saw people being respectful the two times I was there, after hours with only students and no professors around.

The smell was terrible, not because of rotting flesh, but because the chemicals. I had more opportunities to visit, but couldn't really get over the smell so would just wait in the hall for my wife.

I'm optimistic that I don't experience that many dead bodies again until I am one.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#52

Post by MrFantastic »

bell-cot wrote: post #43

Two observations I've heard from a young relative who has done cadaver dissection at scale, and is qualified to teach the subject in Med. School: - "You want a facility with good ventilation. Doesn't take an M.D. to understand that breathing the vapors from embalming fluids, intestine contents, etc. is bad." - "Once you get the head off, the rest is easy."

Hands are also very weird. Our brain identifies with our faces and hands.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#53

Post by Buttons840 »

kendallpark wrote: post #40
danielheath wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person Not that I know first-hand, but that's not the impression I got from the med students when I was at uni. People find all sorts of odd ways to cope with their own mortality, and getting reminded of it tends to bring those to the fore.

Speaking from first-hand, I can't remember any disrespectful behavior. Acting disrespectful toward the donor (what we called the cadavers) would get you kicked out of anatomy lab. There is even a "gift of body" ceremony commemorating the donations every year that family members can attend. Med students will speak about how the donors impacted their medical education and how much they appreciate them. I would hope tha…

> Holding a donors brain in one's hand (it's smaller than one would expect). In the words of a lab partner, "I can't believe we are holding everything that made this person a person, all their personality, everything."

Thought provoking. I'll keep this in mind while holding a hundred billion apples during lunch. ;)

From another angle, I would argue that the eyes and face are part of what makes a human, as are the hands. And there's also something in the brain that has been lost, something beyond mere physical matter. An easy example of this is a puzzle, if you're putting a puzzle together, and I come in and mix it up, I've taken something from you, and yet I took no material object away. There's probably some organization that's part of our brain and "humanity" that is lost at death. I'm not talking about religious "spirit" here - back to the puzzle, it has no spirit, but an assembled puzzle is more than the physical material it is made of.

I don't mean to be super critical of your lab partner, just sharing some additional philosophical views.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#54

Post by whatshisface »

giardini wrote: post #46
sergiotapia wrote: post #38

I've been in medical schools where there were corpses and students all over the large hall. My first thought was wow each of these people had dreams, personalities and a soul. They were somebody. It gave me some comfort that the students were taught to respect the bodies and treat them with dignity. I wonder if that's all medical school or only this one because it was catholic. It seems OP doesn't care about this? An…

A soul ?! Reminds me of Queen's "Fun It": > "Hey, everybody, everybody gonna have a good time tonight Just shakin' the soles of your feet Everybody, everybody gonna have a good time tonight That's the only soul you'll ever meet..." https://www.letras.com/queen/86774/

A soul is just a word for an individual human consciousness.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#55

Post by mattkrause »

criddell wrote: post #48
rubatuga wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First-hand, every session that involved cadavers during medical school was very respectful. We were told not to take photos as well. Worst part was the smell of formalin. Humour is fine, assuming the person/cadaver would have been okay with it (and quite a few of the older patients I've met joke about their mortality). But I would rather be respectful and play it safe.

Does very respectful mean no dark humor?

My experience was that boisterous shenanigans, like juggling testicles or something, would absolutely not have been tolerated. Indeed, the mood was somber/business-like enough that no one even dared. On the other hand, a whispered inoffensive remark to your lab partner would be okay. Something this like this would probably be okay:

-- "Be careful not to nick the nerve as you "

-- "Opps! Better now?

-- "Yes. In fairness, it's not her biggest problem right now"

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#56

Post by bookofjoe »

rubatuga wrote: post #12
danielheath wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person Not that I know first-hand, but that's not the impression I got from the med students when I was at uni. People find all sorts of odd ways to cope with their own mortality, and getting reminded of it tends to bring those to the fore.

First-hand, every session that involved cadavers during medical school was very respectful. We were told not to take photos as well. Worst part was the smell of formalin. Humour is fine, assuming the person/cadaver would have been okay with it (and quite a few of the older patients I've met joke about their mortality). But I would rather be respectful and play it safe.

Yes — the smell of the formalin!

In 1970-71, my first year at UCLA med school, we spent four (4) hours 4 (four) days a week in the gross anatomy lab.

First semester was below the neck, second semester just the head and neck.

Fascinating; I enjoyed everything about dissecting our (4 students/body) corpse.

The only bad thing was the smell of the formalin: it was SO strong that my eyes would water every session: they/I never got used to it.

My "Grant's Anatomy" textbook, which was propped up on the cadaver tank every session to guide me, still stunk of formalin 40+ years later, so much so that much as I enjoyed having it as a memory of something I did that was really hard, I threw it away around 2010 because it made every closet or cabinet or drawer I put it in reek.

I suspect ventilation in the dissection room (120 students/30 cadavers) 52 years ago was WAY worse than it is today.

I'm surprised I'm not brain dead from inhaling superstrong formalin vapor 16 hours/week x 16 weeks/semester x 2 semesters = for roughly 500 hours that year.

Maybe I am brain dead!

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#57

Post by incanus77 »

My late wife was a physical therapist and in undergrad she had a gross anatomy class with a cadaver dissection. After the chest cavity was opened, they were supposed to go over the internal organs step by step, but her group instead found a plastic bag inside containing all of the organs. Apparently the autopsy had involved inspecting, weighing, etc. the organs which made for a somewhat confusing discovery once the class got in there.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#58

Post by giardini »

whatshisface wrote: post #54
giardini wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A soul ?! Reminds me of Queen's "Fun It": > "Hey, everybody, everybody gonna have a good time tonight Just shakin' the soles of your feet Everybody, everybody gonna have a good time tonight That's the only soul you'll ever meet..." https://www.letras.com/queen/86774/

A soul is just a word for an individual human consciousness.

Yeah, just as with aspirin, I carry a few of those (i.e.,"souls") in my pocket for emergencies, e.g., in case I need to fend off Satan (an archaic term for an individual evil entity of great power) - I toss a fee on the sidewalk and skedaddle away while He (i.e., the Devil [caps for classicly-attributed respect of his overweening spiritual powers]) devours them.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#59

Post by RockRobotRock »

Starwatcher2001 wrote: post #47
JusticeJuice wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's stuff like this that makes me not want to donate my body to science.

I'm on the list to donate my body. Perhaps a medical student will gain just a little more insight or skill by practicing a technique on my body, and perhaps that will help them save or help a patient or two in the future. I hope so. The thornier issue, having discussed my wishes with my family, is how it will affect them after I go.

Or maybe you’ll be blown up by the us military :)

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#60

Post by whatshisface »

giardini wrote: post #58
whatshisface wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A soul is just a word for an individual human consciousness.

Yeah, just as with aspirin, I carry a few of those (i.e.,"souls") in my pocket for emergencies, e.g., in case I need to fend off Satan (an archaic term for an individual evil entity of great power) - I toss a fee on the sidewalk and skedaddle away while He (i.e., the Devil [caps for classicly-attributed respect of his overweening spiritual powers]) devours them.

I think you're making a philosophical error akin to denying the existence of bread on the basis of not believing in transubstantiation. The word "soul" has a lot of unprovable beliefs attached to it in every world religion, but the word on its own refers to that which experiences in all the uses I'm aware of.
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