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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

#71

Post by cloverich »

at_a_remove wrote: post #64

This wasn't full on dissection but ... my father was dating a coroner, who really wanted me to go to med school. However, my father was also ridiculously squeamish, to the point where even a few drops of blood could result in a faint. So, she decided to take me to an autopsy she had to sign off on, to see if I was also as delicate. My father refused to even enter the building, but there I am, with my first cadaver, w…

Random side note but feinting at the sight of blood isn't necessarily a squeamish thing. I remember when we were learning to place IV's and the med student a row over from me warned he would feint. The nurses teaching us tried to re-assure him but he interrupted -- "Oh I'm not squeamish or scared or anything, its just a reaction to blood specifically".

(TY for sharing your story btw, thought the aside was interesting enough to tangent on)

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#72

Post by rolisz »

cloverich wrote: post #71
at_a_remove wrote: post #64

This wasn't full on dissection but ... my father was dating a coroner, who really wanted me to go to med school. However, my father was also ridiculously squeamish, to the point where even a few drops of blood could result in a faint. So, she decided to take me to an autopsy she had to sign off on, to see if I was also as delicate. My father refused to even enter the building, but there I am, with my first cadaver, w…

Random side note but feinting at the sight of blood isn't necessarily a squeamish thing. I remember when we were learning to place IV's and the med student a row over from me warned he would feint. The nurses teaching us tried to re-assure him but he interrupted -- "Oh I'm not squeamish or scared or anything, its just a reaction to blood specifically". (TY for sharing your story btw, thought the aside was interesting…

Any advice on how to get over that reaction to blood?

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#73

Post by zeristor »

Two amazing BBC documentaries, although not currently available:

The Incredible Human Hand: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01mv2md

The Incredible Human Foot: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01mv2rj

This is listed as being shown in 2020, however I watched 2017 or so, perhaps it has been updated.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#74

Post by robbiep »

If anyone wants to get their head around anatomy, beautifully prepared, find ‘Ackland’s Anatomy’. It’s the visual bible. Beautifully prepared dissections from start to finish.

It’s also much cleaner than the particularly tedious process of dissecting a entire human being, most of which consists of slowly stripping back skin and fat to get to the interesting stuff (Source: with 2 others, slowly dismantled an entire adult human male from whole body down to each individual muscle and tendon over a period of 4 months)

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#75

Post by rrauenza »

at_a_remove wrote: post #64

This wasn't full on dissection but ... my father was dating a coroner, who really wanted me to go to med school. However, my father was also ridiculously squeamish, to the point where even a few drops of blood could result in a faint. So, she decided to take me to an autopsy she had to sign off on, to see if I was also as delicate. My father refused to even enter the building, but there I am, with my first cadaver, w…

Did she explain why the law was that way? Is it for evidence / forensics in case the case is reopened?

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#76

Post by cloverich »

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…

Also speaking from first hand I remember quite a bit of "disrespect". Jokes were outright common. The vast majority of interactions were respectful of course -- its hard work studying anatomy after all. But TBH many folks in medicine can be quite callous, which I find not unrelated to the task at hand (i.e. dealing with the crazy and brutal facts of us all being mushy living creatures at a much higher rate than most people). Standing in a room full of dead bodies being dissected... isn't really normal. And it takes a toll.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#77

Post by cloverich »

idiotsecant wrote: post #44
the_af wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother, when he attended his anatomy classes, told me the med students were very playful and joked all the time. A coping mechanism, perhaps? I think it's understandable, but respectful they were not. For example, they called one of the corpses "blondie"... and she was headless. Let that one sink in.

Interesting that the stories about disrespectful behavior are always a friend of a friend and not the medical students themselves. I suspect a majority of these second hand stories of casual disrespect are a combination of a game of telephone and unreliable narrative bluster from young medical students confronting their own mortality for possibly the first time in their lives. Every story from someone with direct exp…

I went to medical school. I saw this firsthand many times. It's neither unexpected nor surprising. You are dissecting dead bodies, in a giant room full of dead bodies and you are there for months.

EDIT: I realize I should clarify based on some of the sibling comments... nobody was doing anything obscene with body parts. I'm referring to commentary, jokes, dark humor.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#78

Post by coryfklein »

JusticeJuice wrote: post #4
zac_hudson wrote: post #2

Firstly, its surprising that this school allows what would apparently be the lay public gain access to human anatomical gifts. In Canada, this is restricted to persons with a legitimate interest, ie med students and grad students in bioengineering/bio-adjacent fields. I think that the author is not an individual with such an interest was quite clear from the tone taken on this piece - most discussions involving cadav…

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

So interesting, because I had the opposite response. Sure if I donate my body to "science" and it's critical in some sort of medical discovery that would be great, but reading the OP and seeing the author's fascination, learning, and engagement with the cadaver I thought, "Gosh, what a gift!"

I'd certainly be very happy knowing that my body brought such an experience to another individual, I certainly won't be using my body anymore at that point.

I wonder if, when signing up for donation, you can specify what kinds of "science" or interactions you prefer your body to be used for after dying.

Re: What it’s like to dissect a cadaver

#80

Post by the_af »

cloverich wrote: post #77
idiotsecant wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting that the stories about disrespectful behavior are always a friend of a friend and not the medical students themselves. I suspect a majority of these second hand stories of casual disrespect are a combination of a game of telephone and unreliable narrative bluster from young medical students confronting their own mortality for possibly the first time in their lives. Every story from someone with direct exp…

I went to medical school. I saw this firsthand many times. It's neither unexpected nor surprising. You are dissecting dead bodies, in a giant room full of dead bodies and you are there for months. EDIT: I realize I should clarify based on some of the sibling comments... nobody was doing anything obscene with body parts. I'm referring to commentary, jokes, dark humor.

> nobody was doing anything obscene with body parts

Yes, same with my anecdotes. I was talking about dark humor, not doing anything obscene with body parts. I think nobody else mentioned anything obscene, either.

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