I See Dead People....

This morning, I went over to another community college for a "Cadaver Lab" in association with my Anatomy and Physiology class. There were four students and the teacher during our time slot. We donned our gloves, and were asked to unwrap the shroud from the body, as well as pull the skin (already cut) back. As we were shown various parts, focusing on muscles, we were able to feel the different tissues. The cadaver was female, and her face was covered with an orange plastic covering. It sort of shaded her face, but you could still look closely and make out her facial features. She even had painted fingernails!

I was excited to see the cadaver, but got a slight twinge of nervousness, as we lifted back the shroud. The only thing that bothered me was the odor. When we first lifted off the shroud, the smell of formaldehyde was quite strong. I tried to not think about it too much, but it was so strong, I could have possibly gagged. I talked myself out of that, and continued enjoying the observation. It really was a cool experience. We noticed that her lungs didn't look so hot. Perhaps she was a smoker, or maybe a coal miner? I also noticed some spots on her chest that definitely looked like skin cancer.

Did you know that a lab can keep a body for up to 15 years? Pretty cool to think that, if you donate your body to science, it would get a lot of use and be viewed by so many people! In medical school, each student apparently, will get their own cadaver, and slowly dissect it over the course of a year. In that case, there would practically be nothing left, so you couldn't use it much more. Sometimes, though, they will take a limb with a certain group of muscles, and "plasticize" it, so it can be used as a permanent model.

After seeing the cadaver, I went to my favorite paper store for some "paper therapy," after all this studying and test-taking. I really needed that. I wish I could say I have time to make something, but I don't. I'm looking forward to a month-long break starting in December.....