- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Messages
- 225
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 4,571
- Location
- Jacksonville, Fl
- Resident [Any Field]
A stupid question: difference between prosection and dissection?
- Thread starter momgracea
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
- Messages
- 3,193
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 4,571
- Age
- 48
- Location
- Speedwell, TN
- Website
- www.myspace.com
- Medical Student
I didn't know the difference either, but I looked it up for you. 😀 It seems that prosection you watch someone else do the cutting, whereas dissection you do the cutting yourself.
S
Super21
Pro= before. so a prosection is when someone cuts to get to the parts you need to learn. Usually done by TA's!
Di= to seperate. This is where you seperate parts from the body. In med school, this is where you come in!
Di= to seperate. This is where you seperate parts from the body. In med school, this is where you come in!
Most schools will allow their students to do disection so they can learn more. There are a few schools that will not have the disection option. For example, unfortunately the new Mesa school will only allow prosection. I believe this is because the students are only at the main campus for 2 semesters. 🙁
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
- Messages
- 3,245
- Reaction score
- 139
- Points
- 5,166
- Attending Physician
We finish Anatomy in 10 weeks-- twice as fast as most schools-- and it would be impossible to do if you were still hacking through layers of fat and fascia. Face it, that's a lot of what dissection is. Cutting away layers of fat and hoping that you haven't already removed that nerve you were really looking for. Trust me, I had plenty of time digging through muscles and organs and brains without having to waste all that time with the "grunt" work. As for being able to "learn more" from dissection...I can see your point, but it was pretty obvious which cadavers had been "cut on" by students and which ones had been "dissected" by professors. The students tended to mangle a lot of the important stuff. In the end, I'm not going to be an Anatomist; I'm going to be a DO. I'm not going to be a bad DO because I didn't perform the cadaver cutting all by myself. Besides, being finished with Anatomy/Histology/Embryology in only 10 weeks is sweeeeet!!!
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2000
- Messages
- 5,910
- Reaction score
- 42
- Points
- 4,626
- Website
- www.pcom.edu
- Resident [Any Field]
Here at PCOM we do Dissection.
There are a few cadavers that are prosected by the staff, however. We also have scores of plastinated specimens as well.
With around 50 cadavers in lab you are guaranteed to have several "textbook" specimens to view.
I think the process of dissecting the cadaver is an awesome experience. True cutting through fat and fascia can be tedious but I see that as part of the anatomy...not just an annoyance that needs to be peeled away.
As a future surgeon I appreciated the opportunity to cut and I defiantely appreciated the experience of cutting too deep and hitting the nerve or cutting the blood vessel.
If you regard fat and fascia as just "junk" that needs to be discarded I think you miss important pieces of the anatomy, especially when you consider the wide range of conditions and diseases that can affect these structures.
Dissection yay
Prosection boo
There are a few cadavers that are prosected by the staff, however. We also have scores of plastinated specimens as well.
With around 50 cadavers in lab you are guaranteed to have several "textbook" specimens to view.
I think the process of dissecting the cadaver is an awesome experience. True cutting through fat and fascia can be tedious but I see that as part of the anatomy...not just an annoyance that needs to be peeled away.
As a future surgeon I appreciated the opportunity to cut and I defiantely appreciated the experience of cutting too deep and hitting the nerve or cutting the blood vessel.
If you regard fat and fascia as just "junk" that needs to be discarded I think you miss important pieces of the anatomy, especially when you consider the wide range of conditions and diseases that can affect these structures.
Dissection yay
Prosection boo
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
- Messages
- 3,245
- Reaction score
- 139
- Points
- 5,166
- Attending Physician
In your case, I can see where it can make a difference. I, however, plan on spending most of my time attending to the sniffles and sore throats of illegal immigrants in a Texas border town. Dissection just isn't a big deal to me.
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2005
- Messages
- 1,904
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 4,661
- Location
- North Carolina
- Attending Physician
I have to agree. I am not going to be a surgeon and found myself asking, more than once, "what the hell am I suppose to be cutting/looking for again?" I got pretty bored cutting through things looking for a phantom nerve. Eh, but everyone is different.
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2000
- Messages
- 5,910
- Reaction score
- 42
- Points
- 4,626
- Website
- www.pcom.edu
- Resident [Any Field]
Points noted.
But do we take everyone from MS1 who someday might want to be a surgeon and have them do dissection while all the people who might be interested in nonsurgical specialties do prosection?
I didnt figure out I wanted to be a surgeon until MS3.
And if you asked me before anatomy "Do you want to (A) take time cutting through fat and fascia or (B) just get to the good stuff?"...well, I would have chose B.
But I think in the long run I would have regretted that decision because looking back I am better able to see the importance of my musculoskeletal exam, see the fascial planes & how they intertwine and see the deposition of adipose in certain areas. Important not only for manual medicine but also for understanding the pathways of nerves and vessels, the attachments of muscles and a better idea of connective tissues properties.
The argument can be made that those who are going into surgical type specialties can dissect a cadaver later in their career, but thats just not feasible from a time perspective.
I also think the experience of dissection gives you a better appreciation for the human body...not necessarily from an esoteric "the body is a wonderous being" standpoint, but from the "holy crap this human body is really built well" standpoint.
I guess its like pathology...sure its nice to look through the eyepiece, but sometimes you understand a bit more if you are the one collecting and prepping the slide for the microscope.
But do we take everyone from MS1 who someday might want to be a surgeon and have them do dissection while all the people who might be interested in nonsurgical specialties do prosection?
I didnt figure out I wanted to be a surgeon until MS3.
And if you asked me before anatomy "Do you want to (A) take time cutting through fat and fascia or (B) just get to the good stuff?"...well, I would have chose B.
But I think in the long run I would have regretted that decision because looking back I am better able to see the importance of my musculoskeletal exam, see the fascial planes & how they intertwine and see the deposition of adipose in certain areas. Important not only for manual medicine but also for understanding the pathways of nerves and vessels, the attachments of muscles and a better idea of connective tissues properties.
The argument can be made that those who are going into surgical type specialties can dissect a cadaver later in their career, but thats just not feasible from a time perspective.
I also think the experience of dissection gives you a better appreciation for the human body...not necessarily from an esoteric "the body is a wonderous being" standpoint, but from the "holy crap this human body is really built well" standpoint.
I guess its like pathology...sure its nice to look through the eyepiece, but sometimes you understand a bit more if you are the one collecting and prepping the slide for the microscope.
