Anatomy Lab

[kiwi219]

Hi everyone,

I have a question for everyone who has taken anatomy or is currently in the process of cadaver dissection. How do you handle the horrible smell?? Do you wear masks? I'm supposed to start dissecting next week and I'm afraid that i'll vomit or faint from the stench!

Thanx,
Maria

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Idiopathic]

It isnt that bad. The rooms are very well ventilated (or they SHOULD be) and so the formalin smell isnt quite as pervasive as you would think. THe bodies dont smell at all, really, so the masks are just if you cant handle the formalin. After a week or two of getting used to ut, you shouldnt have a problem. There was a case about 8 weeks in where we encountered an interesting smell that was quite pungent and did require some of us to don masks, but whatever it was, also made our eyes water, so perhaps we came upon a pocket of embalming fluid or somesuch. Overall, we didnt have anyone who had a problem with the smell.

 

[Dr_sax]

At my school(LECOM), we don't wear masks...just lab coats and latex gloves. The smell is noticeable, but for some reason, it really doesn't bother most people. The rooms are pretty cold, the ventiliation good so the smell is limited. Some of the fresher bodies have a more pronounced smell, but they too are manageable. Nothing that would make you want to hurl.

Dr_Sax, LECOM 2007

 

[DOin2007]

Hey!

We start anatomy at PCOM on Monday, and I'm totally worried about the same thing too. I can handle gross visual stuff, but I have a hard time with smells. An MSII told me "you get used to it." I hope that's the case!

 

[kiwi219]

I attend NYCOM and went into the Anatomy Lab during my interview. Either they had poor ventilation or there were a few bodies that weren't embalmed properly, but I couldn't stand to be in there for more than 2 minutes. I'm not squeamish when it comes to sights, it's just the smell that I can't handle.

 

[sddoc]

I am an MSII at LECOM, and let me assure you that it's not that bad. Some students who were bothered by the smell put a little Vicks Vaporub under their noses and that seemed to help them along.

The smell in the lab didn't bother me near as much as the smell that I carried home with me in my hair and my clothes. As soon as I walked in the door, my husband pointed me towards the bathroom. Just be ready to shower 2-3 times daily.😛

 

[kristenE]

I thought I was gonna faint in lab today... it was really hot!!! I actually had to leave, get a drink and sit down, lest I fall onto my cadaver "Hank". The smell isn't really that bad.... not pleasant, but better than vomit or feces... EWWWWW!!!

 

[jhug]

i've heard the vaporub or a little perfume works....i don't know if i could handle the mix though. Some advice someone gave me (i very skeptic decided to try it and it worked) is to take three deep breaths through your nose and by the time you are done the worst is over!!
i would agree that the worst is AFTER lab....when you least expect/think about it WHAM!!! cadaver....others will smell it on you too (and that's usually not a great way to make friends🙂)

 

[kiwi219]

I was planning on using Vick's Vapor Rub, but a friend of mine told me that is the worst thing to do because it opens up your sinuses. The smell ends up getting stuck in your sinuses and you smell it all day long.
The deep breaths through the nose sounds like a good idea. The perfume also sounds like a good idea, although the mixture in the smells might make you nauseous.

Thanks everyone for the advise 🙂

 

[Green912]

KristenE really was "hot" 😛 . The smell isn't bad, just different. Some people describe it as being in a dentists office. In Bizzaro land maybe. It's not a big deal.

 

[DOtobe]

You'll get used to the anatomy lab smell pretty quickly. After a few labs you don't even smell the formaldehyde (or whatever that stuff is) anymore. The things you will smell are when your lab partner accidentally cuts into the cadaver's bowel with his scalpel like mine once did...not very pleasing to the nose 😱 And another thing, don't go out to dinner with your friends after you are in the lab. You may not smell the stuff, but everyone who sits around you in the restaurant does 😀

 

[raspberry swirl]

i go to LECOM and i can't smell the bodies at all. the spray doesn't smell bad, but after a half an hour, it gives me a massive headache-- i think there are some carcinogens in there or something . . . i interviewed at NYCOM, and i was told that their ventilation is the worst ever-- partly because the lab is in the basement and partly because the ventiliation is terrible. it probably depends on your school and how close you choose to put your nose to the bodies. but don't worry, its not going to make you vomit or pass out . . . the formalin spray is by far worse than the bodies.

 

[jhug]

i also would suggest, and this is a bit tougher (it's what i did before the three breaths thing) just try your best to breath through your mouth only. It takes some practice to completely block off your nasal intake but it does help.

 

[drchris33]

I am a second year at UHS and you do get used to the smell. The only thing that makes it a little tough is if you have it right before a meal and then you have like a turkey sandwich or roast beef.

The smell doesn't bother me anymore. I just wear scrubs in, usually put my arms on the body from leaning, and the smell does get on them. I just scrub really good with soap and water afterwards. I am so used to it that I can go out to eat afterward or go up to our cafeteria and not be bothered. The whole school smells because everyone is in lab at different times. The OPP profs don't like it when we go to OPP right after anatomy and don't change clothes.

You all will be fine....everyone has gone through it....and you will too!!

Chris

 

[thewebthsp]

The smell of fresh fat from a cadaver is one of the most memorable (?) I will ever have.....

Formaldehyde is not a problem, but eugh... greasy stuff YUCK!

 

[Runtita]

The smell isn't too bad; you get used to it. We have this stuff called Infutrace to spray to neutralize some of the formaldehyde odor. It kinda works.

Our air is monitored for fumes, also. They have to keep the air "clean enough" for us to be in there.

 

[JunkintheTrunk]

note to self: don't eat a turkey sandwich after gross lab.....it looks like cadaver "meat" and your hands still smell like formaldehyde....its like eating cadaver!!! 🙄

 

[Shodddy18]

The smell of the chemicals is not that bad. After 10 weeks of dissecting, the cadavers seem to smell even less. Word of advice... re-wet your cadaver every day... if it dries out, it starts to smell and looks even worse.

The only thing I cant seem to eat now is the butter/garlic sauce that comes w/ papa johns and dominos pizza... it looks like the "cadaver Juice."

 

[(nicedream)]

Down here at LECOM-FL our cadavers are plastinated. So no smell for us!

 

[OSUdoc08]

Hi everyone,

I have a question for everyone who has taken anatomy or is currently in the process of cadaver dissection. How do you handle the horrible smell?? Do you wear masks? I'm supposed to start dissecting next week and I'm afraid that i'll vomit or faint from the stench!

Thanx,
Maria

What smell? I can't ever smell anything because I have sinus problems. As I result I am an obligate mouth-breather. If you do the same, you won't smell it.

This of course won't prevent your eyes from burning, so do what I do and wear some goggles.

We have fans in the corner so it never gets too hot.

We have one person in our entire room that wears a mask. I don't see any reason to.

 

[Fin-Nor]

The smell of fresh fat from a cadaver is one of the most memorable (?) I will ever have.....

Formaldehyde is not a problem, but eugh... greasy stuff YUCK!

yellow, fat, greasy, fascia is the worst. period. glad i got a skinny man.

 

[Cowboy DO]

. . . i interviewed at NYCOM, and i was told that their ventilation is the worst ever-- partly because the lab is in the basement and partly because the ventiliation is terrible.

Um, our anatomy lab is on the top floor of a three story building. Also I've never once had a problem with the smell. Sure it doesnt smell good, but what anatomy lab does?

 

[DORoe]

i agree with everyone above. the smell isn't as bad as you think it would be. Here at OUCOM the PBL curricular track people have gross in the morning and you do have to walk around all day smelling like gross lab which is very annoying. I would really like it if we had some sort of shower facilities on campus so we could wash up after lab.

 

[Robz]

I can usually handle the smell of gross lab but I have to say this week i had to take a walk after removing the lungs and heart from the thorax. A lot of the juices and fumes were all built up in the chest cavity and working in that area for a couple hours made me have a headache and felt a little ill.

I am pretty tolerant of the smell but I know people in my class that use vicks, nose plugs, and masks to hinder the smell....

personally, it seems like a right of passage of medical school to me. 🙂

Imagine what they did in the olden days when there was no proper storage ability.....

 

[Robz]

Down here at LECOM-FL our cadavers are plastinated. So no smell for us!

Plastinated????

are they already prosected?

 

[DOtobe]

Even though I hated the smell of anatomy lab (but got used to it after a while), I'm glad we didn't have prosections like the LECOMers (and I believe FLECOMers) do now. After all, half the fun of anatomy lab is dissecting...😀
I agree with Robz, it is kind of like a rite of passage...

(and we had to dissect a ~300 lb. cadaver. Took many days to get through the fat )

 

[Ice-1]

To minimize stinky scrubs, get 2 pair of cheap ones. After wearing once (and only once) take the scrubs home and hang them outside for a day then you can bring them in and wash them. With an alternating set you should be okay. This proobably works for old clothes in the lab too, but I always wore scrubs. Unfortunately not much can be done for that cadaver smell in your hair and skin except to take a shower as soon as possible when you get out of the lab.
Good luck!

 

[jhug]

i really think you pick up valuable skills in dissecting...
anyway, i wore the same clothes to lab everyday (left them in a locker) and threw them away at the end of the semester. As for the smell, often i would go swimming after lab and then shower...it got rid of the smell really well.

 

[STAC]

We have carbon filtered mask for anyone who wants one or for the girls who are preggies. A simple surgical mask is suprisingly useful in my opinion. Most all the girls wear funky looking caps which make them look Amish or like short order cooks! Apparently the smell is very tough to get out of long hair so they protect it as much as possible. Most guys wear ball caps if anything. We chunk everything in the lockers outside lab and then hit the showers BEFORE and after working out after lab. you'll be fine. noone in our class has had any problems except when they come in hung over....not pretty.

 

[VentdependenT]

I just started wearing my jeans and a tshirt after a few weeks. No matter what you are going to get that preservative all over yourself. Just jump in and enjoy the carcinogens!

 

[(nicedream)]

Plastinated????

are they already prosected?

Yeah we have prosected non-plastinated cadavers, and then plastinated parts.

 

[!dr_nick!]

To minimize stinky scrubs, get 2 pair of cheap ones. After wearing once (and only once) take the scrubs home and hang them outside for a day then you can bring them in and wash them. With an alternating set you should be okay. This proobably works for old clothes in the lab too, but I always wore scrubs. Unfortunately not much can be done for that cadaver smell in your hair and skin except to take a shower as soon as possible when you get out of the lab.
Good luck!

Dude! Dont do that. Take them to the public washers ha ha ha! Thats what i do, i just washem at the public washers at my apt complex and keep my washers formalin free. And adipose free.