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Lol yes that too! We have most of our nerves in our Neuro block (which is nextThat's what I figured. Nerves in their neuro block.
Lol yes that too! We have most of our nerves in our Neuro block (which is nextThat's what I figured. Nerves in their neuro block.
Yes we still have to know them!
One of our professors was like if you can do it or have time great! If not don't worry. Our curriculum is all about what works best for you, which I freaking LOVE. Except for one professor who refuses to record his lectures (I'm not grumpy... much)I actually found dissecting out nerves and vessels to be very relaxing
Nah, nerves aren't important. They don't really do anything, right?

I really enjoy dissecting LA nerves and vessels. Something about the carotid sheath being bigger than my thumb just brings me peace.I actually found dissecting out nerves and vessels to be very relaxing

The night before the exam we went up to study and everything was mangled and destroyed. I
We do dissections without any anatomy lectures
If it makes you feel better, we had anatomy lectures and our labs were still a sh** show. we had a different professor than @batsenecal does
if it was sabotage, it was a terrible idea. Because they’re not going to not test us on it. It just made it exponentially harder to do soThe horrible part of me deep down thinks this was sabotage to not have it on the test. But my trust in people is low, so there is that.
The horrible part of me deep down thinks this was sabotage to not have it on the test. But my trust in people is low, so there is that.
if it was sabotage, it was a terrible idea. Because they’re not going to not test us on it. It just made it exponentially harder to do so

Last semester our professor really really loved our pelvic limb nerves and she said that she would likely use that one so take care of it, and I joked “got it, cut them all off.” But still.
Our dogs were never used. 🙁 so sad!!!There was nothing to love on our dog. Except for maybe his dorsal pedal. And I guess his reproductive organs were okay.
And those were the only two things he was ever used for on an exam.
Our dogs were never used. 🙁 so sad!!!
That's really cool! My group's dog was pregnant and also had a weird hole in her side, and her kidneys looked really weird, so we made up a detailed backstory about what had happened to her. It would have been nice to know her real story!All of our animals for lab are client donations from animals euthanized for medical reasons at the hospital, which is nice. In addition to feeling like the bodies are being put to good use, we also get some brief case history and the names of the animals. Drives home the point that these animals are all individuals who were loved during their lifetime by families who probably had to make some tough choices on behalf of their pets. Which is a nice reminder to have when you're standing in anatomy lab going "...someone remind me why I'm doing this to myself?"
Noooo, that's so sad! But I do understand there was a lot of time and money put into it.CSU's virtual canine anatomy used to have a version online free to use, but it looks like it's been taken down. 🙁
We get a copy for dissection and it's a godsend
It was always fun when they dug out horse legs or fresh dogs that were a bloody mess and tagged what was essentially hamburger meat and asked you what it was. I think it's dinner, before it meets the grinder. What more do you want from me?!Which would be dumb, because having a great example available to be tested on is way better than when they have to pull out a "meh" example and you're not totally sure what it is. So like, unless they went through and destroyed the nerves and vessels on all the cadavers, it's still gonna be on the test and just not as pretty. But like... I could kind of believe someone not thinking it through and doing that.
Meanwhile every time a professor would come over we would try to convince them that our dog was the best thing in the lab and should be tagged for everything. 😛There was nothing to love on our dog. Except for maybe his dorsal pedal. And I guess his reproductive organs were okay.
And those were the only two things he was ever used for on an exam.
It was always fun when they dug out horse legs or fresh dogs that were a bloody mess and tagged what was essentially hamburger meat and asked you what it was. I think it's dinner, before it meets the grinder. What more do you want from me?!![]()
I hated those questions. I'm super handsy and half the time would only read the giant DO NOT TOUCH sign after I was already wrist deep in the specimenI loved these. Especially when it was "DO NOT TOUCH" question.
All our dogs are euthanized for medical reasons at the VMTH so that's nice but we definitely don't have any history on them I think due to confidentiality.Yeah I would straight up fail anatomy if we couldn't take out our cadavers at any time.
1 dog and 1 cat per 4 person group plus a few demo dogs dissected by our professor; the anatomy lab is open 24/7 and you can go in and look at any cadaver you want at any time (obviously have to care for it appropriately and dissecting another group's cadaver is a no-no). Also, we frequently walk around during lab and identify structures on each other's cadavers.
My group had a brachycephalic dog, so for this block (the head) we got to fish around in a bucket of pre-dissected heads from last year and choose one superficial dissection and one deep dissection. Was one of the creepiest things I've ever done but also has been one of the most helpful haha.
All of our animals for lab are client donations from animals euthanized for medical reasons at the hospital, which is nice. In addition to feeling like the bodies are being put to good use, we also get some brief case history and the names of the animals. Drives home the point that these animals are all individuals who were loved during their lifetime by families who probably had to make some tough choices on behalf of their pets. Which is a nice reminder to have when you're standing in anatomy lab going "...someone remind me why I'm doing this to myself?"
Lol, I think the only times we WERE allowed to touch specimens were bone questions. Apparently there were problems in the past with people either moving pins, or destroying the structure in question (whether accidentally or on purpose, it's hard to say...).I hated those questions. I'm super handsy and half the time would only read the giant DO NOT TOUCH sign after I was already wrist deep in the specimen![]()
But you are vet students and therefore affiliated with the hospital...?All our dogs are euthanized for medical reasons at the VMTH so that's nice but we definitely don't have any history on them I think due to confidentiality.
But you are vet students and therefore affiliated with the hospital...?
There's a blurb about it in our donation form, iirc. We don't get a ton of info, just the basics

That's really cool! My group's dog was pregnant and also had a weird hole in her side, and her kidneys looked really weird, so we made up a detailed backstory about what had happened to her. It would have been nice to know her real story!
Maybe I should consider pathology as an option for me more seriously. Endless necropsies! It runs in my blood...my grandpa was a (human) pathologist.
I loved these. Especially when it was "DO NOT TOUCH" question.
I hated those questions. I'm super handsy and half the time would only read the giant DO NOT TOUCH sign after I was already wrist deep in the specimen![]()
For us, we’re not allowed to touch unless they specifically say “YOU CAN TOUCH”. Which is typically like a bone or something they wanted us to ID and it’s hard for most people to ID which ulna it is without picking it up and putting it on your body for reference.You guys are allowed to touch? Jelly.

You guys are allowed to touch? Jelly.
ham handsham hands



ham hands
Oh yeah, I’m not upset with our do not touch protocol. Especially since it’s timed and there was only like 40 seconds per question and then they move on.
Apparently this semester we’re not doing it rotating practical style... from what I’ve heard, they’re going to have it set up amd you have 2 hours to peruse through the stations however you want with multiple people per station. I fear that’s going to be a nightmare with academic integrity, though.
Woah, they had a set time for you guys per station?!ham hands
Oh yeah, I’m not upset with our do not touch protocol. Especially since it’s timed and there was only like 40 seconds per question and then they move on.
Apparently this semester we’re not doing it rotating practical style... from what I’ve heard, they’re going to have it set up amd you have 2 hours to peruse through the stations however you want with multiple people per station. I fear that’s going to be a nightmare with academic integrity, though.

see my luck is that I would miss a station or one would always be overcrowded when I was trying to get there.Yeah, that is not ideal. The stations that are harder will collect a following for sure. Our surgery lab final was that way, and I hated it.
ETA: there were only two allowed at a station at a time though, so there was lots of lurking until someone walked away. haha
imo it keeps it fail and ordered. I’ve done a lot of practicals and it’s been like that since HS and it’s the same idea hahahahaha so it doesn’t stress me out too much. Ours is half the class too, but still... geeshWoah, they had a set time for you guys per station?!
We were allowed to just wander and go to whatever stations we wanted. We also only had half our class in the exam at a time (45 students), and 30-45 stations with a few questions set up. It never was a problem, and we never had any cheating issues.
I think being told when to rotate would have stressed me out. Some stations I was definitely there for less than 30 seconds, others (especially once we got to arteries and nerves), I’d need a minute or so to double check the structure with surrounding things.
It only makes me grumpy when it's something so fragile that it is going to get disrupted by touching it, and therefore has the huge "do not touch" sign. And even then, people usually only touch by mistake, and it's common courtesy to tell one of the proctors so they can check it.I hate watching people touch things they know they aren't supposed to touch. I've done my fair share of missing the sign and touching something we were asked not to, but I never do it on purpose and it makes me grumpy when people do.
It only makes me grumpy when it's something so fragile that it is going to get disrupted by touching it, and therefore has the huge "do not touch" sign. And even then, people usually only touch by mistake, and it's common courtesy to tell one of the proctors so they can check it.
We haven't (to my knowledge) had anything messed up to the point where it caused problems for other people taking the exam, so I am usually ok with it. Basically, just don't be a dick.
We're allowed to touch most questions, I guess, but
we do also have a lot of things labeled "Please do not touch". Usually it's if the pins are holding multiple small things in place. People touch them anyways because it's hard to follow nerves and things without touching them at all.
So there are also things labeled with signs like:
"PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH!!! Seriously."
That's how you know they mean business.
Fair. I actually asked our instructors at one point towards the beginning of the year if all "do not touch" signs actually meant "do not touch," and they said "nope. It basically just means 'touch carefully and don't mess it up,' but it's easier to just write 'do not touch'. But it's ok to follow nerves, as long as the pins don't get moved". So in our case it's accepted to do so. I'm not generally a rule breaker so I would probably get grumpy if it was actually against the rules.It may be slightly different in your case given that you have "Do not touch" vs "Do not touch" signs, but we basically just have signs that say do not touch and the thing is that just because you don't think it's fragile doesn't mean it isn't and just because you don't think you moved it doesn't mean you didn't. Plus it gives them an unfair advantage over those of us who followed instructions.
We had a group this semester whose dog had such extensive cancer metastases in the abdomen that the instructors had to grab them a spare cadaver to work on instead. Occasionally you do find some interesting pathology on the dogs, although anything with significant enough pathology is usually rejected as an embalming cadaver by our anatomy staff because they know it might interfere with the embalming process. But I've seen a fair share of megaesophagus, foreign bodies in the stomach (one group found a toy alligator in their dog's stomach this year), and the occasional splenic or lung tumors.I was secretely hoping we would find something wrong with our cadaver and determine cause of death like a CSI episode but every ounce of our pup appeared normal.
Maybe I should consider pathology as an option for me more seriously. Endless necropsies! It runs in my blood...my grandpa was a (human) pathologist.
This is how our exams were run. We could go between the lab and the cubes (you could work on the written portion of the exam in either place, I preferred working on the written in the cubes though) and every station was a free for all instead of being timed. It worked out fine - there were, of course, stations that were hard and had people crammed around them but I usually skipped those and came back to them when they were less busy. From an academic integrity standpoint I don't think we had many issues with it, our professors asked us to keep our papers folded over when we weren't writing down answers and we had a good number of anatomy faculty hanging around in each space to double check pins were in the right place and they would announce to everyone (and write it on a whiteboard in the cubes) if they had to fix anything. I think most people are aware of the very severe consequences of cheating here and were too focused on their own work to put in the effort to follow people around and copy off them.Apparently this semester we’re not doing it rotating practical style... from what I’ve heard, they’re going to have it set up amd you have 2 hours to peruse through the stations however you want with multiple people per station. I fear that’s going to be a nightmare with academic integrity, though.
I don't think I could live without touching almost everythingYou guys are allowed to touch? Jelly.
Only people who talk during our exams are the proctorsSo there's definitely a conglomeration of people at the hard spots during that time but there's never any talking.

AyyyyyyyyA friend joked he should do that on a hard question, my response was don't be a dick.
