Did dissecting a human cadaver bother you?

[78222]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I keep hearing people, on sdn, talk about how giving a cadaver a name helps deal with the experience of dissecting a human. My question is, did anyone actually have any issue with dissecting a cadaver in the first place? I just sliced into it without a second thought, and everyone in my dissection group seemed to do the same. Whats your experience?

 

[Izabelle]

At times it doesn't even seem like a person to me and it doesn't bother me. But, if I think about him and things he maybe liked to do or who he hung out with (grandchildren, family, friends), I feel strange dissecting him. Also, if I think about how I would feel about a family member (or even myself) being cut to pieces, I get kind of weirded out. Mostly, I think of it as an awesome experience (though yucky at times) and I'm thankful that my person gave his body to us. It's really an amazing gesture.

I guess it just all depends on how much you think about it.

 

[zimmie256]

I keep hearing people, on sdn, talk about how giving a cadaver a name helps deal with the experience of dissecting a human. My question is, did anyone actually have any issue with dissecting a cadaver in the first place? I just sliced into it without a second thought, and everyone in my dissection group seemed to do the same. Whats your experience?

I'm not in med school yet, but I've read that approximately 10% of med students experience disruptions in their eating/sleeping patterns when they start dissecting their cadaver. Not sure how long these reactions typically last, but there are definitely some out there that have some issues with it at least initially...

 

[MarzMD]

It didnt bother me in the slightest. I guess I have been desensitized from watching so many movies and playing so many videogames. The other day I washed the heart in the sink to get the dry chunks of blood out of it. Now that was a little weird.

 

[fantasty]

Our school kept the faces covered until the final third (we did head & neck last). So, the day they uncovered the faces to remove the brain for neuroanatomy was rough on some people.

 

[Law2Doc]

I keep hearing people, on sdn, talk about how giving a cadaver a name helps deal with the experience of dissecting a human. My question is, did anyone actually have any issue with dissecting a cadaver in the first place? I just sliced into it without a second thought, and everyone in my dissection group seemed to do the same. Whats your experience?

To some extent those who go into medicine are a self selecting group that won't have as much of a problem with this as the rest of the population. Where most recoil in horror, we lean forward to see better. Makes you wonder whether some folks are just predisposed to become doctors.

 

[njbmd]

My question is, did anyone actually have any issue with dissecting a cadaver in the first place?

Any issues that any of us had with dissecting human remains, left when our anatomy professor started quizzing us on the back muscles. Our main goal became having the nicest dissections so that Pedro (our cadaver) was used on the lab practical.

njbmd🙂

 

[Rugby MD]

I got light headed when I first walked into the gross lab. I had read that some med schools cover the faces hands and genitals with cheese cloth, but not my school. For the first couple weeks, I couldn't look at Jerry's face. I would get a wiff of formaldahyde while eating and not be able to take an other bite.
By the middle of the year, I would be elbow deep in cadaver guts and not think twice about it. one day I did come home, take a long soapy shower, start to do the dishes and go to clean out the drain in the sink. I grabbed a cold days old noodle from the drain. it smushed in my fingers. I almost threw up right in the sink 😱 Its funny what gets to you sometimes and what doesn't.

 

[Dr Who]

The first few days of lab anatomy is a bit rough on most students. The first day, when they are first presented with the cadavers almost everyone was a bit put off with the idea of dissecting a human being. But as the weeks go by we all make mental adjustments and "dehumanize" the cadaver in order to make it easier. Most med schools make sure to cover the face of the cadavers so it is easier on the students. When faces are uncovered for head and neck, most students go through the whole process once again, as the cadaver is no longer a "faceless" mannequin which is easier to objectify.
Its not the we as med students are heartless SOB's with no moral fiber, but we are not made of steel and giving names to the cadaver helps us in the process.

 

[FotoFusion]

The first few days were really philosophical. Then you get used to it and it just becomes another thing you have to learn. Dissecting out the brachial plexus is really fun, plus some other parts, so you really focus on learning the stuff and less on the philosophical and creepy aspects of what you're doing. Enjoy the ride!

 

[ChuckRock]

I got light headed when I first walked into the gross lab. I had read that some med schools cover the faces hands and genitals with cheese cloth, but not my school. For the first couple weeks, I couldn't look at Jerry's face. I would get a wiff of formaldahyde while eating and not be able to take an other bite.
By the middle of the year, I would be elbow deep in cadaver guts and not think twice about it. one day I did come home, take a long soapy shower, start to do the dishes and go to clean out the drain in the sink. I grabbed a cold days old noodle from the drain. it smushed in my fingers. I almost threw up right in the sink 😱 Its funny what gets to you sometimes and what doesn't.

I laughed my ass off reading that!

 

[LuckyBambooGirl]

The first day of lab was weird. I was really creeped out and did not want to touch the cadavar, but I got over it. At least until we had to dissect the eye. Somebody had poked ours and it was so nasty looking! Don't know why, but eye stuff is just kinda gross! I am glad I had the experience of dissecting a cadavar, but I also glad its over!