Gross Antomy

[AggiePA]

I was hoping that some of you who've "been there, done that" could offer me some words of wisdom. I'm a first year PA student at the UT Soutwestern Medical Center in Dallas. On Monday we start our full, med-school curriculum gross dissections. The most I ever did as an undergrad was a cat...I'm really nervous and scared. <img border="0" alt="[Wowie]" title="" src="graemlins/wowie.gif" /> Does anyone have any tips or advice for getting through especially the first week????
Gig 'em!
Aggie PA

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[Rad 1]

AggiePA,
My advice would be to read the anatomy BEFORE you get in the lab and attempt to dissect. I know this sounds elementary but it is easy to get caught up with other classes. You'll get a lot more out of it if you have an idea of where things are supposed to be before you start "digging". Also, I liked Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy for the clinical correlations. Don't try to get by with a board review type of book if you want a comprehensive understanding of anatomy.
Best of luck.
Rad 1
OUCOM

 

[Dodge This]

It sounds like some of your apprehension lies in the actual dissection of the human cadaver. In all honesty, it may take you a few lab sessions to get used to the idea of it. I don't know what to tell you other than you'll get used to it and won't be bothered as much in a few weeks. It might benefit you to get involved the very first session instead of hanging back.

You'll be amongst people who will want to jump right in and do everything. (I was one of those.) Don't let them take over the dissection. Slow them down if there are things you don't understand. It's your education too.

Some popular atlases are Netter or Grant's. Moore and Agur "Essential Clinical Anatomy" (aka "mini-Moore") is a good concise text you might want to consider as a reference. When you study go back and look at the dissection outside of designated lab time. It's really difficult to learn anatomy out of books.

If you don't have scrubs yet, invest. The smell of gross anatomy soaks into clothes and stays there.

 

[iowaboy]

I'd say as an person who has taught gross anatomy, best thing you can do..is to review not just ur own cadaver, but go around and look at other specimens as well. Lot of people getted bogged down to their own cadaver and then when practical exams come, they get confused because the thoracic duct looks different from one cadaver to another..for example.

Also, invest in nylon gloves...they reduce the "smell" on ur hands much better than latex.

 

[md03]

Though it looks like I'm too late to help you with your apprehension today (Hope it was better than you thought) I'll post here for others who read this.

It does take a little getting used to. We started on the back, which was pretty benign. You need to keep the parts you're not working on covered to keep the cadever from drying out. At first, everyone is very timid and very careful, and after a week or so you start to realize that you can more aggressive (skin is a lot thicker than you think in many areas)

For those who are really timid about dissecting, you might want to try to pair up with someone who isn't if you have the choice. I could not wait to get started and loved every minute of gross...find someone like me. But, as a previous poster said, don't let the other person take over the whole dissection. You can learn a lot by doing.

Basically, everyone starts off fairly hesitant, but quickly overcomes it. Sort of like how you wind up talking about bowel resections and perirectal abcesses over lunch without a second thought.

 

[Firebird]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by iowaboy:
•I'd say as an person who has taught gross anatomy, •••••Just out of curiosity, in what capacity did you teach gross anatomy?

 

[AggiePA]

Howdy and thanks for all the great advice. I'm happy to report that today's lab went quite well. The worst part by far was the expectation leading up to it. Once there, it really wasn't all that bad. In all honesty, kinda fascinating. It was pretty amazing to actually be able to visualize the structures that were minute/non-existent in the cat.
So from now on my worries are about the practicals and not lab itself!
Again, Thanks!
Gig 'em!
Aggie PA
UT Southwestern Class of '04

 

[lady bug]

I'm an undergrad student who was fortunate enough to take a class where I dissected cadavers...it was like med school ratio too...five students per cadaver. I must say it has been one of the most amazing experiences ever....at first my professor eased our transition by covering the cadavers' faces and genitals w/ cloths...that made it a whole lot less dramatic....the only thing that disgusted me is the smell of the internal organs. Anyways, I'm sure you'll handle it fine...there were some students in my class who at first resisted dissecting, but they made it through fine. Some helpful resources I would recommend: Netter's atlas, Grant's atlas, and the Acland videos. Its very helpful to note landmarks for certain structures such as blood vessels...b/c that will help you identify structures that are similar looking, but location & surrounding structures will tell you where you are at. Oh here's a tip: if you put some vaseline on your hands before putting on gloves, the smell won't sink into your skin.
Good Luck,
Lady Bug

 

[iowaboy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Firebird:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by iowaboy:
•I'd say as an person who has taught gross anatomy, •••••Just out of curiosity, in what capacity did you teach gross anatomy?•••••As a TA and instructor.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Hey -

If anyone's nervous about gross, I'm reading a good book right now called "First Cut: A season in the Human Anatomy Lab," by Howard Carter. Carter is this humanities professor who spent 16 weeks with the gross lab at Emory. He wrote about the student's experiences and puts the humanity in learning the human body. It's really great and will help prepare you mentally and emotionally.
Good luck! We start Aug. 1! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Hey lady bug, thanks for that vaseline tip...I'm gonna try it :wink:

Are you supposed to wear clothes under scrubs?

 

[southerndoc]

I've never heard of the vaseline tip, but we were told not to use lotion on our hands when I worked as a paramedic. Why? Because the petroleum degraded the latex. So if you use vaseline, more than likely, the petroleum will only degrade your gloves.

Another tip: If you can't stand the smell, use some Vic's vapor rub on your philtrum (underneath your nose). We did it when we had to remove some stanky bodies that had been dead for a while. Worked like a charm (ok, so it didn't work so well, but it did help some!).

 

[colorado_1]

ok i'm on the flip-side. i hated gross anatomy. yep, pretty much every minute of it. surgery? now i will "get into" that once i am in rotations being that the patient is ALIVE and what you are doing COULD help. sorry, it just turned my stomach. yes, i learned to distance myself mentally, but i would never go back to the gross lab. so just to add a thought even someone who hated dissecting away a person, yes these CADAVERS are and were PEOPLE, got through it so you can, too. i'd say all the other 140 people in my class cared much less about it, i mean, eventually became less bothered by it, but i didn't (this is just some honesty here.) yes, i can still be a good doctor even though i hated gross . . . yes, it was an INVALUABLE learning experience and being repulsed by it seered into my memory what the body looks like under the skins. yes, i needed to do it so . . . no matter how much you hate it or how worried you are, if i got through it anyone can, i mean ANYONE . . . I was at the end of the spectrum . ..