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- Veterinary Student
I have a somewhat vague and elaborate question but please, PLEASE read to the end because i'm quite disturbed by this.
I'm a first year student at the Bombay Veterinary College. Being in India, a livestock dependent country, our coursework focuses on cattle with comparisons to horses, dog and fowl. To study myology in the first semester, they slaughter 2 cows, separate the head and limbs from the torso and preserve it in formalin. Our job is to skin the specimen, peel the fascia and memorize the positions of the superficial muscles of the face and limbs.
Come exatime, they bring out the limbs, prop them on a table and ask us to identify certain muscles.
Is it just me, or is this a horribly ineffecient and savage method of learning myology? The formalin preserved muscles are hardly reminiscent of living flesh and I will assume that skinning carcasses is not a skill that practicing veterinarians require. Wouldn't it be easier/better to use model as a teaching aid at this early stage? Obviously, dissection is required at some point, but how is/was it done at your university before you reach a stage where you actually know something about the meat you're digging around in?
Lastly, please let me know if i didn't make enough sense... i'm having trouble getting my thoughts across and I'll try again later.
I'm a first year student at the Bombay Veterinary College. Being in India, a livestock dependent country, our coursework focuses on cattle with comparisons to horses, dog and fowl. To study myology in the first semester, they slaughter 2 cows, separate the head and limbs from the torso and preserve it in formalin. Our job is to skin the specimen, peel the fascia and memorize the positions of the superficial muscles of the face and limbs.
Come exatime, they bring out the limbs, prop them on a table and ask us to identify certain muscles.
Is it just me, or is this a horribly ineffecient and savage method of learning myology? The formalin preserved muscles are hardly reminiscent of living flesh and I will assume that skinning carcasses is not a skill that practicing veterinarians require. Wouldn't it be easier/better to use model as a teaching aid at this early stage? Obviously, dissection is required at some point, but how is/was it done at your university before you reach a stage where you actually know something about the meat you're digging around in?
Lastly, please let me know if i didn't make enough sense... i'm having trouble getting my thoughts across and I'll try again later.
