Pre-dissected cadaver vs dissecting your own in PT school

[Indiana Yones]

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Hi,

I was accepted to a program who uses pre-dissected cadavers (I assume the DO/PA students probably dissect them) and am wondering if it is a big disadvantage as opposed to dissecting your own? I had pre-dissected cadavers in undergrad and I learned just fine. I would appreciate any opinions thank you in advance.


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[SpartanWolverine]

There are pros and cons of both prosection/dissection. Prosected cadavers are convenient and save you a ton of time. Dissection may be a better learning/consolidation experience in the long run. We had opportunities to learn from both at my school and I preferred prosection.

I personally wouldn't use it as a major factor for deciding between programs.

 

[Indiana Yones]

There are pros and cons of both prosection/dissection. Prosected cadavers are convenient and save you a ton of time. Dissection may be a better learning/consolidation experience in the long run. We had opportunities to learn from both at my school and I preferred prosection.

I personally wouldn't use it as a major factor for deciding between programs.

Awesome thank you for your input.


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[TheIron]

We dissected our cadavers in my program, and I will say that I ended up spending way more time in the lab than if they were prosected. While I don't miss dissecting and accidentally butchering important structures (whoops..), it forced me to look at the manual and work through how to differentiate nerves, vessels, muscles, etc. It was an experience I won't forget, but like SpartanWolverine said I wouldn't worry about it too much when choosing a program. I think the critical part is the experience of actually seeing structures you will be targeting in your practice daily sans skin.

 

[Indiana Yones]

We dissected our cadavers in my program, and I will say that I ended up spending way more time in the lab than if they were prosected. While I don't miss dissecting and accidentally butchering important structures (whoops..), it forced me to look at the manual and work through how to differentiate nerves, vessels, muscles, etc. It was an experience I won't forget, but like SpartanWolverine said I wouldn't worry about it too much when choosing a program. I think the critical part is the experience of actually seeing structures you will be targeting in your practice daily sans skin.

That makes sense. Thank you.


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[NewTestament]

Dissecting a cadaver yourself is boring, tedious, and time-consuming. I wish the cadavers had been pre-dissected. Anatomage is another alternative, but expensive. The advantages are numerous: you can add or remove layers; everything is labelled; it doesn't smell; it requires no dissection; you don't have to stand in a chilly lab or wear scrubs.

 

[truthseeker]

I preferred to dissect. I think the added time in the lab gives you more appreciation of the three dimensional nature of the human anatomy. When you look at a prosected cadaver, you miss all of the facial connections, the lymphatic goo that sits in between the fascial planes and you get a sense of how delicate some structures are and how tough other things are. It took us three scalpels to get through the plantar fascia on one of the cadavers we dissected.

Get dirty if you can. If it isn't an option, ask to be one of the dissectors for the next class behind you. Anatomy is one of the most (if not the most) important classes and bodies of knowledge you will learn in PT school.

 

[Bones26]

I agree with truthseeker. You'll never have this opportunity again. You might as well have the full dissection experience.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I'm sure that anatomy is important in the PT world. Just like anatomy is important for me as a future radiologist. But I don't think my remote experience of cadaveric anatomy education ultimately made much difference in my current anatomy knowledge. However, everyone learns in different ways! If you're willing to put much more effort into dissection you'll likely get more out of it. If you want to learn the anatomy in the most straightforward way then prosected cadavers are the way to go. What you're looking to get out of the process is something to consider.

 

[starrsgirl]

This would not have made a big difference to me. The pre dissected option is way more efficient obviously (time wise). I personally found I learned a little more from the pre dissected models as they were done with a crafty hand. We often finished our dissection (just to pass) and then I had to study the pre dissection model anyway as you could see all the structures (sometimes ours weren't clear, sometimes there are anatomical differences).

 

[truthseeker]

This would not have made a big difference to me. The pre dissected option is way more efficient obviously (time wise). I personally found I learned a little more from the pre dissected models as they were done with a crafty hand. We often finished our dissection (just to pass) and then I had to study the pre dissection model anyway as you could see all the structures (sometimes ours weren't clear, sometimes there are anatomical differences).

The last phrase you typed is an important one. Most bodies you will dissect will have things that aren't in the book. That is an important thing to know.

 

[Never2Late4Change]

I don't think it is imperative to have a cadaver lab to be a good clinician, but it is definitely something that I found value in. It was really cool to learn, and actually see, the variability that is among us. And, I have a lot of mental images that I can refer to, which stick with me better than learning from a computer, for example. Being able to palpate healthy verse diseased lungs, aortic variability, an implanted pacemaker, etc., were really cool experiences that enhanced my learning.