Slowing Cadaver Rot

[funkless]

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Hey, smart people,

My dissection group is on the verge of a minor catastrophe. Our beloved cadaver is starting to putrify, due to improper fixation (or at least that's what our proctors have indicated. Not our fault!👍)

I was wondering if any of you had any ideas on how to halt/slow this process. After this last lab, we washed her as well as we could with the organic wetting solution, drained her well, then sprayed the **** out of her with a 10% clorox solution.

Please help. Our organs and vasculature are turning to mush. Our thoracic expedition was a waste and we're afraid that by the time we get south of the diaphragm there won't be anything left but a watery goo.

Thanks,

--Funkless

 

[stoic]

The proctors/TA's don't have any solutions?

 

[CaptainJack02]

The proctors/TA's don't have any solutions?

glade...plug it in, plug it in!

maybe some febreeze?

i agree with stoic that your prof(s)/TA's should know a fix for that. they're being paid for their knowledge, goddamnit!

 

[funkless]

One would think, but so far no joy...

--Funkless

 

[beanbean]

We had some significant mold issues last year with our first cadaver. Since the dissection was organ based and thus lasted the whole year, "Lou" ended up getting replaced by "Lloyd". A couple of groups had issues with decay due to improper fixation and their cadavers were replaced as well.

If you have mold on your cadaver, be sure to spray it with Tilex or something similiar and keep it wet. You don't want the spores to get airbourne and land on the other bodies. Don't contaminate another cadaver - change your gloves, etc when going over to look at the other bodies in the lab.

Good luck!

 

[uclacrewdude]

spray and cover as much as possible. start making friends with other groups, b/c you will need to start looking at their bodies as well in order to see anything decent. their cadavers, not their bodies.

 

[E.A. Poe]

Pack well with SPAM. Allow diffusion to occur.

 

[felipe5]

another good suggestion would be to completely soak some towels with the preservative, and each time the lab is done, make sure you wrap the cadaver as much as possible (ie a towel for each leg, a nice thick one to cover the thorax, etc etc).

 

[TTSD]

glade...plug it in, plug it in!

maybe some febreeze?

i agree with stoic that your prof(s)/TA's should know a fix for that. they're being paid for their knowledge, goddamnit!

Oh man, Febreeze and Lysol.. two wonders for foul smelling corpses.

 

[debvz]

When one of our cadavers had a problem which made dissection impossible, the group just went to the anatomy director and they got a new cadaver for them. Its nice to have lotsa spares in the meat locker. 😀

 

[kchan99]

Just to let you know, Febreeze is not a preservative. It is only for improving the smell. Lysol in the spray can is okay, but don't bring the toilet cleaner from home. Some toilet cleaners contain hydrochloric acid.

 

[Swaydaa]

Ours had 200-300 maggots crawling around after opening the belly. Something went wayyyyyyyyyy wrong with that body....They let us have a new one and used that one for prosection on the extremities.

 

[TTSD]

Yeah, apparently during fixation of our corpse, apparently it burst a blood vessel somewhere in the face. Half of the face and neck are completely matted. It takes hours of careful dissection and cleaning to try to expose nerves and veins and that are almost indistinguishable from everything else. I slip in my scissors, spread and spread and spread. Never can I just directly cut and slice.

 

[E.A. Poe]

Ours had 200-300 maggots crawling around after opening the belly. Something went wayyyyyyyyyy wrong with that body....They let us have a new one and used that one for prosection on the extremities.

Sorry there's no way I'm going to believe that.

 

[funkless]

Ours had 200-300 maggots crawling around after opening the belly. Something went wayyyyyyyyyy wrong with that body....They let us have a new one and used that one for prosection on the extremities.

I'm calling bullsh*** on this one.

 

[SarahGM]

I'm calling bullsh*** on this one.

Say what you will, but I don't think that's bullsh**. Our professors explicitly told us to keep the windows SHUT-- otherwise we will come in one day and find our bodies "squirming." Flies can get into the anatomy lab and lay eggs... it's not unheard of.

 

[debvz]

Say what you will, but I don't think that's bullsh**. Our professors explicitly told us to keep the windows SHUT-- otherwise we will come in one day and find our bodies "squirming." Flies can get into the anatomy lab and lay eggs... it's not unheard of.

Heck, if we can have our live patients' diabetic limbs infested with roaches, i dont see why the flies cant be in the cadavers, if theyre not adequately preserved, or properly stored.

 

[funkless]

You've got a point there.

But, the roaches-in-live-patient scenario is the result of extreme neglect. The maggots-in-cadaver, though not as extreme, would have to be the result of a degree of neglect that I don't believe could possibly happen in an accredited allopathic program.

--Funkless

 

[principessa]

Wow. You can get replacement cadavers?

As for maggots, I don't see why it is so implausible. I used to work in a veterinary clinic, and I saw a few live animals with maggot-infested wounds and orifices. It's incredibly gross, I know, but not outside the realm of possibility for a cadaver.

 

[ericdamiansean]

Wow. You can get replacement cadavers?

As for maggots, I don't see why it is so implausible. I used to work in a veterinary clinic, and I saw a few live animals with maggot-infested wounds and orifices. It's incredibly gross, I know, but not outside the realm of possibility for a cadaver.

saw a body once with maggots crawling out of the eyes..tat was pretty gross 😳

 

[Fermata]

There was dead possum under the house that I had to go out and retrieve because it was stinking up the whole place.

Those maggots were having some kind of feast, I'll tell you... 🙁

 

[kchan99]

Maggots are usually seen infesting unpreserved cadavers left out, like those sometimes autopsied at a medical examiner's office. If your anatomy lab is fairly warm and the cadavers are not well preserved, then I can understand having a mild maggot infestation. It will be a problem in learning; the insects will make critical parts disappear if the problem is not controlled. I don't know what works. I would not feel comfortable using bug spray. Maybe apply sodium borate from the supermarket laundry aisle to the site of infestation sparingly... I remember my Mom sprinkling sodium borate near crevices to control insect entry. Before you apply any chemicals, check with the TA to make sure your chemicals are compatible with the preservatives.

 

[SurgLyfe]

The first thing that should be done when you see any kind of mold growth on a cadaver, (no matter how small) is to excise the portion on which the mold is growing. After that, douse the immediate surrounding area of the excision with 100% bleach solution and let it sit for three minutes. Wipe the area up, and then clean the whole cadaver table and/or bag with lysol or antifungal solution for any spore that may be in the area.

If the area taken by mold is as big as the one initially described in this post, it would suck to have to excise such a huge area but that's the only choice that could really stop the spread of mold completely.

Also, make sure to rid of the moldy flesh inside multiple bags inside a sealed container. Or just incinerate it.

 

[ncide]

The first thing that should be done when you see any kind of mold growth on a cadaver, (no matter how small) is to excise the portion on which the mold is growing. After that, douse the immediate surrounding area of the excision with 100% bleach solution and let it sit for three minutes. Wipe the area up, and then clean the whole cadaver table and/or bag with lysol or antifungal solution for any spore that may be in the area.

If the area taken by mold is as big as the one initially described in this post, it would suck to have to excise such a huge area but that's the only choice that could really stop the spread of mold completely.

Also, make sure to rid of the moldy flesh inside multiple bags inside a sealed container. Or just incinerate it.

The last post in this thread was from 12 years ago.

 

[Psai]

Reading this thread was a mistake.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I just ate something and then read this thread, and I wish I hadn't done those things in that order.

 

[Mad Jack]

The last post in this thread was from 12 years ago.

One post has a Glade Plug-in joke that hasn't been relevant since the 90s.

 

[stoic]

One post has a Glade Plug-in joke that hasn't been relevant since the 90s.

I still very much prefer glade plug-ins above my cat's litterbox. As for the rest of you, just deal with it. You have a set of dissection scrubs and wash them every time you leave the lab.