Dissection...

IMPORTANT: I think this post sounds kinda crude, so pardon me if you get put off.

Taken from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary -

dissect
Pronunciation: di-'sekt; ÷dI-'sekt, ÷'dI-"
Function: verb
Etymology: Latin dissectus, past participle of dissecare to cut apart, from dis- + secare to cut
1 : to separate into pieces : expose the several parts of (as an animal) for scientific examination
2 : to analyze and interpret minutely

cadaver
Pronunciation: k&-'da-v&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from cadere to fall:
a dead body; especially one intended for dissection

So I made up my mind this morning that I won't vomit/faint during my lab today. We've seen prosections cut off from older cadavers during our first 7 labs, and today, we are introduced to REAL cadavers. Yes, the whole fresh body. And what are we gonna do with them? DISSECT THEM, of course!

Since there is a limited number of cadavers for all the students, we've got our cadavers with their skull sawn and brains taken out. So, if you see them at the head region, you'll only see a hollow ball thingy there. Eyes have been dug out, but other than that, everything's intact.

I thought there'd be people fainting during the dissection itself, but I was left disappointed! So our batch is one strong and brave batch! But I think there was this girl who cried even before dissection started. Hmmm.

The cadaver that my group had was a huge man. He died of a stroke, probably due to the huge amount of fats he's got in that body of his. We had to flip him over such that his back is facing us. Since the body's lost quite abit of water, and this man was quite old, his whole back was flattened, so it looked kinda gross...

We had to cut the gluteal region (buttocks) to see the major muscles and nerves, and damn, this guy's got real lots of fats oozing outta his butt. We also dissected the back of the knee to look for tendons and nerves and muscles, and luckily it wasn't as fatty at that region. The whole 2 hours of dissection past sooooo slowly I couldn't wait to leave the dissection room! We could smell the chemicals put in the cadavers and it was just unbearable.

And no, this is not the end of dissection. I think I've got more dissection sessions after Easter! We're still left with the anterior part of the lower body, and also the back. One of the groups had actually dissected the back, and onestly speaking, it was so cool! I could see the different muscle group and everything! Maybe the student dissected it well. I think I'm bad at dissecting!! I dissected the back of the knee so we could see the inside. I was supposed to slice the skin first, then the next layer which is the subcutaneous tissue (yellowy stuff), then the deep fascia(whitish layer), before we could even see the muscles. I think I was too eager, so I cut straight through the deep fascia and into the muscle! OH MAN.... That was embarrassing. But now I know I've learnt something - ALWAYS BE PATIENT, AND TREAT OTHERS LIKE HOW YOU WANT OTHERS TO TREAT YOU. Oh yeah, I wouldn't want someone cutting straight into my muscles! Whaha.

Although this sounds like a really bad experience, I've learnt abit from this lab, and there will be more of the same kinda labs in later years.

How come I feel like I don't wanna do this again... No, I cannot look at it this way. I must strive and do my best in every lab. Oh yeah.