Juicy Lucy

Michael and I just got back from our FIRST 4-hour anatomy lab 10 minutes ago. We got out of lab, picked up some Subway, and came home. We watched a little bit of news (PS: super shocked by Heath Ledger's death!!), and now, to relax for a bit, we are watching an episode of Friends (The One Where Ross Is Fine) before hitting the books.

The Logistics

There are six people to a cadaver and there are twenty cadavers in total. Because there are only twenty cadavers, Ross divides first semesters into 3 groups - Groups A, B, and C. Michael, Derrick, and I are in group A.

Anatomy lab is every Tuesday and Thursday. Normally, Group A dissects Tuesday and Group B dissects Thursday. Then, Group C dissects the following Tuesday and back to Group A on Thursday. You get the gist.

So, today we (Group A) started dissecting at 1:00 pm and then at 4:00 pm, Group B came in to the lab. We were responsible for teaching Group B everything we did and learned in lab. Again, at 4:30 pm, Group C came in and we taught them. At the beginning of lab, each group is given a sheet of paper listing all of the structures we are supposed to find. Each group is responsible for teaching the other two groups what is on that sheet of paper.

The Details

As soon I got to lab, I went to the table I was assigned to - Table 18. Michael's table is Table 2. The entire lab watched the 20 minute tutorial made by Dr. King, the head anatomy instructor. The video is really cool because it is a high definition video made by Dr. King while he shows that day's dissection on a cadaver. After the video, we opened the body bags.

As soon as you open the body bag, a wave of formaldehyde fumes hits you. The formaldehyde really stings your eyes, causing them to water. After you unwrap the plastic wrapping and formaldehyde-soaked cloth from around the body, you come face to face with the cadaver you will be dissecting for the rest of the semester. My cadaver was an 82 year old woman who passed away from congestive heart failure. Michael's was an 85 year old woman who passed away as a result of intercranial bleeding.

Today's dissection was especially messy and difficult. My cadaver had hefty amounts of fat deposits all around her back. We spent almost an hour trying to cut through the fat in order to reach the muscles of the back. The fat was a vibrant yellow and extremely oily. Every new incision brought a wave of oil. We often couldn't even see the muscles because of the pools of oil collected around the back and spine. We tried to cut out as much fat as possible in order to reach the muscles. By the end of the 4 hour lab, we had found and isolated the trapezius, rhomboids (major and minor), latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, levator scapulae, and the posterior serratus (superior and inferior) muscles. We were also able to locate most of the nerves that innervate these muscles and the arteries that supply blood to these muscles.

Because of the cadaver's age, the muscles had atrophied and were hard to locate and isolate. However, my group pulled through and we found all the required structures.

I'll continue to write about lab some other time. Right now, I really need a shower because my scrubs are covered in oil and other random juices. After that, I have a date with Biochem for the rest of the night.