A great reminder for all of us. Courtesy of www.postsecret.com.
Participating in the gross anatomy cadaver lab my first semester of PA school was, I must admit, a difficult experience, for several reasons.
When you first walk into the cadaver lab, you are inundated by the smell of formaldehyde. The smell permeates through your clothes, your shoes, into your hair, and never seems to go away, even after you wash your clothes. Those who have also experienced this know exactly what I am talking about. I designated a specific set of scrubs and $10 tennis shoes from Walmart for cadaver lab, and threw them away the minute the final exam was over!
Another difficult aspect of anatomy lab was the actual dissection of the human body. This was particularly difficult when making the first cut, and then other times such as dissecting the hands, the skull, and the brain. There was something particularly human about the hands that I will never forget. This was also true of the skull and brain—there is so much anatomy to learn in these areas that once we finished dissecting, the results were barely recognizable as having belonged to a living human being at one time.
There is a certain attitude that one assumes in these situations in order to distance one’s self from the task at hand. This makes the difficult situation less emotionally tolling. Some resort to jokes, others just keep their mind on different topics. I will be honest; I had never actually witnessed a deceased human body before having entered the cadaver lab, except at funerals. Taking on a detached attitude was necessary to be able to perform the dissections. However, it is of the utmost importance when in this situation to avoid becoming so detached as to not remember that this cadaver was a human person. This person donated their body as a gift so that we, as students, could learn from it. I will never forget the incredible feeling of holding a human heart in my two hands, which I never could have done without this generosity. This person was a human being, with a family, a job, friends…a life. And although as students we may feel the need to lighten the situation to make it more comfortable, we must always be respectful of this person who donated their body to us. We would be at such a loss had they had not given us this gift.
At the University of Texas Medical Branch, each year the PA, physical therapy, and medical students hold a Willed Body Memorial Service as a remembrance of all those who donated their bodies. This was a beautiful ceremony celebrating their lives and thanking them for the gift of their bodies. I believe every school that uses human cadavers for dissection should consider holding a similar memorial ceremony to respect those who gave this gift.
So please, if you have the privilege of dissecting a human cadaver in the future, please treat the body with respect and dignity that the human person deserves and remember that you have been given an incredible gift.
Thank you for sharing this piece of your heart with the rest of us, Rachel. I commend your humanistic side to the field of medical science. I was in the military for several years performing training protocols in an animal research lab. During my years there we also employed the use of fresh frozen cadavers evry quarter to accomodate a joint services trauma medicine course. The purpose of this course was to train doctors, nurses, and technicians the skills necessary to save the lives and limbs of our deployed soldiers on the battlefield. Yes, it was difficult to set-up our training labs every morning with the unzipping of the body bags. Yes, it was difficult to perform the mulitple life/ limb saving tasks on each cadaver, concentrating on the different modes of injuries and the systems affected. Yes, it was difficult to stomach the odor (post day three) and the aftermath of the controlled procedures we were to perform each day (exploratory laps, burr holes, external fixators, etc.) Yes, it was difficult to clean-up after lab and try not to stare into the faces of those whom gave their bodies in the name of humanity, as they lied there almost unrecognizable. Yet, these selfless ladies and gentleman of all ages and from all walks of life gave graciously so that we may continue to advance battlefield medicine to save lives on the frontlines. It is because of their selfless acts we have statistically demonstrated the postive effects on the battlefield what we had learned in the research lab through training. We thank and salute each one of them at the end of the week long training lab before returning them. I know when I get accepted into PA school (hopefully next year) I too will gladly thank and salute the person in which I was given the valuable opportunity and honor to learn from during cadaver lab. Thank you again, Rachel. This was a great reminder to us all not to take for granted the many gifts bestowed upon us medical professionals in truth and in trust .
Rachel, thank you for this wonderful rememberance of the individuals who generously donated their bodies for the advancement of our knowledge. I whole heartedly agree with your thoughts. I too, attended the willed body memorial service and was deeply moved by the families stories and memories of their loved ones. I will be graduating from UTMB PA school in August 2012, but I can still remember those delicate hours that I spent with our groups cadaver. I agree with you that some detachment is necessary for some to cope with the situation, but I remember constantly reminding myself that this wonderful individual donated her body for the advancement of medicine. Because of that, I made the most of every moment that I had with my cadaver. Again, thank you for your wonderful memoriam and good luck with school.