I'm pretty sure that the "newness" of dissecting a cadaver will wear off soon, and my blog posts will no longer be about stuff that I know many of you find gross. Feel free to skip ahead to the end of this post for some anatomy free blogging; however, yesterday in lab was interesting enough that you should read on.
Yesterday, we cut off the top of our cadaver's head to remove her brain. It was very cool and VERY interesting. To get access to the skull, we first had to remove a part of her scalp. I was really surprised at how little of the scalp actually attaches to the skull. Once we made the initial incision, it pretty much just peeled away. We had to use a bone saw to cut through the skull, which was much thicker than I expected. It was hard work, and I even broke a sweat while using the saw. We cut the skull all the way around her head and removed it in one big piece that looked like a bowl (everything from the ears and eyebrows up). And there was her brain, right underneath. It was amazing to see how it related to all the other structures in the skull. I took neuroanatomy for my master's program, so I am already somewhat familiar with the structures in the brain. This made it even more interesting to see how it all sits in the skull like a hand in a glove. The professor came over to help us remove the brain (it's in there pretty good) and to show us where to cut different nerves and vessels. I cut the optic nerves that go to the eyes, and it made me think about how amazing it is that we can see. If these two little nerves get severed (or lesioned), no more eye sight. Our sight depends on 2 little nerves about the thickness of a strand of spaghetti (maybe a tiny bit thicker). Anyway, anatomy lab is getting a little easier now, as our cadaver is starting to look less and less human, now that her neck is pretty well dissected and the top of her head is gone. This sounds a little insensitive, but it makes it a lot easier to detach yourself from some of the emotions that come up when working with a real person when they don't look like someone you could meet walking down the street. I'm still thankful for her donation though.
Today we actually had no class, so I was able to get some errands done that I have been putting off for awhile, like getting my car windows tinted. The top picture is "before" and the bottom picture is "after". I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and I think it will make a pretty big difference, now that the weather is getting much warmer. 
This afternoon I went for a "jog" with my friend Allie (well, she jogged, I rollerbladed). On the way home from the jogging path, we cut through a local neighborhood, and I realized that none of the houses had mailboxes in front. In Arizona neighborhoods, there is one big mailbox for each street. Each house has a key to a small part of the mailbox where their mail is located, much like it is here at my apartment building. It just seemed so strange to see houses without mailboxes. Personally, if I were a homeowner, I would not like this arrangement much. It seems so inconvenient to have the mail how far down the street. Tomorrow, I might go and catch a spring training baseball game to get out and enjoy the weather. Student tickets for lawn seating are only $8, and it is really nice to sit on a blanket in the grass and enjoy the game. But that means study night tonight, so back to work I go!
No comments:
Post a Comment