I never knew I would one day be dissecting some one's face. Using a scalpel, we made an incision along the midline of the face, before peeling flaps of skin from each side. Once that was done, we began the process of removing the soft yellow fat to identify the facial muscles, nerves, vessels and glands.
It was so odd looking at the face. It was strange. As I made the incision, I did not even flinch. This is not normal, I thought. Just a year ago, I would have been unable to look at our cadever's face. And today, I was actually dissecting a part of the body that is so personal, a reminder that we are working on individuals that each had very different lives.
Have we just become so desensitized? Or is this a sign that we have matured and overcome our initial trepidations associated with confronting issues of death and dying?
Today was the last of first year Anatomy Lab, a milestone in my medical education. We will revisit the anatomy lab during the Life Cycle Block to study the pelvic organs next year. But today really closed the majority of the Anatomy Chapter in our medical education.
I am relieved and excited to move forward, now that I have gained a new perspective and appreciation for the human body. Farewell to the hours in lab spent standing around our body, debating about which structure we were looking at, smelling the formaldehye, wearing the anatomy scrubs and navigating the complex geography of the human body. Anatomy is not completely over; I will return for review before the first exam. But for now, I feel like it's time to move on.
I must express my appreciation to the families that have graciously donated the bodies of their loved ones to help us in our medical education. It is truly an incredible sacrifice and for that I am thankful.
It was so odd looking at the face. It was strange. As I made the incision, I did not even flinch. This is not normal, I thought. Just a year ago, I would have been unable to look at our cadever's face. And today, I was actually dissecting a part of the body that is so personal, a reminder that we are working on individuals that each had very different lives.
Have we just become so desensitized? Or is this a sign that we have matured and overcome our initial trepidations associated with confronting issues of death and dying?
Today was the last of first year Anatomy Lab, a milestone in my medical education. We will revisit the anatomy lab during the Life Cycle Block to study the pelvic organs next year. But today really closed the majority of the Anatomy Chapter in our medical education.
I am relieved and excited to move forward, now that I have gained a new perspective and appreciation for the human body. Farewell to the hours in lab spent standing around our body, debating about which structure we were looking at, smelling the formaldehye, wearing the anatomy scrubs and navigating the complex geography of the human body. Anatomy is not completely over; I will return for review before the first exam. But for now, I feel like it's time to move on.
I must express my appreciation to the families that have graciously donated the bodies of their loved ones to help us in our medical education. It is truly an incredible sacrifice and for that I am thankful.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment