A&P Lab ?

mommyof2Tees · May 13, 2009

I'm with you! I hope to be taking A&P in the fall too and I'm a little nervous about dissecting an animal.....I hear it's usuallly a cat. :barf02:

mrsrlg · May 13, 2009

I think all A&P classes are somewhat different, depending on the school and instructor, but I'm in A&P II right now and no dissecting cats, which is good since I'm a cat lover and wouldn't do it...lol. We have dissected a fetal pig, a sheep heart, and sheep brain. Otherwise, we have tested our own blood and urine, learned to take blood pressure (well, tried to do it, but only had a couple of attempts each), etc. There is usually only one person dissecting at a time and many don't do the cutting at all. It is actually quite fascinating as you get to see all the veins, arteries, organs, etc. Plus, it is all pretty tidy, so nothing too nasty. The worst thing in A&P lab is the smell of the solution used to clean the tables and such. That nasty stuff will make your eyes tear up...lol. Good luck :)

bluemushroom · May 13, 2009

Dissections really aren't that bad. The worst part was probably the smell, but you'll get over it pretty quickly.

Dissections were fun for me. We dissected rats in general biology, a sheep brain, heart, and eye in A&P I, and we did a sheep heart and a cat in A&P II.

bananimal · May 13, 2009

I LOVED dissections! We dissected quite a few things, the main one being a cat. Believe me, I am a cat person, I have three cats, and I got through it just fine. The smell is quite disturbing though, and it takes some getting used to.

Usually you start off by taking the fur and skin off, then all the fat deposits, and then identify all the muscles, then go deeper to the organ systems. It's really neat, in my opinion. My cat had kittens still inside, so that was awesome to see too.

Don't be worried, its an awesome learning experience. And it's not all you'll do, as someone else had mentioned.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · May 13, 2009

I just finished A&P2! :) The first night of lab in A&P1 we did a cat, which I hated! Then right up to the end of A&P2 we did cadavers. Which was weird at first but you quickly forget that it's a human. It was very cool and interesting....I'm going to miss it but glad the work is over, lol. Good luck!

mommyof2Tees · May 14, 2009

Thanks everyone for responding....

markuskristian · May 14, 2009

If the smell bothers you, buy a small ointment can of Vicks Vapor Rub and rub a little under or at the entrance of your nose. It works wonders in covering horrendous odors.

crazytonurse · May 14, 2009

thanks ladies. I appreciate all the "walkthoughs" and advice!

lina.561 · Apr 6, 2011

I just finished A&P2! :) The first night of lab in A&P1 we did a cat, which I hated! Then right up to the end of A&P2 we did cadavers. Which was weird at first but you quickly forget that it's a human. It was very cool and interesting....I'm going to miss it but glad the work is over, lol. Good luck!

What is cadavers?

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Apr 7, 2011

What is cadavers?

Dead bodies

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Apr 7, 2011

By the time I finished both A&P I and II, I had dissected a fetal pig, a cat, a sheep heart, brain, and eyeball, and all the internal organs of the pig and cat. Dissections really aren't as bad as people make them out to be, and they are actually really educational and, in an odd way, fun. It's really hands on, and you start to get the big picture of how everything functions together.