anatomy/dissecting??

Published

I'm taking anatomy in the fall at IUPUI. A thread below about fetal pig dissection at Ivy Tech just made me curious what dissection is necessary. I guess I was just surprised since I'd never heard anyone talk about it. Is it bad that I would have no problem taking grad level gross anatomy with a cadaver, but don't want to dissect a poor animal? :confused:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I took 101, we did a cat for the muscles and things like that. This was way back in 2001 so it may have changed. I believe there were sheep brains also.

102, all we did were kidneys, brains, and hearts of sheep. There was no pig or any of that. They did have a cadaver that we were able to view and poke around inside of to see the different organs and things of that nature.

201 we did no dissection at all. I took 101 at Muncie, 102 and 201 at Indy, Lawrence campus.

I'm not sure if it will be different at IUPUI or not. Every school/teacher has different requirements. I thought I would be really grossed out with the cat and all but I wasn't. The smell took some getting used to and I went home smelling like the lab, but other than that, I was ok with it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg.
I'm taking anatomy in the fall at IUPUI. A thread below about fetal pig dissection at Ivy Tech just made me curious what dissection is necessary. I guess I was just surprised since I'd never heard anyone talk about it. Is it bad that I would have no problem taking grad level gross anatomy with a cadaver, but don't want to dissect a poor animal? :confused:

At another regional campus of IU, we dissected cats. I happen to like cats, and had a few twinges of sorrow that all these cats have to be killed and prepped for the health sciences students. But then I figure that animal shelters euthanize a lot of cats anyway, and educating future health care professionals is not the worst thing that could be done with them.

Besides that, it was really interesting. And you learn to tolerate the smell. :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac Care.
At another regional campus of IU, we dissected cats. I happen to like cats, and had a few twinges of sorrow that all these cats have to be killed and prepped for the health sciences students. But then I figure that animal shelters euthanize a lot of cats anyway, and educating future health care professionals is not the worst thing that could be done with them.

Besides that, it was really interesting. And you learn to tolerate the smell. :D

It was the same with us. We dissected a cat.

It's commonly known around here that I am a cat lover, and I really thought I'd have difficulty with that dissection. But I didn't. And it's not like you're cutting open the family pet. The cat is preserved and stiff and really kind of hard to get at. It's almost like cutting into a piece of wood. Seriously. It's not as bad as you are imagining (I promise!) and ultimately it is an amazing learning experience.

Wishing you much good luck and success.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I took BIOLN 261 @ IUPUI last fall and didn't have to dissect a cat. If I remember correctly, we only had to dissect a few times all semester. We did a sheep heart and a cow eye. Some days the lab instuctor had organs that were already dissected for us to look at. It was not bad at all.....I am sure you can handle it:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I took N261 Human Anatomy at IUPUI. We didn't really do many dissections except for a cow's eye and a (pig ?) heart. Hope that helps.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion