Cadavers

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2004

No, too expensive. Our school used a variety of models/lab animals.
Speaking of cadavers, anyone read that book "Stiff"? I'm in the middle of it right now - interesting stuff. :)

I read it last Winter break. It was really fascinating.

Spryte · Sep 25, 2004

I'm in A&PI right now and we are using a female cadaver. It's fascinating, I've never had an experience like this before and probably never will again. Will have to check out the book "Stiff".

Edited to change spelling error.

cherokeesummer · Sep 26, 2004

We had a cat for I and II.

LilRedRN1973 · Oct 1, 2004

I took my A&P at a small community college, but luckily my professor was really good friends with the guy who was head of the medical department at the nearby bigger university. So each semester, we got 2 cadavers (male and female). They came to us whole and we were the only ones to use them. It was a fascinating experience and I would love to have the chance again. The smell wasn't too bad except when cutting into adipose tisssue. I guess the formaldehyde is stored in the fat tissue so when you cut into it, it releases a large amount of odor. We had a nice ventilation system installed that sucked up most of the smell right away.

For me, the most interesting part was when we cut into the skull and I got to pull out the brain. I can't believe how hard our heads are. We broke the Dremel we were using (my professor had loaned his bone saw out so we were without it) and had to use the handsaw. It was almost surreal. Also, we tubed one of the cadavers and were able to feel the lungs as they inflated and deflated. You could actually feel the alveoli popping open. Very weird feeling. I was also really surprised to discover how big some of the nerves are. The sciatic nerve is like friggin' rope. No wonder it hurts so bad when you pinch it!!

All in all, it was a terrific experience and have recommended this professor to many, many pre-nursing students. He teaches the class almost from a nursing point of view, seeing as 98% of his students are pre-nursing. He's an extremely tough teacher, but well worth it. And I chose him because the other 2 professors at my school used cats and I've been there, done that.

EmilyCCRN · Oct 2, 2004

We only had cats to dissect for A&P. There is one community college in my area (that I know of) that has cadavers, but the schools I've attended only have cats.

Has anyone seen or heard of this exhibit? It looks phenomenal. I wish I could take the time off to go to Los Angeles to check it out.

http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.asp

smk1, LPN · Oct 2, 2004

we have several cadavers in lab (i am in A&P one) at a community college.

jschut, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2004

We had one when I attended college in Ohio..here in Indiana, NOPE!

Megsd, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2004

We use cadavers in my Anatomy lab. There are 5 of them. There's an observation lab (which I'm in) and a dissection lab. So some of the cadavers are fully dissected (from last semester) and the rest are being dissected currently. Having so many to look at is helpful because depending on the quality of the dissection, some structures are harder/easier to find and identify.

I was afraid I'd be freaked out at first, but since they're already relatively dissected, it just looks like a mass of muscles/arteries/etc. and loses some of that "humanization" aspect which makes the whole experience easier to deal with. There is one cadaver that has pink nail polish on her fingernails, and every so often I'll glance at that and it unsettles me a bit because I am suddenly reminded that these are PEOPLE, and this particular person liked to wear pink glittery fingernail polish.

It's a great opportunity to be able to work with cadavers, and Anatomy is actually my favorite class. :)

Meghan