Uneasy about cadaver lab!

Cyn2school · Sep 3, 2009

Bring a mask to lab and be sure to have some Vicks Vapo rub to place on the inside area near nostril area to help mask any odors. Part of becoming a health care professional is to have a good knowledge of HUMAN anatomy. There isnt really a substitute for it.

Be sure to show up on time or a little early the first day and be sure to have several other students and the instructor in there with you. Let them go first, until you are comfortable with the situation. We have all had first time concerns about lab, dont let your imagination/fears get the best of you.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2009

Wow, I envy you actually. The most exciting animals we were able to dissect for A&P are a cat and a rat (we dissected a sheep's heart as well, and that's about the same size of a human heart so that's the closest we ever got I suppose). The advantage to using human cadavers is that you are able to see and feel the actual sizes of the organs of people you will actually care for as a nurse and visualizing what's inside will be easier. With a cat, we can only speculate on size and weight even though the anatomy structure is similar yet not exact. Your professor is right, a community college using cadavers for A&P is indeed rare. My classmates were a bit uneasy dissecting cats before we did it but once it was underway they really did not think twice about it. It's something you get used to. I can bet you don't get squeamish preparing chicken or beef for dinner, correct? If you don't you have the potential to be OK with this. I think something in your brain takes over that allows you to get over the gross factor during dissection (for the most part anyway) in order to accomplish the greater goal which would be learning the material.

Working with a cadaver adds the additional advantage of assuaging any fears of being around a corpse, which as a nurse is oftentimes inevitable in that line of work.

You might want to look up some cadaver dissection pictures online so as to minimize the shock of the first experience, that really helps (that coming from a friend who went to chiropractic school, where cadaver dissections are the norm). As for strong smells, you should get used to that after a while, you will surprise yourself. I gather the formaldehyde should not be overwhelming enough to overcome the average person. Another suggestion from my chiro friend, definitely wear scrubs when working with the cadavers in lab. The smell tends to linger on clothing and you probably don't want that on your everyday clothes!

Please post after you've started! Curious to know how it goes!

krimicrat · Sep 3, 2009

I am in Anatomy this year, and we have 3 cadavers. I think you will get used to it very quickly. During our first lab, our professor demonstrated proper dissection, and sort of 'introduced' us to the idea of working with them. Don't feel bad about being anxious, I think it is totally normal. On the first day two of the students in our lab had to be excused b/c they got sick. But now, they're totally over it and are dissecting like pro's. It really is a great privilege to be able to work with cadevars!

conandcait · Sep 4, 2009

WOW! Cool!!! My A & P I teacher was also my A & P II teacher who didn't believe in dissecting anything. Said a sheep, cat, pig were nothing like human body so he chose nothing!! Kelli

scrapworking · Sep 4, 2009

When I was in massage therapy school, our A & P instructor (a chiropractor) took us to his chiropractic school, to the cadaver lab. We didn't dissect or anything, but got to observe and learn. Like someone mentioned - very unusual at that level. You do get used to the smell (see tips/hints above re: Vicks) and really, the curiosity takes over and your brain kind of shuts off the other stuff. My grandfather donated his body to science...I always hoped students somewhere learned more from having the privilege of studying the human body, his. What an honor! Good luck!

queenmalka · Sep 9, 2009

You'll like the cadaver lab! I too was nervous about the cadaver (especially about seeing his face and genitals), but I ended up liking it and learning more about A & P through it. It may seem strange at first, but the key is to dissociate yourself. Think of the experience as an objective experiment and not as an actual person. It's normal to be nervous about your reaction, but remember that most of the students in there are in your shoes. There are practical things you can do to avoid fainting, such as leaning against the wall if permitted and not locking your knees while standing (standing causes blood to pool in your lower extremities, which can lead to fainting). Remember that if it gets to be too much for you, you can always leave the room for a bit. We worked with the cadaver in both semesters of A & P, and it was a cool experience! My friend and I got to hold the cadaver's heart, which was an honor! The hardest thing for me was how cold the room was. If the smell of formaldehyde bothers you, breathe through your mouth or put eucalyptus oil on the tip of your nose. Best wishes!

markuskristian · Sep 9, 2009

Just be very appreciative that you're getting this sort of an opportunity in college.

Katie Bang · Sep 10, 2009

Oh man I'm envious! Let us know how it goes! We did a cat, and a sheeps brain and eye. No heart at all, but in A&P 2 lab I got to do every test on myself, blood/urine/skin, everything we learned about was tested on us hehe. It was really neat to examine our blood under microscopes!

Good luck, and as most have said already stick with vicks and a mask, because you don't smell the body but the formaldehyde is unpleasent!

Abby Normal · Sep 10, 2009

I really envy you. We just got cats, and other animal parts. We kept having to ask the professor, "Do you mean in the human or the cat?"

The advice to look at pictures on the human cadaver atlas first, to get used to it, is a good one. It probably doesn't even look like you expect it to look, so that's a first step.

It is true that you do become very focused on what you're doing. And the professor is certainly aware that this is not an everyday experience. They'll probably drape areas you're not working on to minimize the shock.

I would also urge you, no matter how hard you find it, don't hang back. Push yourself. I don't know how much of the "dissecting" they let you do in a grown-up cadaver lab, but be right there doing the muscle and blood vessel ID's yourself, don't watch from a distance, or you'll never learn them. (I know nothing ever stuck with me unless I "did the driving".)

If you wait until you feel comfortable, it may be too late to catch up.

I LOVEDLOVEDLOVED Anatomy. I hope you do too!

t0ri · Sep 10, 2009

Just be very appreciative that you're getting this sort of an opportunity in college.

I'm very appreciative, of course. I'm very lucky!

It went pretty well! Our cadaver was a 63 year old who died of a brain tumor. He had a tracheotomy and brain shunt, among other things. We have a 93 year old woman also, but have not seen her. We aren't studying the cadavers yet, but our instructor gave us a "sneak peek" yesterday. He exposed the man entirely (which was a little shocking to me), except the face. He opened the chest up and allowed us to see the lungs, and heart. I stepped out after that to finish my other lab work while others stayed to see a little more.

I will admit that I did feel a little uncomfortable for some reason, but I'm sure I'll get past that quickly. It was very neat, despite my feeling uncomfortable. It almost didn't look real! I didn't pass out, and didn't feel nauseous! The human body will never cease to amaze me! Everything he took apart fit back together like a puzzle! I'm sure I'll grow to like cadaver work more, the more I learn to dissociate myself!

Thanks for all the replies :)