Yesterday after school I headed over to Parkland to make up some quizzes that I missed for Anatomy/Physiology. While I was there, my teacher told me that I could go to the cadaver lab and study vessels and arteries for our test on Saturday so I took her up on the offer. the first time I went up to the lab, I had no clue what to expect. Yeah, I knew that there would be dead bodies up there, but it was still shocking being up there.
For one thing, it smells horrible in there. No, it isn't the smell of dead bodies, but some preservative to keep the bodies in decent condition. Usually when you are in a room that smells bad, eventually your nose will adjust and soon you don't smell it. Nope, not here. Here it's like a haunting smell that follows you, even after you have left the room. Luckily, my class quickly learned that if you put on Vicks under your nose, it will block out the stench so now somebody always brings it. Along the same lines, looking at the bodies is kind of weird. We have pictures in our Anatomy books of how the human body supposedly looks, so when I first went in I expected something closer to that. But no, these bodies are a mess. The diagrams in books are so perfectly laid out, but in an actual body things are all over the place. But maybe that is because in diagrams they don't show you everything at once, like you would find in a real body. They show you the body with only muscles or only veins, but in a real body they are all in there at the same time, making it exponentially more confusing.
Another creepy thing about the lab is that all of the bodies have names. No, not there real names, but names none the less. When I was in there yesterday, my teacher was looking for a body and she was asking, "where is Lou?". It was hysterical because clearly, he did not walk away because that would just be crazy. It all becomes so much more real because they have names, because then when you look at their faces you realize that these people were alive at one point, doing things that you do and just living their life. One of my least favorite things is looking at their faces, because those are always unique. The way their lips or nose are positioned just makes me think, what if they died with this facial expression? It's a creepy, sad thought.
Even though the cadaver lab is gross and disturbing, I still want to go back. It's fascinating looking at all of the things that allow your body to function normally and understanding how they all work together to keep you alive. I appreciate all the people who decided to donate their bodies to science, and although I think about donating my eyes or organs after I die, hopefully I don't find myself in that position soon!
You should read the poem Their Bodies by David Wagoner.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to the cadaver lab with my mom when she was taking Anatomy. It was strange and sobering. And I also found the smell unmistakable, horrible, and hard to shake off.
This is a very interesting post. I'm planning on taking Anat./Phys. next year and have often wondered what my initial reaction will be to the cadavers. It is neat to hear your perspective.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I ever saw a preserved cadaver. It was when I was nine years old and I went to a funeral with an open casket. The boy had died nearly a week prior in a car accident. He was a close friend of my brother's.
ReplyDeleteIt was so chilling.
The boy, when he was alive, had tan skin and bright eyes... he exuded life.
When I saw him dead, it was like he was a different person entirely. He skin was purple-ish, his eyes were glazed over, and the smell... oh, the smell was horrific. Formaldehyde.
I felt very displaced after viewing the boy's body. The change was just enough that I could recognize who he once was, while still understanding his death.
Anyway, I understand what you mean about the cadavers. I bet just thinking about their lives is mind-boggling.
Cool Post.
I've never seen a dead body of any sort, so I found this very interesting to read about. I like your title, "I See Dead People." I recognized the reference to The Sixth Sense, which I found to be a pretty disturbing movie. Great way to set the tone for your post!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post. Cadavers are what I'm least looking forward to next year if i get into Anat./Phys. I'll have to take you up on that Vicks tip.
ReplyDeleteYou pose a lot of intriguing questions and make some really insightful comments that I think you could potentially answer and expand upon.
I can understand how weird it was because the first time we went up to the cadaver lab I didn't even know that we were going to see dead bodies, I didn't know what a "cadaver lab" was.
ReplyDeleteI used to be really creeped out about the names to, but I also know that these people wanted to dedicate their body to science and I think that calling them by their names is just a way of understanding that yes they were people who lived and ate, but they were also people who made a decision and this is the decision that they made for their bodies.
I still have trouble adjusting when we first walk into the room, but that mentality does help a me little.
My shirt ALWAYS smells like a cadaver until I wash it after anat/phys. The fact that I hate the smell to begin with really doesn't help the fact that it follows me around for the rest of the day, or until I change my shirt. I have discovered that wearing a hoodie or a thick shirt over top of the one you normally wear does help on keeping the smell off of you. Just shed the top layer when you're done with the cadavers!
ReplyDeleteIn response to your comment on my blog:
ReplyDeleteI usually initiate the conversations I have with patients, and regardless of their pain, I can tell that they really feed off of human contact- you have to really reach out to patients to connect with them.
Certainly there are instances in which the patient has a lot of blood, and volunteers are encouraged to remove themselves if they wish.
Personally, I have no aversion to blood whatsoever, so I am willing to assist the nurses in such situations.
I think a person's experience with hospital volunteering in a department depends on their personality, so I understand that it wasn't a good fit for you. But I'm happy you found a department you did like.
I know exactly what you mean about the cadaver lab - yes, it smelled bad, and all my clothes (and, worst of all, my hair) picked up the preservative smell, but I actually miss that part of Anat./Phys. - it was really fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThe preservative unerringly smells like death, doesn't it? It's sort of interesting, because, well, of course you'd expect it to, you've got the association that the cadavers smell like so, and thus death surely must, but it's jarring that that's what's /preserving/ them; at first glance, it almost seems as if, in a sort of surreal way, that's what's keeping them /alive/. But I suppose preservation is just another way of saying death; death to something. A food source for bacteria and fungi is no longer present. It's interesting. The smell of rotting flesh is actually the smell of life.
ReplyDelete