<p>One day I hope to be a medical student and as I was going through the threads one mentioned something about medical students dissecting a donated human body. Has anyone gone through this? Does anyone know anyone who has? I'm sure at some point I will probably have to emotionally detach myself from the situation and pretend they are manicans. (at least that's what I can see my mind doing) what are your opinions?</p>
<p>D1 just started her first year of medical school and received her cadaver on Thursday. Dissection for her anatomy block begins Monday.</p>
<p>When she was over at my house last night, I made a small joke about her meeting Aber (Aber Cadaver–very old joke), but she immediately corrected me and was very thoughtful and serious about the dissection process.</p>
<p>When a student group (at her school 4 students per cadaver–which is pretty standard) receives their cadaver, they also receive a brief bio of that person. No names, of course, But D1 says that the school ‘matches’ the cadaver to the student. Her cadaver died of the same disease as her grandfather and was a professor of the same field that D1 got her undergrad degree in. The reason the school does this is to ‘humanize’ the cadaver and make the students mindful that this was once a living individual and is not a thing.</p>
<p>You can be emotionally detached toward your cadaver, but you still need to be respectful and honor the gift the person gave you–their body so that may learn about the structure and function of human anatomy.</p>
<p>And the first time you see a human corpse, you’ll realize there is absolutely no way you could ever mistake it for an mannequin.</p>
<p>I will completely respect any cavender . You see, I’ve grown up very sheltered, when I was younger my parents wouldn’t take me to funerals and I just didn’t like death. Still don’t. I agree that there is no mistaking a cavender for a mannequin but I don’t know really how I will react when it is my turn. So I was assuming that’s how I would react. Thank you for replying, I have a clearer picture of it now. What other things will I have to deal with in med. School?</p>
<p>Needles; blood, vomit; urine; feces; pus; semen; bodily fluids of all kinds; horrible smells (gangrene, putrifying cellulitis); unpleasant, belligerent and sometimes dangerous & threatening individuals; people seeking drugs; the mentally ill of all types; lifelong alcohol and drug abusers; self-injuring prisoners (they hurt themselves so they can get out of jail into relatively nice hospitals); violent child sexual abuse/rape victims (and often their perpetrators); violent child physical abuse victims & perpetrators; mangled living bodies; people in desperate pain; people who are dying…</p>
<p>There is a very long list of unpleasant things—try to think of very conceivable awful thing that could happen to a human body or mind…and know that these are what will be coming thru the doors of the hospital emergency room and you will have to deal with it.</p>
<p>And if you can’t deal with death–in all its varieties–you really should not be a doctor.</p>
<p>I’ll just learn how to deal with it. I’m not going to give up being a doctor that easily.</p>
<p>Dissection videos from U of M med school, if you are so inclined to see the basics of what med students learn in dissection: [Medical</a> Gross Anatomy - Dissection Videos](<a href=“http://www.med.umich.edu/lrc/coursepages/M1/anatomy/html/courseinfo/video_index.html]Medical”>http://www.med.umich.edu/lrc/coursepages/M1/anatomy/html/courseinfo/video_index.html)</p>
<p>Ok, thanks :)</p>