Bisect the head

This week was a great week in Gross Anatomy lab mainly because it was my last dissection ever!  My group went in a day early to finish so we could focus on Biochemistry which is the most imminent danger- we have a Biochem test this Monday.

This week involved "Bisecting". Bisecting means we divided the head down the nose into a right and left half.  We cut the head with a good ole $3 hack saw that had a $1.50 blade on it.  It was a little barbaric but most things in Gross Anatomy are. We bisected the head so we could see the internal sinuses (the spaces that fill up with the "crud" and leaves you feeling lousy) We also needed to see the nerves that innervate your palate- your palate is the hard structure sometimes called "the roof" of your mouth.  The dissection wasn't too terrible except for the sawing part.  When we had to saw through the teeth it even made my own teeth hurt just holding this head while my lab partner did the grunt work.  My lab partner is fantastic- he's an excellent carpenter and somehow was a natural when it came to sawing a head in half.

Now that all my dissecting work is done I just have to make sure I know it all...Yikes!  So I'll still be up in the lab for the next couple of weeks but I can leave my scalpel at home-Hallelujah.

The infamous Gross anatomy has lived up to its reputation in my mind.  It has been a haul, a marathon, a beast, a monster, a frustration, a privilege, a success, and its finally coming to and end. I feel honored to have gotten the chance to do this, but I'm so glad its over.

The end of the gross anatomy experience is finalized by a "coat burning" party.  Which is where we burn all our lab gear: lab coats, lab shoes, manuals, atlas, EVERYTHING. Mainly because NO ONE wants to take any of that stuff home- once something has gone in the gross anatomy lab- it will indefinitely smell like lab-forever. So might as well have fun getting rid of all that stuff.

Thanks for reading

Salt & Light,

Kelly