****Warning, this blog is not for the faint of heart. I am not trying to be gross, and I will use anatomical language, but I have found that many people can't stomach the details. For me however, it was fascinating and so educational!*******
Lessons from the Cadaver lab...
My class got to visit a cadaver lab with a bunch of PT students. I have been excited about this for awhile now. Most people think I must be morbid, but I beg to differ. I've been studying the human body and how to make it function better when injured for 2 years now. To be able to see what it all actually looks like, that is a chance I couldn't miss!
Our teacher reminded us that these bodies were donated by the people because they wanted us to learn. And when their use has been maxed out, the remains will be returned to the families for burial or cremation.
The bodies are stored on a platform in metal vats with some kind of preservative solution. The bodies are kept in there closed when not being dissected or observed, but when in use the platform is brought up out of the solution and locked like a table. They had 4 bodies out for observation. Yes it smelled, and it took some mental pep-talking to get used to it and not be grossed out, but it was not unbearable. Most of them were very dissected, meaning no skin, and the muscles, arteries, nerves, and many internal organs were exposed. Out of respect, and to make it easier to detach, the faces were covered. That helped a lot. I was amazed at how much I could identify on the body. I saw brains, hearts, kidney's, gallstones and a gallbladder full of them, a pacemaker, and a spinal cord. Here are a few things I was fascinated with...
1.) The IT(Iliotibial) band that runs on the lateral side of your lower extremities from your hip (Illiac) to just below the knee (the tibia) is a lot wider than I thought.
2.) I totally identified the psoas major muscle! A handful of us were identifying muscles in the leg, working from the feet up. We got past the hip and behind the internal organs sits a muscle that originates on the spine. I was like- Oh, THAT is what the psoas looks like. It is one of the hip flexors and it combines with the illiacus. It is one of those muscles that you can't really palpate on yourself.
3.) the Brachial Plexus is nothing to be scared of, it is so cool. It really does look like an "M" and you can follow each nerve to the muscles each innervate. Like the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the biceps (one of my favorite muscles to admire as many of you know). The radial nerve innervates the triceps. The axillary nerve innervates the deltoids (which in combination with the biceps completes a very nice upper extremity). And then we followed the median nerve all the way to the carpal tunnel. These nerves were a lot wider and flatter than I expected.
4.) Sure enough, the femoral artery in the inguinal area is an excellent shot to the heart. No wonder it is used to have nice access in cardiac procedures.
Finally, I came out with an even stronger conviction of the existence of God, the Creator of it all. Cells, nerves, arteries, fascia, organs, muscles, bones, joints, the brain, the spinal cord,and on and on...billions of pieces all combining together in harmony and working in such an amazing rhythm...it boggles my mind that one could think it is the result of some random cosmic event. I am, one, truly in awe of this magnificent creation, and two, humbled at the possibility that one day I can be part of creating!
...of course maybe times haven't changed to much...here is me at the 2008 New Years Dance... oh wait, SIGH of relief, I was suppose to dress up silly...
(got to love the pink jelly shoes)
