<story><title>What it’s like to dissect a cadaver</title><url>https://alok.github.io/2022/11/09/dissection/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>danielheath</author><text>&amp;gt; most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person&lt;p&gt;Not that I know first-hand, but that&amp;#x27;s not the impression I got from the med students when I was at uni.&lt;p&gt;People find all sorts of odd ways to cope with their own mortality, and getting reminded of it tends to bring those to the fore.</text></item><item><author>zac_hudson</author><text>Firstly, its surprising that this school allows what would apparently be the lay public gain access to human anatomical gifts. In Canada, this is restricted to persons with a legitimate interest, ie med students and grad students in bioengineering&amp;#x2F;bio-adjacent fields.&lt;p&gt;I think that the author is not an individual with such an interest was quite clear from the tone taken on this piece - most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person; for some reason the way this piece was written felt almost disrespectful.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>kendallpark</author><text>Speaking from first-hand, I can&amp;#x27;t remember any disrespectful behavior. Acting disrespectful toward the donor (what we called the cadavers) would get you kicked out of anatomy lab. There is even a &amp;quot;gift of body&amp;quot; ceremony commemorating the donations every year that family members can attend. Med students will speak about how the donors impacted their medical education and how much they appreciate them.&lt;p&gt;I would hope that tales of inappropriate jokes of posing with body parts are relegated to a bygone era.&lt;p&gt;Fwiw I would have no issue donating my body to my institution for dissection. I certainly benefited from the donation. Some notable memories:&lt;p&gt;- The brittleness and &lt;i&gt;crunchiness&lt;/i&gt; of an atherosclerotic artery compared to the pliable rubber hose of a healthy artery&lt;p&gt;- How incredibly soft lungs are -- like a tempur-pedic pillow. Unless the donor had been a smoker. Then the lungs were hard and black-spotted like a pumice stone.&lt;p&gt;- The muscular atrophy of old age. There were some donors whose abdominal muscles were as thin as paper.&lt;p&gt;- Holding a donors brain in one&amp;#x27;s hand (it&amp;#x27;s smaller than one would expect). In the words of a lab partner, &amp;quot;I can&amp;#x27;t believe we are holding everything that made this person a &lt;i&gt;person&lt;/i&gt;, all their personality, everything.&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>What it’s like to dissect a cadaver</title><url>https://alok.github.io/2022/11/09/dissection/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>danielheath</author><text>&amp;gt; most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person&lt;p&gt;Not that I know first-hand, but that&amp;#x27;s not the impression I got from the med students when I was at uni.&lt;p&gt;People find all sorts of odd ways to cope with their own mortality, and getting reminded of it tends to bring those to the fore.</text></item><item><author>zac_hudson</author><text>Firstly, its surprising that this school allows what would apparently be the lay public gain access to human anatomical gifts. In Canada, this is restricted to persons with a legitimate interest, ie med students and grad students in bioengineering&amp;#x2F;bio-adjacent fields.&lt;p&gt;I think that the author is not an individual with such an interest was quite clear from the tone taken on this piece - most discussions involving cadavers are quite respectful of the fact that they are working on the mortal remains of a person; for some reason the way this piece was written felt almost disrespectful.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>rubatuga</author><text>First-hand, every session that involved cadavers during medical school was very respectful. We were told not to take photos as well. Worst part was the smell of formalin. Humour is fine, assuming the person&amp;#x2F;cadaver would have been okay with it (and quite a few of the older patients I&amp;#x27;ve met joke about their mortality). But I would rather be respectful and play it safe.</text></comment>