I see (and smell?) dead people.

Disclaimer: This blog may not be for the faint-hearted or squeemish. :)

I thought I'd take a moment to tell you about one of the most amazing learning experiences I've had this semester:

I visited a
CADAVER LAB! 
Yes, its true.

This past Friday I (along with 15ish others) went on a trip to UMES and visited the cadaver lab. A bunch of Physical Therapy students were in the middle of their Gross Anatomy lab--the last one of their semester--and they were able to show and teach us pretty much anything we wanted!

We were allowed to touch anything we felt inclined to touch, so naturally...I touched several things! Allow me to describe what I touched (with gloves, mind you!):

1. A heart
2. Some lungs
3. Cancerous growth (Mesothelioma)

1. Okay, starting with the heart!
The PT students had just removed the heart and lungs from their cadavers; there were 12 total in the lab. ((Side note: Since the heart and lungs were removed, I witnessed empty chest cavities with no heart/lungs present. Weird!))
The heart is pink and squishy, and kinda heavy! I saw the aorta (the largest artery in the body, starting from left ventricle of heart and extending to the abdomen where it becomes 2 smaller arteries) of a heart--actually, I saw a segment of it which was connected to the heart removed from the body. Anyway, the aorta is HUGE! It's super big in diameter--that's a lot of blood pumping through that artery. Wow!

2. Lungs!!
I held both healthy and unhealthy lungs.
The healthy lungs were pinkish (a slightly lighter pink than the heart) and also kind of heavy ((When I say "heavy" for these organs, I mean heavier than I had expected)). The unhealthy lungs were also pinkish, but they had a bunch of dark--blackish--spots all over them. I was told this was due to either smoking or other lung disease (the students had only been told the main cause of death and no other conditions present in the future. This person died of organic brain disease. This also was the same body from which I held the heart). Lungs are squishy too!

3. I touched a cancerous growth from Mesothelioma!
This was on a different cadaver from the 2 I described above from which I touched the lungs and heart. The growth had been up against the lungs and it was surprisingly hard. It wasn't squishy by any definition of the word. I can see why cancer can be so painful! I also understand now why a surgeon may feel around with their hands when looking for cancer to remove surgically. To my surprise, this cancer wasn't even the main cause of death. I'm not sure what was the MAJOR cause of death, but that person also suffered from COPD (a lung condition).

Some other notes about the cadaver lab I visited:
-There were 12 cadavers in the lab.
-Most of the bodies were from the elderly, and most died from cardiovascular causes (which is expected of the elderly). The oldest was 96 years old!
-The cadavers have a distinct smell and it is NOT pleasant! Some bodies had a stronger odor than others, but I got over the smell alright. The worst part of it was leaving the lab and having the smell stuck in your clothes and hair! Yuck! The moment I got home, I threw all of my clothing in the washing machine (with no other clothes for fear of it spreading!) and showered thoroughly!
-I also saw the layers of muscles in the foot, some tunnels (including the carpal tunnel--they described what happens when someone has carpal tunnel syndrome), and all of the skin had been removed from the cadavers so when parts (likes arms) were moved, we saw ALL the parts that move inside!
-Every body is different, so all of the students were tested on every body in the lab, not just the one they've been dissecting (about 4 students per cadaver). They have to recognize different parts on every body. For instance, one group had a cadaver who had one particular part on the left side of his chest cavity, while the other cadavers had it on the right!
-Umm I don't know what else, but ask me something and I might have more to tell! :)

I can't wait to visit next semester after they've dissected the head and removed the brain/spinal cord!!

Alright, I hope I didn't gross you out or anything, but for the record: there was a disclaimer at the beginning.
Ahhh I just can't wait to have a cadaver of my own to explore and study. Medical school, hurry up and get here!