Thursday, January 04, 2007

The Taste of Cadaver

A piece of cadaver flew into my mouth today during anatomy lab.

We haven't been in anatomy lab for a month, and at first it was nice getting reacquainted with our cadaver and seeing the familar organs and muscles. Dissection is always messy and anatomic structures are never usually easy to see without a little careful cleaning and expert recognition. The memory of the smell also returned -- every cadaver smells a bit differently, which surprised me.

Anyway, I was using a scapel to slit open the trachea (the airway) with my head approximately 12 inches above the body when a spray of yellowish gunk burst out. Some of it landed in my mouth and I jumped like a jackrabbit. If anyone is curious...it tastes like it smells. Then I ran to the bathroom and washed out my mouth and maybe my GI tract.

Lesson learned: never dissect with your mouth open.

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