Frankly, the joy of discovery in gross anatomy is irreplaceable. Actually seeing peripheral nerves, holding visceral organs, looking inside of another human and thinking “oh, so this is what the lecturer was talking about” is the definition of applied biological science. And I miss it. A lot. Read more  

The term “muscle memory” is often used to describe how athletes can perform a task with incredible consistency. Think about shooting a free throw in basketball. No matter where you play, the free throw is constant – 15 feet away from a 10 foot tall basket with no obstructions. So what accounts for the difference in players who shoot 90%+ and those who can barely hit the 50% mark from the charity stripe?
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Tuesday (February 16th) was the last day of anatomy lab. Four blocks…  over six months of growing as a medical student with the same specimen… and the journey is at en end. Read more  

After anatomy lab today, I was fortunate to catch an explanation of rami communicans by one of our fantastic anatomy teachers. After having gone through so much of the human body’s gross anatomy, it’s a bit embarrassing that I still didn’t have a grasp of exactly how splanchnic nerves, the sympathetic chain, and white/gray rami communicans play together, but today’s explanation finally made it very clear. Read more  

No scissors, forceps, or even a scalpel in today’s lab. Instead, we busted out our woodshop skills and used a good ‘ol hacksaw to split our cadaver’s head into left and right halves (a sagittal cut straight through). I’ll never forget the mixed looks of awe, disgust, and amazement throughout the room as we all embarked on a rather awkward journey through the nasal cavity and adjacent sinuses. I eagerly volunteered to take part in the cutting process because, after all, how many times will we ever get this opportunity in the future? Read more  

At first glance, the neck looks relatively simple. Surely such a mundane structure can’t be as difficult as the abdominal viscera, right? Wrong! Read more  

At last… the first day of head/neck anatomy lab! My group spent most of the two hours exploring a skull while the lab directors/TAs went around removing the brains from our cadavers, so they can be preserved till next block. We discussed the bony structures, protuberances, foramina, and other landmarks of the skull while relating them to where cranial nerves and major vessels pass. We also examined the unique structures of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebra. As some of my peers have predicted, I really am eating this stuff up! Read more  

Over the last three weeks, we’ve dissected through the female perineum and explored the reproductive system thoroughly. Psychologically, I’ve gone from feeling confident about my anatomy knowledge to a guessing game of how severely I’ll fail the practical; however, yesterday’s sample pinning quickly restored my confidence. Read more  

It’s been a while since I’ve written an entry about my experiences in the anatomy lab, so I’ll play some catchup. Read more  

Yesterday afternoon, the emergency medicine interest group (EMIG), a student run organization, showed students how to insert a chest tube, how to intubate, and how to administer simple interrupted sutures. We also got to learn some off shoots like basic neck anatomy (to help understand the intubation process), using a staple gun (in place of sutures), and bagging patients. Read more