Anatomy: Day 1

It happened again.

I got the obese cadaver. This happened in 11^th grade Anatomy when we were dissecting cats. It makes the process much more difficult; it takes a lot of time and energy to separate the superficial fascia (fat-containing subcutaneous layer) from the deep fascia and muscle.

On the other hand, the muscles of my cadaver were very large and defined (they must be in order to support the excess body weight), and the fatty tissue held in the moisture very well; the other groups’ cadavers dried out very quickly (although I do wish ours were less juicy—it gets all over the floor and our scrubs).

Since my group has an obese female, I suggested we name her "Merryweather" after the portly blue fairy from Sleeping Beauty. The other group members didn’t seem as enthusiastic about it as I was, so I guess she’s still anonymous for now. Hmm… perhaps "Ganymede," or "Gertrude."

"Marge?" I dunno…

We started with the superficial back. The first task was to make several incisions that essentially circumscribe the back, and then removed strips of the skin to reveal the underlying deep fascia and muscles. It took us about five times longer than other groups due to the body fat, and each strip of skin (approx. 12cm x 30cm) weighed several pounds. At her midsection, I had to cut a good 5 or 6 inches in before I got to the muscle. Each pound of fat, by the way, stores roughly 3,500 calories.

I recalled from 11^th grade that it’s very easy to cut into the muscle when skinning cadavers, so I winced every time one of the group members butchered the muscle. I dissected more conservatively, so the muscle in my quadrant of back was well-preserved (yes, I’m tooting my own horn). The lesson is, it’s best to separate the investing fascia with your fingers rather than the scalpel. It makes for the cleanest separation.

Overall it was a strange experience. Standing around a dead body (that looked like rubber) for 3 hours and inhaling formaldehyde fumes. The weirdest part? Formaldehyde causes one to feel hungry. It was a dissonant thought to feel hungry while staring at the gnarled insides of an obese cadaver.

Maybe Lorraine? Or Agatha? I will meditate on this.