Wow!

I've mentioned how much studying goes on for me now and how much it sucks. Today: 9-1230 downtown library, 130-630 anatomy lecture/lab, 830-12 more studying. Some of it is just of no interest to me (biochem, histology). And for that reason, I haven't been to those lectures since the first week. That, and I get more done on my own for those classes (e.g. why I was in the library from 9-1230).

Overall though, I find anatomy and physiology interesting. They're just a lot more applicable to what we'll eventually be doing. For both these reasons, it's somewhat easier and more enjoyable to study that stuff. This morning, I switched from anatomy (heart) to biochem (nitrogen metabolism) and it was painful. I just don't really care how or why certain amino acids get degraded. And the pathways. Way too many pathways. Not a fan of them - especially when they all start interacting with each other.

But getting back to the title of the post. I was catching up on heart readings this morning because we were going to dissect the lungs and heart in anatomy lab later in the day. Come 430, we took the heart out of our cadaver and were cutting into it. The feeling when I cut into the heart was one of awe. I was holding a human heart in my hands. To think that this heart was beating and keeping someone alive was amazing. This thing pumped ~70 times a minute for 75 years. Getting back to the dissection - seeing the inside of the heart and how everything relates and works together was, in the very sense of the word, awesome. Easily the highlight of med school so far (along with clinic). The muscular wall of the heart is a lot thicker than I thought it was going to be. Seeing the different structures, valves, vasculature - again awesome. Looking at/through the lungs was a similar experience - again thinking that I held the very organs that let this woman breathe. And once we took out both lungs, the diaphragm is sitting right there. The muscle that lets us breathe. Again, it contracted ~16 times/minute for 75 years. It's a lot bigger and thicker than I had imagined it.

Sure, we've been having anatomy lab for a while. But up until last week we'd been working on back and chest muscles. It wasn't until last week and today that we got to look at and dissect some of the major organs. And it was ridiculously exciting being able to see, touch, and cut into the same organs that we've heard about since grade school. A lot better than looking at rhomboid muscles in the back.

It was today that I realized it's a privilege being able to study anatomy on preserved cadavers. The fact that we get to dissect a human body from skin down to organs is something most people don't get to do. AKA - not everyone gets to hold a human heart, much less poke around inside it. With this realization, came an appreciation for those who donate their bodies to science and afford me this opportunity.

Having said that, a random note about obesity. Don't do it. Our cadaver is definitely obese. Makes finding and identifying things so much harder. Also, cutting through fat is not fun. Especially when it's three finger-widths thick in places. Oh, and when you're that big, fat is everywhere. Below the skin, around organs, fused to the heart. But like I said - I definitely appreciate the learning opportunities that our woman gives us.

It's nice to have days like this, getting to look at hearts and whatnot. Feeling excitement amid all the studying. Reminding us that there's cool stuff in medicine. AKA anatomy and physiology. Not histology. Not biochem.