Dr Kgothatso Legong highlights some lessons learned from the second year of medical school.

 

In my second year of medical school, I was studying a very popular module called Anatomy. It was comprised of its main three branches: namely, histology, gross anatomy, and embryology. On Mondays and Tuesdays, we were required to go to the dissection hall for the practical component of the module. To dissect or dissection means the process of cutting apart or separating tissues. This can be on a corpse (also known as cadaver) during human anatomy class as it was in my case, but it can also mean on a carcass during biology class, or also in theatre settings during a surgical procedure.

 

On the first day it was largely introduction. I also got a change to see and catch-up with my friends again as it was the start of a new year and I had missed them. During the introduction, we were taught about the history of medicine and how learning the structures of the human body began. Quite interesting that people in the past had to wait for someone to die and die in a way that it preserves their body, then a funeral happen, then afterwards for a grave to be robbed. Medicine truly came a long way. It was a privilege like no other to actually be in a position, as a student in the twenty-first century, to dissect legally.

 

Because through out the introduction the bodies were covered from head-to-toe, it was a big scary to be in such a presence. I had never seen so many dead bodies in a single location, neither had I prepared for such a horrific scene. At the end of the introduction, we were finally granted permission to uncover the cadavers in front of us. I have to say, I was the first one in the whole dissection hall who don gloves and take of the plastic and cotton covers. Because of my bravery, my colleagues were able to gather enough courage and follow suit.

 

The smell of formaldehyde got stronger and worse that before. It became extremely thick in the air the moment we were uncovering the cadavers and a felt nauseated. The fact that I did not have breakfast that morning made the situation worse. Formaldehyde is a colourless, highly toxic, and flammable gas at room temperature. This chemical is used to preserve the cadavers.

 

After we were satisfied or horrified with what we have seen, we were taught how to properly dress back the cadavers, the process that involves spraying the tissues with formaldehyde – yes, as if there was not enough of it to cause you to be sick already. As mentioned, the chemical was to be sprayed on the tissues as well as the cotton cloths. The last step was to carefully put on the plastic cover and rightly wrap it so not to allow evaporation and drying out of the corpses.

 

At the end of our session, we were so glad to be finally starting our basic medical sciences modules even though our scrubs had a strong pungent formaldehyde smell.