burn

It was still winter at that time. The coldness in that room didn't seem to differ from the atmosphere outside. It was probably the air-conditioner, or perhaps it was that peculiar feeling of fear towards the unknown; that mixture disposition of excitement and timorousness. The module convenor walked into the tasking room along with his favourite biochemistry lecturer. The presence of the two lecturers seemed to illuminate the gloominess that appeared to be surrounding that dull room...

...or it might just be his imagination.

So basically, that was how I felt on the 1st day in the Dissection Room. And it was also the very 1st time I met my cadaver - the cadaver that my group members and I have spent so many hours with in this whole year right from 29th January till 3rd December 2010. 

At first, I have to say that I was quite nervous cause I was unsure of what to expect but after several weeks passed, I learned to be familiarized with the cadaver. Let me just explain some of the things that people could probably be wondering what's going on in that freaky room.

The Rumour

And the rumour that cadavers smell; well, they don't actually. At least, mine wasn't. The only odour that will stick to your clothes for hours and hours would be the chemical which we would usually spray at the end of the session. But I never really get nauseated by the smell, so alhamdulillah for that. And the rumour that there are male cadavers only; well, there are female cadavers as well cause we still need to learn about the fairer sex.

The Tools

And the tools that we used; well it ranges from a saw to a butcher's knife, or even chisel and hammer. Interesting, ain't it?

The Dissection

And the dissection; I would truly miss it. That's the best part of anatomy I think. I can still remember the parts which I managed to dissect and got the lecturer's attention - the skin (haha), the anatomical snuff box and the posterior cruciate ligament. The thing which most people dislike, is the last 30 minutes of every session - the assessment!

The Assessment

I have developed a skill on how to hide from my lecturer in his or her presence, thanks to this assessment part. Below is a list of dissection sessions that we had throughout the year along with the grade which I obtained and the topic that we covered. I don't really mind writing it down cause they're not that impressive.

Sem 2:

Week 1 - C - Mediastinum
Week 2 - B - Triangles of the Neck
Week 3 - A - Roots of Neck
Week 4 - Safe! - Flexor compartments of upper limb
Week 5 - Safe! - Wrist and hand
Week 6 - C - Extensor compartments of upper limb
Week 7 - A - Thigh (Anterior and medial)
Week 8 - Safe! - Gluteal region and thigh (Posterior)
Week 9 - Unknown - Leg, popliteal fossa, leg and foot
Week 10 - Unknown - Joints of the lower limb

In Sem 3, I decided to write down the names of my lecturers that assessed us for avenging purposes.

Sem 3:

Week 1 - Unknown - Abdominal Wall - BP

Week 2 - Unknown - GI tract - BP

Week 3 - Safe! - Pancreas, Gall Bladder, Liver - HS

Week 4 - Safe! - Posterior Body Wall, Kidneys, Diaphragm - LE

Week 5 - B - Bony Pelvis and Contents - WE

Week 6 - Safe! - Perineum - RG

Week 7 - B - Pelvic Organs - BR

Week 8 - Safe! - Back and Spinal Cord - BP

Week 9 - Safe! - Face, Jaw and Scalp - BR

Week 10 - B - Brain, Cranial Nerves, Skull - PR

Week 11 - Safe! - Oral Cavity, Nasal Cavity, Pharynx & Larynx - RG

Week 12 - Pending (it's this Thu) - Eye and Ear - RG (I think)

1 session is about 3 hours, thus 21 sessions means we've spent about 63 hours with the cadaver. Wow! And the very last session would be cadaver-less.

Anyway, it has been quite heck of a year. Truth be told, I enjoyed the dissections in the previous semester better. Truth be told, I'm scared that I might choose anatomy as my project for 3rd year. Cause I really like anatomy but I don't know, I never scored well.

Actually yesterday, I went to the funeral for the cadavers. My cadaver was scheduled to be cremated this morning but I didn't really have a friend to go with me today so I went to the funeral yesterday. Initially, I thought we'd be in a large room and we could see the fire being lit up as it engulfs the coffin. Me and my imagination~

It was quite pleasant I think. We all went into the chapel at the crematorium and sat to listen to the persons entitled to deliver the services. The interesting part is, our module convenor was one of the people and she was the last one. Cool giler!

"And surely to our Lord we must return."

(Az-Zukhruf, 43:14)

So, the coffins which were brought into the chapel were put behind the curtains and later, when the curtains were drawn and reopened, they vanished...