Autopsy
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
(under construction)
Autopsies are performed on dead organisms in order to garner relevant information ranging from physiological and anatomical makeup to cause of death. I am fortunate enough to have witnessed an autopsy on the cadaver of a traffic accident victim. "Fourtunate?" you say. Yes, fortunate.
Last year I was enrolled in an Anatomy and Physiology course at my highschool, which focused very heavily on the human body, its organs, and their functions. Textbooks, lectures and PowerPoint presentations used in teaching this course were all well-prepared and informative, no doubt. But attending an actual autopsy- standing literally inches away from every structure I had learned about- was the most enlightening experience of all.
The body lay on a non-descript metal table covered by a palid blue cloth. Two morticians briefly introduced themselves, and immediately began making a Y incision. The ends of the cut angled down from near each shoulder until meeting atop the sternum, where it was brought straight down along the abdomen to about even with the hips. The flaps of skin seperated by this incision were peeled back, revealing a heretofore unheard of view of the ventral cavity (where the guts are). But the ribs still remained in the way....
Autopsies are performed on dead organisms in order to garner relevant information ranging from physiological and anatomical makeup to cause of death. I am fortunate enough to have witnessed an autopsy on the cadaver of a traffic accident victim. "Fourtunate?" you say. Yes, fortunate.
Last year I was enrolled in an Anatomy and Physiology course at my highschool, which focused very heavily on the human body, its organs, and their functions. Textbooks, lectures and PowerPoint presentations used in teaching this course were all well-prepared and informative, no doubt. But attending an actual autopsy- standing literally inches away from every structure I had learned about- was the most enlightening experience of all.
The body lay on a non-descript metal table covered by a palid blue cloth. Two morticians briefly introduced themselves, and immediately began making a Y incision. The ends of the cut angled down from near each shoulder until meeting atop the sternum, where it was brought straight down along the abdomen to about even with the hips. The flaps of skin seperated by this incision were peeled back, revealing a heretofore unheard of view of the ventral cavity (where the guts are). But the ribs still remained in the way....
