I have a feeling someone is going to get mad at me for posting on Ames post about her cats rodent snack habits...that I dissected a cat on Friday in my Anatomy and Physiology I class. There were some cat lovers in our class that thought they would be completely traumatized and as it turned out, it just became another routine lab assignment. It was difficult at first. But as we went through the manual locating muscles and answering the questions it actually became interesting. I am not sure where we get the cats. But these are probably cats that were in a shelter and died and then they donate them for us to use, to study and learn from?? The only thing that could have been better in my opionion is a human. But we do not have access to them. (as far as learning and really getting to see and locate our muscles)

Several of the skulls we have are real. And the kid that sits next to me has a real skeleton (read: his daddy is a doctor i guess? lol)that we have used to study off of before at our study groups. Pretty interesting. I am enjoying the class. However, it is reallyyyyyy hard!!! lol So much to study and remember.

I hope no one gets upset by my post. This was extremely useful for our learning.

By Karen~admin on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 09:56 am:

Conni, I must have missed something, I didn't know you were back in school. Wow, lots of big changes in your life recently! Anyway, that sounds interesting to me, I LOVE medical stuff.

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 09:58 am:

My son is in a Veterinary Technician program at a local college and is doing Anat/Phys, and had the same experience. A couple of students who were in the first semester are gone now, because they couldn't deal with dissection. As to how they get the cats, I don't know but suspect Scott does (he worked in lab animal medicine for many years before deciding to get the credentials to go with his experience). I'll ask.

By Conni on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:34 am:

Karen, yes, back in school part time this semester. I was only able to sign up for two late start classes, because I got home too late. Probably try to go full time next semester and get done one of these yrs.

Ginny, How is Scott doing with his classes? I would be interested to hear if he knows where they get the cats. Thanks.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 12:07 pm:

Dissecting animals was a touchy subject, on my dog board. I shouldn't have brought it up and I let it die a quick death. Sarah took an anatomy and physiology class last year and it involved dissecting a cat. She said it was a deceased shelter animal. Sarah really enjoyed learning about the insides of bodies and how everything works and was quite fascinated by seeing things for real inside of a body. Since she is going into nursing, she needs to know who things work, just like people in the vetinary business. I don't know how you could learn all that stuff, without actually seeing it for yourself.

Her cat was a female and she had kittens in her uterus. They even had fur, so we are thinking they weren't too far from being born, when she died.

Sarah loves science and this kind of stuff. She was sad that the class was only a semester.

By Mrsheidi on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 12:50 pm:

I was pre-med for a few years in college and the human dissections were, by far, the most difficult when you dissect the face. In fact, our professor asked if any of our grandparents donated their body to science recently so there weren't any problems with the students/cadavers. Human cadavers are VERY expensive...Conni, what class is this and what is it a requirement for?

The hardest thing was the smell and trying to figure out the difference between an artery, vein, and nerve. The only way you could tell was to actually pull on it and see where it came from and where it was going. By far though, my most interesting class.

By Crystal915 on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 01:29 pm:

I had to do dissections in 8th grade, and REALLY disliked them, but really, I have no interest in any medical or vet sciences. As for people being upset, if you are taking a college level anatomy/physiology class, you should expect to do these types of dissections. Med students have to work with human cadavers, why would someone get so upset about dissecting an animal? I'm glad you are enjoying the class, Conni.

By Cocoabutter on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 03:17 pm:

It's hard to watch CSI sometimes because of the graphic images.

I dissected a frog in 7th grade. I thought I wanted to be a nurse, but I realized after volunteering at the local hospital that I wouldn't have been able to handle the mental and emotional pressure.

It's a fine line that some people walk. Doctors and nurses go into medicine because they truly have an appreciation for life, yet that appreciation makes it difficult to do research on a cadaver, flesh and bone that used to be someone's beloved family member or an adorable lovable pet.

By Kaye on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 06:50 pm:

Lisa, you got that right.

Long story, but I had to meet with a pathologist at one point when my mom was dying. We were donation her brain to a study and I was trying to get him to donate his services. He got to reading the paperwork, and was facinated and started going into a lot of details, he looked up and went, "oh I am sorry, yes I will do this for you". It was so surrreal, because she wasn't dead quite yet and still we were having to have this conversation.

By Marcia on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 07:52 pm:

There were 2 cadavers when I took a nightschool A&P class. One was a woman, and her arms and legs had been removed. Her entire abdomen was cut open, so that we could see all of her organs. The other was an elderly man, and his skin had been removed so that we could learn about the muscles. It was NOT my favourite part of the class!! We also dissected fetal pigs and cows' eyes. I loved the course, but those weren't my favourite days!

By Imamommyx4 on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:30 pm:

Conni--I guess I've missed out on some stuff, too.
Are you back in the states or elsewhere?
What do you want to be when you grow up?

That's cool that you are taking. What is the other class you are taking?
I had A&P when I was in pharmacy school. We dissected mice, then cats, then dogs, then pigs, and then a cadaver. But it was like 2 people to a mouse, then like 6 of us to a cat, and up to half the class to 1 cadaver. The cadavers were people who left their bodies to science. We were told their names and a little history about the people. That was weird. That was 25 years ago, too.

By Conni on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 07:51 am:

Debbie, I am back in the states. I am back to trying to finish up the pre-req's for the nursing program. (now that Blake is in school full time) I have said for yrs I would become a nurse. However, in the last probably, two yrs I have thought more about becoming a Dental Hygeinist...unfortunately, the closest programs to apply for are over an hour drive!!! If we get a program for that (DH) closer, that's what I will do. If not, it's easier (and more economical) to just continue with my original plan (RN). I just can't drive that far everyday for two yrs! I would need to move to where they offer the program and I am not going to move my older son while he is in high school. I'll be happy with either degree...

By Dawnk777 on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 08:11 am:

Good luck with your schooling, Conni!

By Karen~admin on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 08:50 am:

Conni - go for the RN! You will have tons of options, and you will be able to get a job anywhere! I wish I'd done that 30 years ago - medical stuff really interests me, and I think I would have loved it.