Continued...

Well I said that I would continue my post... so here goes.

In addition to my Probability and Statistics (which was really good today and quite funny) I am taking a unit of Prosection. That is, Dissection of a Cadaver. Yeah! Dead People! The individual that I have the privilege of working on is affectionately named Blanch. That is that she is quite pale in color. Or at least most of her is. The part of the body that I am working on, the head and neck, is quite dark, probably from post-mortem lividity. I am continuing the work that was started by the students before me who worked on the trunk of the body. They left the trapezium muscle (the big one on the back and shoulder) kind of in pieces so I had to start by sorting out all of those fibers and then working up further. I wound up actually being too deep and going through the trapezium but right above the next layer. I made it up too C1 (the first of the cervical vertebrae) with the muscle before I went back to fish the trap out of the skin layer that I had removed. It was a real pain to separate that thin little layer of muscle out when it’s all floppy like that.

The formaldehyde fumes got to me once or twice but after a while they kind of dissipated. There is a smell to it all, but it really isn’t bad though it seems to linger on the shirt I was wearing. I get really weird looks when I say that. People really don’t like dead people and I gets me to thinking. Does being in the presence of a dead person cause people to consider their own mortality? Is that why it upsets people so much? Biologically and chemically there is nothing really “gross” about it. The contents of that cadaver bag are probably less “gross” than steak package that has sat in your fridge for 3 days. Is it the fact that at one time it was a person? Is it still a person? It is my personal opinion that the soul is really the person and therefore when it leaves, the body is just an empty shell.

I guess there are certain circles that would believe that the resurrection that awaits us as Christians is a literal resurrection of the body and therefore, dissection of ones body would get in the way of said resurrection. I would have to say that requires a rather limited view of God’s power. If he can conquer death, I think that he can re-assemble our bodies if need be. To be quite honest, for someone who is intent on studying the human body, I know very little about what the Bible says about it and its uses and necessity in the “big picture of things.” However, I maintain the view that there are times when the body needs to be healed in order for the soul to be and the converse as well.

Wow, this has become a really long post and covered quite a bit of ground theologically and anatomically. Feel free to weigh in on any of the above issues and/or questions.