Well, this was a little while ago, but the memory of it will last a lifetime. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. Two rows of cold metal tables along each side of the room. Each with a dead person, skinned from head to toe. Well it wasn't quite like that. We had a seemingly endless lecture about all of the health and safety red tape, and to prepare us for looking at a dead body for the very first time.
We finally descended to the DR (dissecting room) which was aptly on the basement level. Entering the room, it suddenly felt very cold (conditions have to be monitored to preserve the body). Once in our smaller groups we uncovered the bodies, very slowly, from the feet upwards. It actually took about 45 mins before we had finally uncovered the whole body.
To be honest, the whole thing was a little underwhelming. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found myself surprisingly comfortable about the whole thing. Where they are already skinned, I guess it is easier to see them as a separate being to us as they have a very distinctive look. We are all grateful for anyone donating their body to medical science, and I fell it would otherwise be near impossible to learn anatomy in a 3-d sense.
Before we knew it, it was the end of the session and I found myself spraying the body in formaldehyde (a preservative) before tucking the body back underneath it's towels to finish up the session. I feel this always gives great closure to the session, as once you have put the body away, it is easier then to forget about the bodies until next time...
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