I’m a little busy today, so munch on this. Originally posted 14 Oct 2004. For the record, I still feel similarly about pathology, but if you’re reading this in 2011ish and you happen to be the residency director of the pathology program to which I happen to be applying, I’m totally lying right now. Also, I miss medical school.

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Today began the dissection phase of our Human Morphology. Prior to today, we have worked with microscopes, tissue sample slides, and chick embryo slides. But today, a great day, we began gross anatomy. And it was thus a great day.I’ve been looking forward to this for a while for a multitude of reasons. First, I like gross anatomy and I like dissecting. I strongly dislike sitting at a microscope for hours at a time viewing structures that I, though I fully understand their importance, find to be useless information. I guess that means I’ve ruled out pathology; take that for what it’s worth. I spent a good chunk of my life in front of microscope as a part of my research in cranial angiogenesis as an undergrad, and the monotony of it was one of the reasons I couldn’t stand it and eventually had to take a break from it. Doing the same in medical school wasn’t exactly my idea of fun.

But now it’s over, and this other thing is beginning, and it’s wonderful. Our cadaver is a 90-year-old gentleman who died of end-stage renal failure. He must have fought hard: He had cathodes and stents and tubes coming out of him everywhere. I am extremely grateful for his decision to donate his body to science for my educational benefit. Anyone who does that contributes in some way to the progress of medical knowledge, and that’s definitely something to be respected and applauded. I hope that I in return can make the most of what he has given me and show him the same degree of respect.

Good day, and toodles. Now I’m going to attempt to avoid dying at the hands of the ill-fated biochem all-nighter, not to even mention the actual exam.