Still Seeing Dead People

Well, there hasn't been an update in a little while so here is a quick summary of what I have been doing since last:



-Went to VT to see 14 brain dissections. The guy there gets off on these things. Was cool to see some of the pathology, like lesions that had caused paralysis, or atrophy. I really didnt know all of the names of the bodies/nuclei/whatevertheyare which made it harder to appriciate them.



-More prosections (removing the organs from the body). Everything from the Y incision and neck to the rectum (Bob still does the head/brain). Last week I was instructed to open the pericardium without cutting the heart, but when I did, blood pooled everywhere, causing Dr. Andrew to laugh at me/make some comment about doing what I was told not to. Turns out, it was a hemopericardium and the person had raging pericarditis (Take that Dr. Andrew, I knew I didnt mess up!). There was also over 2L of pleural effusion fluid and half a liter of acetic fluid in the abdomen. He had said earlier this rotation that the last time he had seen a "bread and butter" pericarditis (it gets its name because it looks like a piece of buttered bread after you have dropped it and then picked it up...), was 12 years ago in NY, and claimed that it was rare to see one...pfft!

-Yesterday, I was prosecting the organs and cutting through the great vessels when I cut into this white looking thing. When I said "Uhhh, Dr. Duval, what's this?..." she said something to the effect of "Oh no, wait, stop." Which made me think I did something completely wrong (and I had cut into the trachea...slightly), but she said that it was because I had found something. With any luck, I'll be testing positive for TB on my next PPD! (keep your fingers crossed)

-Just hours ago, I saw a burn victim, wasnt anything interesting, and then another suspected OD.

-Tomorrow, a shotgun injury.

Well, time to go. I am dead tired, but not in the same way Bruce Willis was at the end of this movie...