Triangulation nation

This week's been interesting to say the least. First off, the adventures in food have gone full-force...but more on that later. One thing's for sure, there haven't been more triangles in my life since 9th grade geometry class. But now, instead of being on chalkboards, they're on cadavers. triangular, quadrangular, intervals and all; but the one that holds a special place in my heart is the suboccipital triangle.

Yes, this week marked my first actual anatomy dissection, and it was, for lack of a more complete word, exhilirating. I had been to a couple of anatomy demos previous to this past Tuesday, and had even spent the aforementioned "alone time" with a "silent instructor" in the anatomy lab reviewing the first week's material. However, none of it really compared to getting in there with a scalpel and forceps, and really digging in.

Sure, I wish we would've received better direction as to the final product we were aiming to produce, as well as the amount of connective tisue that stood in our way. But I guess that in itself was part of the experience. It's intersting that everyone assumed that our assignment was gonna be a snap - which was reinforced when the course director described it as "simple" at the start of the session. 2 hours later, several tables had barely identified the triangle at all. 4-and-a-half hours later, we finally wrapped on the day, with stiff necks and backs, from having spent so much time bent over such a small area.

Sure, I had to go home and shower. Sure, the smell was stuck in my nose the rest of the evening. And definitely the video doesn't do justice to what we went through that afternoon. But I have it all in my head: The smell of the preservation fluid as it swished around at my waist, students moving to and fro, the spotlight shining right down on the dissection area as well as the side of my neck, the delicacy & toughness of the neck as we awkwardly probed around for structures, the general thrill of confusion and completion.

Next week: Axilla. Awesome!