Anatomy Prank

So, CW commented on my post "Moron Dissecting" and it reminded me of a prank I played. Before exams a few friends and I usually get together to pin our own practice practicals in order to get in some more exposure. Prior to our exam on the head and neck we indulged in our ritual together. Everyone gets 5 pushpins to insert into the structures of their choosing and the rest of us get to identify them. I decided that a little humor was in order, so I found a brown rubber band that looked exactly like a dried up nerve. Carefully placing it next to the hypoglossal nerve, I stuck a pin in it. As people cycled through, I forcefully told them not to pick at it, it was a delicate structure. I could see most of my friends smiling to themselves as they passed through, but one stayed for about a minute puzzling through what I had pinned. Finally, after he picked at it, I told him it was 'nervus elasticus, cranial nerve XIII'. He smiled sheepishly. A small joke indeed.

Tools and Dorks

So, I wrote of the first week that there were no morons in medical school. I now ammend that statement. They aren't necessarily dumb, obviously they aren't since they got in. They are just lacking in common sense.

Example: If you are a VERY hirsute man, please, don't assume that you are Adonis incarnate. We don't really want to see your furry body as you change into scrubs in lab. We have a locker room or a bathroom that are perfectly suitable to this purpose.

Example 2: If the dissection instructions contain a list of structures to be exposed during the dissection, you can safely assume that those are the things to look for. Don't just skin the cadaver and call it good. The rat's nest of nerves underneath is what we're looking for. See, when the instructions want you to expose the internal jugular vein, it's really helpful for the labmates who aren't dissecting that day if you actually do it, so that we can see the adjacent structures.

Example 3: Cadavers that dry out are like jerky. Please spray them down!