#dissection

I stepped into the dissection room for the first time today. Well, that's not quite right because I've been inside twice - my first time was when I went to have a look at the dissection competition and the second time was for the thanksgiving ceremony at the beginning of med orientation. But this was the first time that I had to stay inside the room and look at the various specimens.

I'm glad med school is introducing us slowly. I felt a little sick when I first walked in - probably because the smell of formalin/some sort of preservative was quite sickly sweet and managed to permeate through my senses. The dozens of body bags weren't as ominous as I first thought. I've always been a little frightened of dead bodies/the concept of death, so being able to banish that train of thought from my mind was quite good.

When they took us in small groups and unzipped a bag for us to look, I felt a little nervous at first. But then when I saw the face - I felt strangely happy. Well, not happy - just incredibly privileged to be able to use them. I couldn't stop smiling at the face because it was like a gift. And not even a morbid or macabre sort of gift. It was such a great experience being able to see how things were anatomically in the specimens that we did get to look at today and I'm looking forward to seeing how it's all orientated in the human body.

I think my stomach will probably keep churning for the next few sessions - but I don't feel so apprehensive any more. Just a sense of awe and immense gratitude.