I've read a few articles, both biology- and philosophy-oriented, on the nature of disgust and revulsion, and all I can say is that I'm pretty sure medical students are broken. Consider that we all leave anatomy ravenous (and I've been doing a casual investigation into whether the chemicals used to preserve our cadavers* cause hunger, which has yielded little of substance) I'm pretty sure we're all abnormal. I shouldn't be able to cut a testicle in half** and then chow down on leftover beans and spinach 10 minutes later. And it's probably wrong that I find this schematic of what happens when the urethra is perforated all the way through the deep perineal fascia adorable in its relationship to Mohawk the gremlin, which our dean of curriculum/anatomy lecturer pointed out:
Oh, yeah, food. I'm planning to be Leftover Gal tonight thanks to the fact that the pelvis is a complicated thing, but I promise, there are some super-awesome projects coming up. Much more awesome than a scrotumful of blood and urine.
*which are not formaldehyde or formalin, by the way.
**They look cool on the inside, and yes, it was totally empowering.
I think in there are many aspects of medicine where one can't help but feel glad that "At least it's not me." It seems base to admit it, but why shouldn't we be glad that we are the ones "currently" surviving. It ain't gonna last!
ReplyDeleteEat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow someone takes our corneas. True dat.