S. Topzand, N. Gigliazza, N. Cordell, E. Nomura, J. Immel Introduction: Dissection is a medical procedure that has proved its significance in the progression of what we know, anatomically, about every organism since it was first performed by two Roman physicians in the 3rd century. Not only that, but it has also helped to spark other very substantial scientific studies. So exactly how far back does dissection go? Well in about the third century, BCE, there were many physicians performing dissections. Two of the most famous are those by the names of Herophilus, of Chalcedon, and Erasistratus, of Chios. These two performed human dissections in a part of Egypt called, Alexandria. However, this practice was …show more content…
Having been provided such a small specimen, the incision made was very delicate and shallow, so as to make sure to not damage any of the smaller objective specimens within the pig. Due to that fact that the major organs that were to be explored were majorically ventral, the placement of the all important first incision started just below the neck region and just above the sternum. The incision progressed in a straight line from the region just above the sternum to the posterior region of the specimen. Perhaps the most time consuming part of the initial incision was the amount of caution used to expose the abdominal cavity, making sure to not harm the diaphragm. The linear pattern of permeation was broken by the interruption of the umbilical cord. The direction was temporarily adjusted to maneuver around the obstruction. Once the three layers of skin had been permeated in a sagittal orientation, a second and third incision were made in a transverse orientation, sectioning the pigs skin into six different ease of access flaps. Following the incisions, the forceps were used to prevent the obstruction of line of sight that the skin provided, so the fat and muscle could be separated in the most efficient and precise manner, a tedious process. Proceeding the skinning of the specimen was the pinning back the layers of skin to properly and thoroughly expose the upper extremities. These extremities included the rib cage and everything it concealed, and the diaphragm. Unfortunately, during the initial incision, the diaphragm was slightly scuffed, however nothing too extreme. The rib cage was a very odd shade of white, something that was not expected. Continuing the dissection, the rib cage was excised via a pair of steel lab scissors. Surprisingly, the amount of effort it too to excise the rib cage was far less than expected, comparable to cutting two pieces of cardboard. The rib cage