A few cadavers in the laboratory will also have an additional red, rectangular, metal tag. This red tag indicates that the remains of the cadaver will be individually cremated and returned to the family. It is important that all parts of a cadaver destined for individual cremation remain on the table to which the cadaver was assigned and that parts from other cadavers not be stored on this table. With proper preparation before the laboratory, this is the best environment in which to see and study that anatomy that is relevant to your profession. Visualization is the key to understanding anatomy.
Visualization results only if one knows what is being dissected.
This in turn requires constant comparison of the handout notes, text and atlas with the cadaver. Therefore, the student should have access to the handout notes, text and atlas at every dissection period. The discussion of the dissection for each region will usually be preceded by a list of the bones encountered in each area and a list of anatomical landmarks which are palpable through the skin. Osteology should be the first subject studied in any region and the bones listed should be studied from the handout notes, textbook and atlas before coming to the laboratory. You can then better understand the relationships and locations of the rest of the structures.