Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-02-15
Scene in d Dissecting Room.

A New York reporter has recently taken
a few notes in medical college, where he
found hundreds of young men and a few
women, fitting themselves for the business
of prescribing for all the ills that flesh is
heir to-" The following, relative to the
dissecting room, will be found interesting ::
Ii the evening, the medical students
who are earnest enough to seek, by hard
work, to obtain knowledge of their pro-
fession-resort to the dissecting rooms of
which there are several located in differ
ent parts of the city. The largest and finest
of them is located in the upper part of
college building, where twenty five or thir-
ty tables are ranged between half dozen
rows of bright gas lights. Around the sides
of the rooms forty or more closets are num-
bered and set apart for the use of students,
who change their clothing whenever they
engaged in the work of dissection. The tables
are about six feet long by eighteen inches
wide, and three feet six inches high, one
end being inclined for drainage purposes.
Under direction of the College faculty
"subiects," 1. e.-dead bodies-are pro-
cured and brought to this room, which, al
though thoroughly ventilated, smells very
much like slaughter house, which it re-
sembles In some respects. Headless, leg
less and armless bodies occupy some of the
the disposition of the demonstrators,
who apportions it taccording to the demand;
one student asking for head and neck,
another taking the trunk one gets an arm
or leg in short, the body is divided ac-
cording to the inclination or desire of the
different dissectOrs to pursue their investi-
cations of certain portions of the human
anatomy. It is ghastly sight to witness
a score of dead bodies, or as many portions
thereof, lying in all stages of dissection
stiff and stark, surrounded by young men
clad in butchers Overalls, and armed with
small scalpels with which they cut away
flesh, fat, or musclar fibre, while following
up veins or arteries to their connection
with vital parts; or searching into the
structure of heart, lungs or kidneys, ac-
cording to the bent of their studies.
Upon one table lay the uncovered form
of woman but few hours dead. Near
by. the inanimate body of a muscular look
ing man; and farther on the corpse of
pretty little child, with faxen curls, was
being cut mp for the benefit of living chill
dren; two students working together upon
this small "subject," which they treated
somewhat tenderly. With open books be-
fore them these young men defty ply their
sharp steel instruments, the incised flesh
being held open by small hooks chained
together in a manner that enables the ope-
rator to obtain an untrammeled working
space upon that part of the body which he
is Investigating. When these subjects are
first brought to the dissecting room, an at
tendant lnJects into the veins preparation
of plaster, colored with vermiliou. This
brings out distinctly all the minute courses
through which the blood oasses, and mate
rally aids the student In tracing their di-
har 1pn
and preserving to some extent the subject. |
Periodically 'DemonstatOr of Anato-
my" makes his appearance in the dissect-
ing room, and dlscourses learnedly upon
some portion of anatomy laid bare before
the class, whose scalpels are laid down and
tables are deserted, while they crowd around
the Professor, during the delivery OF his
lecture. In this mGnner, the medical stu
dents are practically taught much that
other people only hear of, or read about
it is not, therefore, surprising that they
soon become accustomed to scenes which,
at first sight of the dissecting-room, curdled
the blood in their veins. This familiarity
with the dead, and the handling of differ
ent portions of body, very soon become at
tractive work to some of the students, who
eat their luncheon while sitting
alongside of one corpse and surrounded by
many others. Undue levity is frowned
upon by the professors and gentlemen in
but nevertheless at times
some fun-loving youngster perpetrates
Joke, which is quite out of place in the
AS general rule the re-
mains are treated as respectfully as the pur-
suit of science permits, AMI whena subject
mas been sufficiently dissected, the flesh and
bones are gathered up and disposed of for
proper burial. From two days to two weeks