The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-03-19
THE DISSECTING ROOM.
. PLACE WHERE DOCTORS ARE MADE.
Row "Points" Are Manipulated for tho
Benefit OF Sclence-The Labors and
Amusements of Medical Students
r.c A Graphic Picture. u4
TCincinnati Enquirer.l


Medical College has been brought by the
awful Taylor tragedy makes news of every
character concerning the institution read
with the greatest interest. During the past
lew days an Enqairer representative has
made 1t his business to visit the dissecting.
room in which the bodies Of old man Tay.
lor, his wife and daughter were found and
recognized by Marshal Brown. A graphic
description of the manner in which sub.
Jects are carved by the young saw-bones
was also obtained, together with other in.
teresting points about the dissecting.
room.
To reach the apartment where thousands
OF bodies have been cut to pieces for the
benefit OF science one has to climb the
stairs to the top (fifth) floor of the college
building. Entering the door, attention is
trst attracted to a long row of tables on
either side of the room, which is about
thirty feet wide by forty feet long Here
and there table contained "point,n as
the medical profession term body. In
The day time the points" are covered
over from head to toe with moist bandages
TO keep them from drying up. The dis.
sectlng is done only at night, when
The scene is busy one and much
more interesting. The room con.
tains forty tables in all, and
often in the midst of the college
term each one is brought into use. The
liable consists of large slab formed some.
What On the plan of woman's ironing.
board, only it is little larger. Cutters
are cut an inch from the edge, and just
deep enough to allow the drippings to 20
into pan on the floor at the foot of the
board. The slabs are set on horses about
three and half feet in height, with the
mead little the highest. On each side of
table is a bench large enough to accom-.
smodate two students. All of these are
movable. There is another smaller bench
for the student who works on the head.
Small blocks of wood are provided to place
under different parts of the body to put
Them into position. A small room adjoin.
ing IS for private classes, and contains
hVe or six tables. As there are over three
hundred students attending the Ohio Col.
Iege at present it is necessary to have at
least forty cadavers for the course. which
lasts SIX months. Each student at the
commencement of a term pays ten dollars
for dissecting ticket. This entities him
TO nth portion of the first body he works
on. After that he pays five dollars extra
Tor his share of the subject. Five students
work on one body, and pay five dollars
each Tor the privilege. They draw cuts as
to the choice of portions.
The new student generally gets sick and
does not take kindly to the work at first.
lie is careful in donning large gown he.
lore he goes near the corpse, and particu.
larly careful as to where he puts his
hngers for fear of blood poison. When
they finally get broken in they lose all alb.
horrence OF the'work and sit and smoke
and chat while they carve and pelt each
other with different portions of the sub.
Jects. They play all sorts of jokes ON each
other. For instance, they will stick
classmates pipe in a cadaver's mouth
ana then tell him where he can find it,
Woe betide the unlucky professor who is
disliked by the students should he appear
In the dissecting-rooms. They will nav
him sundry unpleasant attentions and de.
posit inhis pockets portions of the anato.
my that are OF the least use. The dissec-
tion of the head is useful only for the
knowledge it gives Of the muscles of the
neck and back. The students make an in.
clslon about on line with the breast.
bones, and then such other incisions
as may assist him in dissocting back the
skin with the least possible damage to the
tissues beneath. These he investigates sepa.
rately, locating the muscles, his book
before him, following the course of the
blood-vessels and nerves as they appear
to his observation. He investigates thor.
oughly to the wind-pipe, and the only
thing that escapes his knife is the back
bones going up to the neck. One part of
the head of Importance is the muscles
around the jaw, nose, eyes and forehead.
The brain, as rule, is dissected coll act.
lively. However, tits not often in con.
dltion to dissect. After this there is little
or nothing left but the skull. Everything
IS removed. With the arm much the same
course is pursued, only more attention is
given to the muscles of the hands and fin.
gers. Everything is utilized, and the same
may be said of the lower extremities. The
chest and abdomen are dissected collect.
lively by the class, and generally with the
aid of TIE Demonstration of Anatomy. After
the work on body is completed nothing
remains but the bones. In the first
case these go to the college, and in
the second to the students skel
eton prepared is worth considera.
BILE money. Contrary q all expecta
tions the dissecting-room is rather neat
place, and, although the odoris not familiar
with every one, still it is not SO horrible as
people might beled to suppose. Itreouires
three hours work every night for for
weeks to complete the dissection of body
by i've students. The bodies of people div.
Ing OF consumption are most desired for
dissecting purposes as they have the least
tat. Fleshy subjects are at a discount.
Students have little choice as to sex. Tho
body should be at least fourteen wears old
and those over twenty are most preferable
Old persons are not so good, as the arteries
are weak and Break down, and will not
stand following. For the lecture-room ex.
ira material is held. For instance. bodv
on which no post-mortem examination hns
been made will be laid out on the table.
and hit on the head to produce fracture
This is to show the class how to attend such {
fracture, by elevating the bone OF taking 9
'ut the fragments. 8
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