This story was originally published on my vet school blog, “Wet Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
Wow, I am a crappy blogger. But I’m a good student. Just finished my finals, which would explain why I haven’t even thought about blogging for a month and a half. Too busy learning the structure of tRNA and what family chevrotains are in. Yipes, that was a lotta work. I don’t remember school taking this much time the first time I was an undergrad, but then again, my grades also sucked the first time I was an undergrad! I am very proud of my A+ in organic chemistry, though, seeing as I failed general chemistry 16 years ago (it was kind of on purpose, but I still have a major chemistry mental block).
Anyway, today’s story is about the diagnostic lab at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where I spent four hours a week over the last semester. The “d-lab” is where they do necropsies (animal autopsies), and where they slice up tissue so that pathologists can look at it under a microscope and diagnose stuff.
My first day I walked in and was struck by two things: 1) the god awful smell, and 2) the sign over the entrance, which reads, “Welcome to the halls of truth.” I’m thinking, “Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?”
I figured that volunteering at the vet hospital couldn’t hurt my vet school application, and I wanted to learn about other aspects of veterinary medicine that I couldn’t pick up from working at the local animal hospital. I said I’d volunteer wherever, and necropsy was the first place that called me, so there I went. I figured if I could stomach what I saw there, I could stomach anything I’d see in veterinary medicine.
* Gross warning. I mean really gross. Material that follows may be too gross for some readers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! *
I’d say “Halls of Truth” was pretty accurate for my experience of the first day. They didn’t really have anything for me to do that first day, so they had me watch a class session in progress. Seniors from the vet school spend at least two weeks in necropsy, and this was one of their classes.
Here’s what I got to see: a dog’s head on a tray, with half the skull cut away, exposing the eyeball and brain. If that ain’t a sight to weed out the wussies! Then there was the rest of the dog, chest splayed open, a leg in a bucket over there, intestines on another tray… holy cow. Or holy dog. Whatever. Anyway, I’m not quite sure I was prepared for that.
But the good news is that I didn’t feel faint, didn’t want to puke, nothing like that. I guess I just had to get over the initial shock of seeing gross anatomy right there in front of me, but after that, I’d say the whole experience was pretty darn cool.
Over the course of the semester I got to watch other necropsies – dog, cat, parrot, llama, cow – and I also got to learn about how they slice up tissues for pathology. For example, Fido has a tumor and your local vet removes it and sends it to the lab. What happens next?
The lab receives it, then technicians look at it and decide where to make cuts in the tissue to get the best diagnosis. For a tumor, they make sure to include the margins (tumor edges) in the cut so that the pathologist can determine whether all of the tumor was excised. The pieces of tissue they cut are maybe an eighth of an inch thick, and about an inch square (or less, depending on the size of the mass).
From there, the tissue gets embedded in paraffin, and then it can be sliced into really thin sections that can be looked at under a microscope. And when pathologists look at it, they can diagnose diseases, and even tell you what type of tissue it is and what type of animal it’s from. Amazing! Really cool stuff.
I’m not sure I ever did get over the shock of, say, opening a jar and pulling out a spleen, or a dog’s leg (complete with cute little furry paw), but I did get over the smell. Didn’t even notice it after awhile. It’s really amazing what can you can get used to with repeated exposure.
All in all, a worthwhile experience. It didn’t make me want to be a pathologist, but I can’t wait until my pathology rounds in vet school. While everyone else will be getting over being in the halls of truth, I’ll be wielding my knife with flair.
