alas! last dissection on white rats (what else?). we did the head/brain part for the first time today.

read a sci-fi novel titled 'Cobra' before, in which the post-mortem of a young teenage girl was described vividly. it started with how the medical examiner did the Y-incision on the skin (which was very much the same of what i did to the rats), then how the M.E go on taking all the internal organs out and weighed them.

what struck me most was the final part of the post-mortem, in which the M.E proceeded to 'cut open' the young girl's head. since the human skull is made up of hard, impenetrable bones, a special saw-like device was used. then the M.E practically sawed through the skull, which sent all the 'skull dust' flying, thus exposing the brain inside. but sice the girl was infected with some kind of a genetically-modified virus, the brain had shrunk into a jell-o like structure, making funny 'squishing' sound inside the skull. (sounds far-fetched? it is a sci-fi novel after all.)

but, of course, none of that happen to my rat.

i find it the most disturbing dissection of all. first it involves taking out the decapitated rat head from the transparent plastic bucket filled with formalin (which in itself was quite a sight! ), then the cutting begins.

i did the transverse cutting, which was easier that i thought. no, it was soft. really soft. can't help noticing the eyes. they were turning pale from pink now. and they were blank. something about that makes me feel eerie. and it doesn't help it either when HY commented that the way i was cutting looks exactly like i was eating some steak! gross.

so that's it. the end. finale. no more bloody scenes and nightmares.


MUET results will be announced tomorrow. wish me luck.