I was in anatomy lab today. We were dissecting the anterior and superior mediastina. We were fortunate to have a visiting doctor from Northern California. He flew his own plane down so that he could lecture on the thoracic region (he’s a thoracic surgeon).

So I’m working on the anterior wall of the thoracic region. We could clearly make out the internal thoracic artery underneath a thin layer of muscle (transversus thoracis). I attempted to dissect out the artery and its veins using forceps and scissors. And as I’m leaning over the cadaver, I think to myself, “Why is my stomach wet?”

After a moment I finally pulled away from the table and looked at my white coat. There was a circular wet spot. Lovely. My first instinct was to take off my coat. My first thought was that I should leave it on to keep to a minimum any further contacts with cadaver solution.

And that was my first day back after test week. Five weeks till Exam Week 2. Let the fun begin all over again….