Anatomy and physiology classes performed a dissection lab of raw chicken wings to learn how to name and correctly use their dissecting instruments on Jan. 14 and 15. The lab also intended to integrate the knowledge of the integumentary, skeletal, joints and muscle systems in a more hands-on activity.
“I hope first of all that they feel confident in college if they need to dissect,” Anatomy and Physiology teacher Dr. Carmen Erhman said. “[I hope they will learn how] to be able to aid in suturing and passing instruments to nurses and doctors as a CCMA and to understand in a practical way how skin, bones, muscles and cartilage join together to be able to make movement fluid in a human being.”
Students first had to strip the skin of the chicken so they could see and examine the structures in the wing.
“At first I was a bit disgusted, it felt a bit nasty to be dissecting it,” senior Andrew Moore said. “As a lot of smells, like the chicken, were coursing through me, it smelled a bit odd. As we went on it was more interesting and I was more locked-in. The most interesting part to me was probably the colors. There were lots of colors like red, purple and at some points there was even yellow.”
By seeing these systems first hand, Ehrman hopes this lab will help students gain confidence and learn basic medical and nursing skills that they can use in real life.
“I enjoy each and every one of the labs,” Erhman said. “But dissection is my favorite, it is relatable to the students and I feel as a physician that I am passing life experiences to my students. I do hope that I can make students passionate for it and who knows, nurture future surgeons.”
Additionally, this lab is the first dissection of the year for anatomy and physiology, so students are walked through many of the steps by their teacher.
“She is a great teacher,” Moore said. “She is really easy to understand when it comes to science and overall she is a really good teacher. She was really great when it came to how to use the tools.”
Erhman was proud and excited to see her students learning and enjoying the dissection.
“I think it was successful,” Erhman said. “Students were so concentrated in their dissections, their faces were more than one of true happiness, they were amazed, curious and detailed in their questions. I love to see them organized and even truly engaged even when picking up their trays. It is a joyful moment for me.”
Students taking Anatomy and Physiology use the class to prepare for their future careers. The class is a step in science and medical fields and it teaches basic skills that their careers could use.
“Personally, I love dissecting things,” junior Donavan Smith said. “I am a very curious person so I find it interesting. Something about how the muscles work and you could see the tendons and if you pull on the tendons it would move the arm. So far I am thinking about going into the medical field but I am not sure what yet, so I think anatomy and physiology will help me get there. The class is hard and challenging but in the end it is worth it.”
