GROSS ANATOMY AND LANDMARKS

Gross Anatomy in dental school was perhaps the coolest class I have ever taken. Once you get over the fact that you are cutting a dead person and digging around in their organs it is pretty cool.  It was very unnerving the first day of lab because I had never seen a dead person other than at a funeral.  Today you can google human dissections and desensitize yourself to the fact that you are seeing and handling a dead body.  However, the Internet was just gaining popularity at that time I was in dental school and I had only seen one VHS tape on an autopsy.


The students were given full access to the lab and we studied the organs, bones and tissues before class, during lunch and late into the night. Dr. Fednick our professor cautioned us to learn the landmarks of the body. He stated the landmarks would tell us where the organs are and keep us on track. We studied the body and the anatomy books. We memorized where everything was positioned. He told us that there would be twenty bodies in the exam and each body would have colored pins in an organ, vessel, nerve or cavity. We were to name the specimens that were tagged.

Imagine our surprise when we arrived for the exam. The organs were spread out all over the body. Intestines were hanging off the table and some of the bodies were lying on their stomachs. Everything was not neat and tidy like it was when we were learning. The bodies were a mess. We were totally confounded. This is not what we prepared for...we were perplexed. There was total silence in the room. No one was writing answers in the exam book because no one knew the answers. I looked up and everyone was either staring at the body or each other in total confusion. The tension was terrible.

The minutes dragged on....

Finally someone whispered something. Other people started whispering. Suddenly the words became clear....landmarks. Dr. Fednik's words came back to us. The landmarks will tell you where the organs are or should be. The landmarks will keep you on track. Everything was still connected in the body. The organs were just in a jumble.

So we went back to basics and searched for the landmarks. Slowly but surely we came alive scribbling the answers in the exam booklet. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions.... we went from completely dumbfounded to total ecstasy. We were in control again. The answers came easily now. It was almost fun.

I thought about this memory the other day when I was confronted with a difficult situation. I was at a loss and had no idea how to move forward. Then I realized that we have landmarks in our lives as well. The dictionary defines a landmark as an object that marks a boundary of a piece of land, any prominent feature or an important event in the development of something.

We have been given landmarks all our lives. These are the beliefs that we hold dear. My landmarks are simple. My home, family, friends, ethics and beliefs. This is how I live my life. When I stray too far from these landmarks I suffer headaches or stomach cramps. I get lost, confused and perplexed. I just need to remember to look for my landmarks. My landmarks will tell me where I should be. They will keep me on track. Everything is still connected....it's just in a jumble.