1.) Describe the two steps involved in the harvesting of bones from a human cadaver.
a. To harvest bones from a human cadaver, a number of steps must be completed. First, the skin and muscle surrounding the bones must be cut away. Then, the residual meat and sinew must be dissolved by boiling the bones in a solution for a few weeks.
2.) What is plastination? What is the German anatomist, Gunther von Hagens, best known for plastinating?
a. Plastination is the process of taking organic tissue and replacing the water in it with a liquid silicone polymer, which turns the tissue into a permanently preserved version of itself. The German anatomist, Gunther von Hagens, is best known for plastinating whole human bodies. It took him years to complete it, but after he finished plastinating all of the human bodies, he put them in a museum to be a part of a display known as “Bodyworlds”.
3.) Describe the step-by-step process of being plastinated.
a. Plastination is an intricate and lengthy step-by-step process. First the body is washed in a tub. Second, the body is placed in a stainless-steel tank of acetone. The acetone drives water from the body’s tissue. Then, the cadavers are transferred to a whole-body plastination chamber filled with liquid polymer. A vacuum is attached to this tank which lowers the internal pressure which turns the acetone into a gas, drawing it out from the body. When the acetone is drawn out from the body, it leaves a space, that space is then filled with the liquid polymer. The body is then lifted out of the chamber and posed into a certain position. Then, a catalyst is rubbed into the skin and left for two days to harden. This plastination process will keep the body preserved for about 10,000 years.
4.) What are Mary Roach’s plans for her body after she dies? Why did she make this decision?
a. After Mary Roach dies, she plans to leave what happens to her body up to her husband. She worries that if she donated her body to science, her squeamish husband would have to picture her on a lab table knowing that anything mentioned in her book could be happening to her. She thinks it should be left up to immediate family members as to what is done with a loved one’s body after death, since they are the ones that have to continue to live thinking about it. However, she said that if her husband dies before her, then she will fill out the willed body form and be donated to science.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
STIFF Chapter 11: Vocabulary
1.) Tissue Digestion (Page 252) – a method of disposing bodies through alkaline hydrolysis
2.) Lye (Page 253) – a highly concentrated, aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide.
3.) Prions (Page 253) –any of several petrels of the genus Pachyptila, located in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and having serrated edges on the bill.
4.) Bereaved (Page 254) –greatly saddened at being deprived by death of a loved one.
5.) Reductive Cremation (Page 254) – the reduction of a corpse to ashes as a way of disposing of it
6.) Necropsy (Page 255) –the examination of a body after death; autopsy.
7.) Taciturn (Page 255) - inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
8.) Winches (Page 256) – the crank or handle of a revolving machine
9.) Emboldened (Page 256) – to make bold or bolder; hearten; encourage.
10.) Noxious (Page 258) - harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being: noxious fumes.
11.) Miasmas (Page 258) – a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
12.) Pagan (Page 259) – a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim
13.) Tantamount (Page 262) –equivalent, as in value, force, effect, or signification
14.) Loamy (Page 262) – a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.
15.) Moribund (Page 266) –in a dying state; near death.
16.) Internment (Page 267) –the state of being confined.
17.) Merriment (Page 270) – cheerful or joyful gaiety; mirth; hilarity; laughter.
18.) Enigmatic (Page 271) – resembling an enigma; perplexing; mysterious.
19.) Requisite (Page 274) – required or necessary for a particular purpose, position, etc.; indispensable
20.) Metaphysical (Page 277) - concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as existence, causality, or truth.
2.) Lye (Page 253) – a highly concentrated, aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide.
3.) Prions (Page 253) –any of several petrels of the genus Pachyptila, located in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and having serrated edges on the bill.
4.) Bereaved (Page 254) –greatly saddened at being deprived by death of a loved one.
5.) Reductive Cremation (Page 254) – the reduction of a corpse to ashes as a way of disposing of it
6.) Necropsy (Page 255) –the examination of a body after death; autopsy.
7.) Taciturn (Page 255) - inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
8.) Winches (Page 256) – the crank or handle of a revolving machine
9.) Emboldened (Page 256) – to make bold or bolder; hearten; encourage.
10.) Noxious (Page 258) - harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being: noxious fumes.
11.) Miasmas (Page 258) – a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
12.) Pagan (Page 259) – a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim
13.) Tantamount (Page 262) –equivalent, as in value, force, effect, or signification
14.) Loamy (Page 262) – a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.
15.) Moribund (Page 266) –in a dying state; near death.
16.) Internment (Page 267) –the state of being confined.
17.) Merriment (Page 270) – cheerful or joyful gaiety; mirth; hilarity; laughter.
18.) Enigmatic (Page 271) – resembling an enigma; perplexing; mysterious.
19.) Requisite (Page 274) – required or necessary for a particular purpose, position, etc.; indispensable
20.) Metaphysical (Page 277) - concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as existence, causality, or truth.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
STIFF Chapters 7 & 8: Summary
In 1931, Father Armaihac held an annual gathering in France, called the Laennec Conference, in which French doctors and medical students attended. He carried with him documents and photos pertaining to the Shroud of Turin, the cloth which is believed to be wrapped around Jesus when he was taken down from the cross after crucifixion. Father Armaihac’s goal of this particular conference was to present the Shroud to France’s finest anatomists to see if the markings on the Shroud correctly responded to the realities of anatomy and physiology, to see if the story fit. A doctor by the name of Pierre Barbet nominated himself to be the one to test this. He ended up being extremely devoted to this project. To test his theories, he used a human cadaver and a homemade cross, similar to the one in Jesus’ story, and crucified the cadaver. He looked at blood flow stains on the Shroud that were said to be made when Jesus tried to keep himself from falling down while on the cross. He tested his ideas with by crucifying and entire human cadaver once, then he just used a cadaver arm to test this idea a series of twelve more times. He found that the angles the arms made on the cross corresponded to the blood stains on the Shroud.
Frederick Zugibe, a medical examiner for Rockland County, New York, spent his time researching crucifixion and disagreeing ideas made by Dr. Pierre Barbet regarding the Shroud. Instead of using human cadavers to test his theories, Zugibe used live volunteers. He strapped them onto homemade crosses in his garage and after several runs of the experiment, he found that the blood stains made on the Shroud were not a result of blood falling out of the wrists due to certain angles of the arm. He determined that the blood stain patterns were simply made as a result of the Shroud being washed after Jesus was taken down from the cross.
Not only are human cadavers used for experiments, many times they are used for organ and tissue donations. Cadaver “H” is considered to be a “beating heart cadaver”. This means she is a fully functioning human body everywhere but in her brain. She is hooked up to a respirator to keep her organs thriving, but is considered brain-dead and is therefore considered legally dead. Cadaver “H” is partaking in an organ recovery procedure where her heart, both of her kidneys, and her liver will be surgically taken out and transplanted to living human beings in need of them. Throughout history, many theories have been questioned pertaining to where in the human body does the soul live and does it actually leave the body when one dies. In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall ran a series of experiments seeking to determine whether the soul could be physically weighed. He would put people that were hours away from death onto gurneys, which he would then place on a large scale. He then waited and watched for the person to die and the second they were pronounced dead, he would determine if there was any weight loss. He found a very minuscule amount of weight loss, but it was unknown whether it was due to evaporation of bodily fluids or due to the loss of the human soul.
Throughout history, the soul has been given numerous different places of residence. The earliest being behind the eyebrows, behind the Pineal Gland, then contained completely in the blood. It wasn’t until the twentieth century when Thomas Edison announced that he believed living beings were controlled by “life unit”, smaller-than-microscopic entities that inhabited each and every cell, and upon death, evacuated the human body.
It is difficult to find the exact location of the human soul, since it is not a physical entity. No one has really given an exact location, we just know that humans have souls and they reside somewhere within all of us.
Frederick Zugibe, a medical examiner for Rockland County, New York, spent his time researching crucifixion and disagreeing ideas made by Dr. Pierre Barbet regarding the Shroud. Instead of using human cadavers to test his theories, Zugibe used live volunteers. He strapped them onto homemade crosses in his garage and after several runs of the experiment, he found that the blood stains made on the Shroud were not a result of blood falling out of the wrists due to certain angles of the arm. He determined that the blood stain patterns were simply made as a result of the Shroud being washed after Jesus was taken down from the cross.
Not only are human cadavers used for experiments, many times they are used for organ and tissue donations. Cadaver “H” is considered to be a “beating heart cadaver”. This means she is a fully functioning human body everywhere but in her brain. She is hooked up to a respirator to keep her organs thriving, but is considered brain-dead and is therefore considered legally dead. Cadaver “H” is partaking in an organ recovery procedure where her heart, both of her kidneys, and her liver will be surgically taken out and transplanted to living human beings in need of them. Throughout history, many theories have been questioned pertaining to where in the human body does the soul live and does it actually leave the body when one dies. In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall ran a series of experiments seeking to determine whether the soul could be physically weighed. He would put people that were hours away from death onto gurneys, which he would then place on a large scale. He then waited and watched for the person to die and the second they were pronounced dead, he would determine if there was any weight loss. He found a very minuscule amount of weight loss, but it was unknown whether it was due to evaporation of bodily fluids or due to the loss of the human soul.
Throughout history, the soul has been given numerous different places of residence. The earliest being behind the eyebrows, behind the Pineal Gland, then contained completely in the blood. It wasn’t until the twentieth century when Thomas Edison announced that he believed living beings were controlled by “life unit”, smaller-than-microscopic entities that inhabited each and every cell, and upon death, evacuated the human body.
It is difficult to find the exact location of the human soul, since it is not a physical entity. No one has really given an exact location, we just know that humans have souls and they reside somewhere within all of us.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
STIFF: Chapter 6 Quiz
1.) What is the story behind the first American instance in which human cadavers were used as “human targets” in the army? Describe the experiment that was being attempted.
a. The first cadavers used as human targets in the army were in 1983. The cadavers used were suspended from the ceiling of the firing range and shot at over a dozen times. The goal was to compare the physiological effects of two different weapons upon the human body. The army determined that using human cadavers for this reason would lead to a more humanitarian way of gun fighting; which would help the army with their ultimate goal: not to kill the enemy, only render him unable to fight.
2.) Explain the significance of the animals chosen by each country to participate in the munitions trauma research. Refer to China, Australia, Britain, and the United States.
a. Before human cadavers were used in these experiments, animals were. Each country used different animals for different reasons. China used dogs primarily because they eat dogs there, meaning they don’t view them as family members as say Americans may view them. Australia preferred to use rabbits because they consider them an unwanted species that was ruining the environment. As for the U.S. and Britain, they used pigs and goats. Pigs were used because their organs most resemble human organs; particularly the heart. Goats were used because their lungs most closely resemble human lungs.
3.) What are the two theories regarding why a person collapses on the spot after being shot? Include who developed the theory and a description of the theory itself.
a. There are two theories as to why a person collapses on the spot after being shot. The first theory is from Duncan MacPherson, a ballistics expert and consultant to the LAPD, who insists that the effect is purely psychological. Whether or not a person collapses depends on their state of mind. The other theory is from a Swedish neurophysiologist names A.M. Goransson. He figured that something about the bullet’s impact on the human body caused a massive overload to the central nervous system.
4.) Describe the research that was done, using cadavers, to test armored clothing. Why were human cadavers used and what was used before the cadavers?
a. At the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology’s Ballistic missile Trauma Research lab last year, a new experiment was tested on armored clothing against modern-day ammunition. Human cadavers were dressed in newly developed body armor vests and fired at by a wide-variety of new munitions. Human cadavers were used because they represent the most accurate portrayal of actual humans that would be wearing the armored vests. Before human cadavers were used, animals were used.
a. The first cadavers used as human targets in the army were in 1983. The cadavers used were suspended from the ceiling of the firing range and shot at over a dozen times. The goal was to compare the physiological effects of two different weapons upon the human body. The army determined that using human cadavers for this reason would lead to a more humanitarian way of gun fighting; which would help the army with their ultimate goal: not to kill the enemy, only render him unable to fight.
2.) Explain the significance of the animals chosen by each country to participate in the munitions trauma research. Refer to China, Australia, Britain, and the United States.
a. Before human cadavers were used in these experiments, animals were. Each country used different animals for different reasons. China used dogs primarily because they eat dogs there, meaning they don’t view them as family members as say Americans may view them. Australia preferred to use rabbits because they consider them an unwanted species that was ruining the environment. As for the U.S. and Britain, they used pigs and goats. Pigs were used because their organs most resemble human organs; particularly the heart. Goats were used because their lungs most closely resemble human lungs.
3.) What are the two theories regarding why a person collapses on the spot after being shot? Include who developed the theory and a description of the theory itself.
a. There are two theories as to why a person collapses on the spot after being shot. The first theory is from Duncan MacPherson, a ballistics expert and consultant to the LAPD, who insists that the effect is purely psychological. Whether or not a person collapses depends on their state of mind. The other theory is from a Swedish neurophysiologist names A.M. Goransson. He figured that something about the bullet’s impact on the human body caused a massive overload to the central nervous system.
4.) Describe the research that was done, using cadavers, to test armored clothing. Why were human cadavers used and what was used before the cadavers?
a. At the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology’s Ballistic missile Trauma Research lab last year, a new experiment was tested on armored clothing against modern-day ammunition. Human cadavers were dressed in newly developed body armor vests and fired at by a wide-variety of new munitions. Human cadavers were used because they represent the most accurate portrayal of actual humans that would be wearing the armored vests. Before human cadavers were used, animals were used.
Literary Circle Journal Entry #2
Overall, I personally liked the literary circle project. I really enjoyed the book, “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers”, that I was grouped with. The other members in my group also enjoyed this project. At first, it seemed like it was going to be way too much work with all of the job assignments and everything that each person had to do, but once we divided the readings up, it was fine. The book kept us very intrigued. Mary Roach definitely has an interesting style of writing, one of which I have never read any books like before. I liked the way she was upfront and honest about EVERYTHING. She wasn’t afraid of offending her readers; she just told it like it was. I also liked the subject the book was about. I, as well as my other group members, am interested in science or the field of medicine. I, thought going into reading her book, that I knew a fairly good amount about human cadavers and the organ donation program; but I was very wrong. I never once thought that it would be more beneficial for human cadavers to be used for things like crash test experiments and other defying experiments such as being dropped from airplanes. Our group thought that the literary circle project was worthwhile. We also like how our research topics are derived from our book. Our grouped not only enjoyed her book, but learned a lot.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
STIFF Chapter 5: Vocabulary Builder
1.) Injury Analyst (Page 113) - a career which integrates incident and injury related medical information.
2.) Cognizant (Page 114)- having cognizance; aware
3.) Fuselage (Page 114) - the complete central structure to which the wing, tail surfaces, and engines are attached on an airplane.
4.) Euphemistic (Page 117) - the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
5.) Fragmented (Page 117)- reduced to fragments; existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunities
6.) Tran section (Page 117) - to cut across; dissect transversely.
7.) Chemical Burns (Page 118)- Chemicals that touch skin can cause a limited skin reaction, an overall body reaction
8.) Thermal Burn (Page 118) -Tissue reaction to or injury resulting from application of heat.
9.) Propagate (Page 119) -to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.
10.) Aortic Tears (Page 119) - a tear in the wall of the aorta that causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta and force the layers apart.
11.) Ethereal (Page 120)- extremely delicate or refined; light, airy, or tenuous
12.) Bomb Blast (Page 122)- the explosion of a bomb
13.) Depressurization (Page 122) -to remove the air pressure from (a pressurized compartment of an aircraft or spacecraft).
14.) Deleterious (Page 122)-injurious to health; harmful; injurious
15.) Ostensibly (Page 125)-outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended; apparent, evident, or conspicuous
16.) Promulgate (Page 126)- to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation
2.) Cognizant (Page 114)- having cognizance; aware
3.) Fuselage (Page 114) - the complete central structure to which the wing, tail surfaces, and engines are attached on an airplane.
4.) Euphemistic (Page 117) - the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
5.) Fragmented (Page 117)- reduced to fragments; existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunities
6.) Tran section (Page 117) - to cut across; dissect transversely.
7.) Chemical Burns (Page 118)- Chemicals that touch skin can cause a limited skin reaction, an overall body reaction
8.) Thermal Burn (Page 118) -Tissue reaction to or injury resulting from application of heat.
9.) Propagate (Page 119) -to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.
10.) Aortic Tears (Page 119) - a tear in the wall of the aorta that causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta and force the layers apart.
11.) Ethereal (Page 120)- extremely delicate or refined; light, airy, or tenuous
12.) Bomb Blast (Page 122)- the explosion of a bomb
13.) Depressurization (Page 122) -to remove the air pressure from (a pressurized compartment of an aircraft or spacecraft).
14.) Deleterious (Page 122)-injurious to health; harmful; injurious
15.) Ostensibly (Page 125)-outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended; apparent, evident, or conspicuous
16.) Promulgate (Page 126)- to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation
Monday, April 13, 2009
Rabbit Hole #5
Censorship In Our Society
In class on Friday, we watched a video about profanity and censorship and the effect it has on people in our society. I personally think that there isn’t a problem with profanity in our society. Even though there are plenty of people that swear or say things that other people may not agree with, who is to say that those words are wrong? I thought that it was absolutely ridiculous how the women in the video who was trying to completely abolish cursing by the way of t-shirts and her logos and different things. It’s almost as though she is fighting for a lost cause. The first amendment sets in stone the freedom of speech that we as Americans all have. If this person doesn’t like hearing curse words, she should maybe just stay locked up in her house with no radio or television. That way, she isn’t annoying the rest of society by trying to abolish cursing among everybody everywhere.
I don’t think it is even possible not to offend people anymore. Nowadays, no matter what you do, you are offending somebody in some way. In my opinion, even though I probably sound somewhat harsh, I think if people put as much work into solving world problems that actually matter; or even putting all of this effort that they put into solving problems like cursing, our world would be an amazing place to live. If someone simply doesn’t like something that somebody else does or doesn’t like something that they see on television, maybe they shouldn’t associate themselves with that person or watch the TV show that they disapproved of. I personally don’t have a problem with swearing. These words are just words. Sometimes, a strong swear word needs to be put in place of another word in a sentence to really drive a point home. And since I like making things clear when I say them to certain people in certain situations, I will continue to use these words. However, I do think that there is a certain time and place for these words. I wouldn’t find a place like church an appropriate place for myself to say these words, but if someone else wants to do the go ahead and say them, more power to them.
In class on Friday, we watched a video about profanity and censorship and the effect it has on people in our society. I personally think that there isn’t a problem with profanity in our society. Even though there are plenty of people that swear or say things that other people may not agree with, who is to say that those words are wrong? I thought that it was absolutely ridiculous how the women in the video who was trying to completely abolish cursing by the way of t-shirts and her logos and different things. It’s almost as though she is fighting for a lost cause. The first amendment sets in stone the freedom of speech that we as Americans all have. If this person doesn’t like hearing curse words, she should maybe just stay locked up in her house with no radio or television. That way, she isn’t annoying the rest of society by trying to abolish cursing among everybody everywhere.
I don’t think it is even possible not to offend people anymore. Nowadays, no matter what you do, you are offending somebody in some way. In my opinion, even though I probably sound somewhat harsh, I think if people put as much work into solving world problems that actually matter; or even putting all of this effort that they put into solving problems like cursing, our world would be an amazing place to live. If someone simply doesn’t like something that somebody else does or doesn’t like something that they see on television, maybe they shouldn’t associate themselves with that person or watch the TV show that they disapproved of. I personally don’t have a problem with swearing. These words are just words. Sometimes, a strong swear word needs to be put in place of another word in a sentence to really drive a point home. And since I like making things clear when I say them to certain people in certain situations, I will continue to use these words. However, I do think that there is a certain time and place for these words. I wouldn’t find a place like church an appropriate place for myself to say these words, but if someone else wants to do the go ahead and say them, more power to them.
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