Monday, April 5, 2010

Surgery: Anatomy, Art

Today for surgery class (i.e. sit in lecture hearing the basics once, so that next year we cannot say things like, "I've never heard of ___, how do you expect me to know about it?") we're covering anatomy.

So far: anatomy is important.

Anatomy has important implications for suture. Last week we went over suture, so in theory this all makes perfect sense, at any rate makes more sense than enzymology in clin path. In all fairness, the clin path professors do a terrific job, and I'm sure by the time we have an exam, enzymology will make more sense than whatever the next topic is going to be.

Anatomy has been occupying me outside of lecture recently. An artist friend of mine discovered anatomy last year by way of a life drawing class. All of a sudden her sketches of people included such innovative things as triceps. (This year I'm going to be taking the same class, actually, although for different reasons--my drawing skills need help. I know where the muscles are, I'm just lousy at delineating them.) She would like to now spread the joy of knowledge, so we're working on an anatomy workshop for fantasy artists. It will have skulls. If I could, I would bring in a horse leg with intact suspensory apparatus, but that's probably a bit beyond the scope of a one-hour talk that is starting out with "This is a skeleton..."