Instead of a module within our first-year physiology course, we are taking a full 10 weeks of neuroanatomy this term. The best part is the laboratory--dissection of brains. Lots of brains. Dog and sheep brains for the most part, but they have all the key bits that we need to know about. I think we might get a cow or horse brain later in the term. They aren't particularly special, just bigger so some features are easier to find.
You have to appreciate a professor, who, writing in our lab manuals for our first dissection exercise, describes the preserved brain as having the "consistency of a ripe avocado." Terribly, grossly apt. It even has a tough outer skin, the dura mater. No pit though.
While I find the fussy, old-school approach to our gross anatomy course frustrating, slicing up brains is pretty fun. We are still learning about physiology and structure and have yet to dive into function, but the clinical applications of understanding the brain and the nervous systems are already clear.
Maybe we are all taking some of our personal stress out on the sheep brains because we have at least two exams or quizzes, and sometimes as many as four, every week of this term. Including the first week! Although this is the start of week 3, it will be a long slog to the end of the term.
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