Cadavers in Class
The box was unassuming, really. It sat solidly atop a small, square, spotless metal table. Our instructor opened the lid, reached in with both of his arms, and slowly drew out a compact, cloth-wrapped bundle. He set the bundle on the table and, with almost theatrical drama, gradually unwrapped the cloth. Slowly. Carefully. It was almost reverential — one corner peeled back, then another. Finally, the cloth was fully unwrapped, and there it was. Sitting squarely on the middle of the table. A human head.
What was a computer science student doing looking at a dissected, preserved human head in the bowels of a medical school building? There were plenty of standard introductory math, CS, and physics classes I had planned to take to obtain a computer science degree. And yet, as I searched the online course catalog for classes to take during my first winter quarter, I felt an urge to search for something…a little more unconventional. I wasn’t feeling terribly inspired by class descriptions touting matrix methods, to be honest. But as I clicked the “Next” button and loaded the next page of classes, one description did catch my eye. An introductory seminar exploring human anatomy? The influence of human anatomy on product design? Cadavers? Woah. Fast forward a week or two, and I found myself enrolled in SURG 72Q: Anatomy in Society, examining the carefully dissected ear canal of a preserved head.
I loved moments like these. I would find some class nestled in the pages of the online course catalog, and it would lead to some of the most unique, bizarre, and thought-provoking experiences. I’d find myself biking through a crisp spring morning to tend lentil plants, shovel horse manure, and debate urban agriculture and forest management on a farm (EARTHSYS 136: The Ethics of Stewardship). I’d spend an afternoon listening to a former director of Los Alamos describe his visit to a North Korean nuclear facility and lecture on the implications of biological and cyber technologies (MS&E 193: Technology and National Security). And, as I examined preserved specimens of bone, tendon, and muscle (SURG 72Q: Anatomy in Society), I’d feel a sense of wonder towards nature’s mechanical engineering genius in its design of the human body.
There are few moments in life that offer such a rich cornucopia of experience. I mean, where else will you get the chance to examine both matrices and medical cadavers in such depth? Such opportunities are fleeting, and it’s easy to overlook them in the moment. But they are there. Stanford has created, for those who wish to seize it, the opportunity for a truly diverse, cross-disciplinary education. So thank you, Stanford. I will always be grateful to you for giving a normal girl — one who was definitely not planning on a medical career — the chance to learn from a human head in the basement of the medical school.