Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab

This novel is truly a must read. Montross paints a clear picture of the struggles that new medical students will face within their first weeks of medical school, and through their final months of residency. She also lets those who aren't medical students get a slight glimpse at the trials these students are put through, and it shows the dedication and determination needed to be a doctor. But this book does more that than , it opens a door that most people would lock and throw away the key. She lets the reader enter the world of human dissection, and shows just how human people are even after death. Montross lets the reader into how people can connect to the dead, and explains that medical students will become intertwined with the body placed in front of them. This book does more than explain the journey of one medical student, it demonstrates the need to explore just how far a person can connect with strangers around them and even those who have passed, and teach people that even in death, you can learn something new about yourself. This book hit home for me, because I am a pre-med student, and it amazes me the way Montross connected with Eve, her cadaver. It opened my eyes to the struggles I’ll face with dissecting, and after reading this book, I don’t know if dissecting is even the right word, because it feels more real than that. She explores in depth the questions that I’m sure every person who has stepped into a medical school lab has thought, or future medical students will think. It also gives the reader a sense of pride, knowing how far people have come in these past centuries on acquiring these bodies for dissection. It shows the evolution of dissection in anatomy labs, but it also demonstrates the resolve humans have towards learning. This book not only teaches life lessons, it gives an insight into a history, that otherwise remains a mystery to most. In my personal opinion any aspiring medical student or anyone who enjoys the mysteries of the medical world, should invest time to read this book. It demonstrates not only the technical aspect of dissection, but it opens eyes to the emotional stress that aspiring doctors feel, and the damage that is done within a student’s life when it comes time to learn from their cadavers. It shows how the student grows, and develops a sense of unseen compassion for those who donate their bodies to science. Montross lets people into a world, that seems like no other and lets those who are alien grasp just a slight understanding of the medical world, and the trials we put other humans through to earn the title of M.D.

Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab Body of Work by Christine Montross deals first hand with the emotions and feelings of a medical student during a semester in the anatomy lab, whilst dissecting a cadaver she has named 'Eve'.On the surface there is the actual experience of having to dissect a human body in all its unappetizing gore. On a deeper level she describes her underlying emotions and her natural instinct is to resist doing what innately goes against every grain of human nature - the act of dissecting a person's body. Her journey starts off with the anxiety of making the first cut on Eve and she documents in detail her psychological journey towards disentangling the person, their body, and the finality of death, which forever severs body from person.The book also traces the history of dissection in a fair amount of detail, and gives a good historical account of how cadavers have arrived on dissecting tables throughout the ages. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is how the author makes inroads, towards understanding her personal versus professional understanding of death and dying and she illustrates her journey with personal experiences as an intern, and how these experiences with patients help her gain insight of what it means to be a professional having to deal with death on a regular basis.The book is a fascinating account of the psychological journey of a medical intern, and it is written with sensitivity, great skill and insight. Though the subject of dissecting a cadaver is grim, the author allows one to get a feel of what it must be like, without in-your-face gory descriptions. Its a beautiful account on a topic that people would really prefer not to think about, let alone read about in vivid detail. It is a book that I will be milling over for a long time to come, and it certainly has made me view the subject of my own mortality and my remains in a different light. I will read this book again in time to come. There is something moving about its honesty and beauty. When the feelings have washed away, what is left behind is something of the very essence of what it means to be human.

Overall, I do like this book. The parts that I enjoy the most are when the author talks about experience in Med school, what its like to take her first exam, the first time she has to cut on the body, the smell... etc. Sometimes she can get a little too sentimental and emotional, and heads off in a direction that gets a little boring for me- so I just skip those parts until the reading gets good again. I'm doing my post bac in Bio right now, and will be applying for Med School in 2014, and this book was on a recommended reading list for pre-med majors at my school, which is why I gave it a whirl. Definitely not a waste of time, since it's pretty fascinating to hear about how she copes with her first experiences in human gross anatomy.

Enjoying this great book and great service...thank you !