January 27th, 2014

Today, I observed perfusions for the first time. Although I have experience dissecting animals in previous classes, I have never been a part of the animal’s death. I was very interested in learning about the process in general. In regard to the perfusions, I struggled most with how I was supposed to respond to the process. On one hand, I was curious. On the other, it was an eery experience to watch the animal die in front of your eyes.

The process was easier for me to digest when I thought of the rat as a research specimen. Once I was able to compartmentalize my thoughts, I thought the entire procedure was fascinating. Particularly when Dr. Holstein injected the rat with formalin, it was very interesting to watch as the rat’s muscles seized. It was also interesting to watch as Dr. Holstein extracted the brain from the rat’s skull. It was a lot less gruesome than I imagined because the blood was essentially drained from the rat and replaced with saline and eventually formalin. 

I also helped Bekah clean out the machines and sweep/mop the floors of the testing room. Tomorrow, we plan to go over the results and discuss our presentation.