Students often request a “bring your pet to school day.” While there were recently a lot of cats in the building, they were cadavers donated for scientific study.
Human Anatomy and Physiology students had the opportunity to dissect cats at the end of winter trimester. Students made incisions and identified organs to help bring learning to life.
Heather Gannon, who teaches the A&P class, has offered cat dissection units multiple times since she joined the district in 2018.
“Learning the techniques of dissection will be important for students who might have a future in the biological sciences,” Gannon said. She said the structures of cats are very similar to humans.
Gannon added that the “hands-on” experience creates a depth to the learning process. It allows students to visualize the diagrams that they have been studying all year.
Students Reflect on the Experience
Junior Maddi Kline and senior Jeahn Rauwerda were partners in the dissection project.
“Dissecting the cats was a wild experience,” Kline said. “At first, I was a little nervous about the potent smell that comes with formaldehyde (I am sensitive to smells). But once we got into the project, it was so cool and telling to see the inside of a cat. We had been studying all the different parts of the body for months, and seeing the organs in person created a real-life perspective. I am appreciative of this chance.”
Similarly, I thought originally that the cat dissection was going to be a horrible experience, especially after hearing stories from friends who had done it before,” Rauwerda added. “They warned me about how smelly and gross it was, which made me feel a bit uneasy about the situation, but now that I’ve actually gone through it myself, I have to say it was an incredible experience.
“The actual process of going through each part of the body and learning about them and how they worked was such a cool experience. I recommend taking the Anatomy class to anybody who is considering a future in the medical science field, since it gives a beginner course to what to expect in the medical field.”
