Rats!

Sophie Baldwin, 4/21/24

s soon as I walked into my anatomy and physiology science classroom, the smell of chemicals hit me like a truck. I looked over at the lab tables and saw my teacher in a pair of goggles and gloves. Dangling in his hand was the culprit of the terrible stench in the room: a dead rat. When he announced that our lab project this week would focus on dissecting rats, I nearly gagged. Though I loved learning about the anatomy of the human body, I could not imagine touching, let alone dissecting, a dead rat.

On the first day of the lab, our task was to skin the rat. My teacher handed my lab group a scalpel and told us to get to work. This lab was miles out of my comfort zone, and on that first day, I struggled to skin the rat. However, by the end of that period, I had made considerable progress, and by the end, I was able to touch the rat without issue.

I walked in feeling much more prepared on the second day. I told myself that though this was outside my comfort zone, it was an opportunity to grow and experience something new. The next task of the lab was to cut open the rat and identify the major gastrointestinal organs. I decided that I would attempt to use the scalpel that day. Once I had made the first cut, I felt an immense swell of pride. I could not believe how far I had come in a mere two days. After I had opened up the rat, I surprisingly found myself enjoying the lab. I was captivated by trying to label the different organs and was elated that I could apply what I was learning in my textbook to something in real life. This hands-on experience only propelled my interest in medicine and anatomy.

From this lab, I learned that I could step out of my comfort zone and find myself fascinated, rather than repulsed, by the experience. After seeing textbook knowledge applied to the real world, I fell in love with anatomy. It is one thing to read about the parts of the gastrointestinal system; it is another to actually hold them  in your hand. Now, I am glad that I took a step outside of my comfort zone; had it not been for the rat, I may have never found a love for anatomy!