Anatomy & Dissection Club Finishes the Year With Fetal Pig Dissection

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  • Focused, Alyssa Beekman ’24 digs through the internal organs of the provided fetal pig specimen. The dissection provided club members with the chance to examine the systems working together within mammals.

  • Holding the fetal pig’s head, Anatomy & Dissection Club officers Sanjay Balasubramanian ’23, Einez Wu ’23, Mishree Narasaiah ’25, Nicole Wang ’24, and Valentina Larina ’23 examine the pig’s organs. Due to changes that the officer team implemented this school year, club officers were able to participate in dissections as well as walk around the room to assist other members.

  • Peeling skin off of the fetal pig’s head, Anatomy & Dissection Club Secretary Nicole Wang ’24 examines the mammal’s brain. Club members discussed the internal structures they encountered during the dissection to enhance their enjoyment and understanding of the process.

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On Friday, April 14, Anatomy & Dissection Club met in Mr. Eric Scheiber’s room to dissect fetal pigs. The dissection was the club’s last and most complex dissection of the school year. To prepare members for the large specimen, club officers planned dissections that increased in difficulty throughout the year.

“My favorite part [of the dissection was] working with my officers to explore the specimen together,” Anatomy & Dissection Club President Einez Wu ‘23 said. “Collaboration is an essential part of the dissection experience in this club. Having other people there dissecting with me makes me feel more motivated to perform the tedious dissection at eight in the morning and makes every eureka moment all the more enjoyable.”

Anatomy & Dissection Club was started in 2019, when a group of students pitched the idea of a dissection club to Mr. Scheiber. Since then, the club has faced structural changes, such as the shift from using instructional online videos to creating self-paced slides for club members to follow.

“The club has grown significantly [since 2019] and is very student-centered,” Mr. Scheiber said. “The officers have done an amazing job year after year. Our membership continues to grow, which allows us to purchase a variety of specimens for dissection.”

The club allowed members to dissect specimens that they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to access, such as turtles or whole fetal pigs. Multiple club members are planning to continue their membership to extend their experiences with dissection.

“I’ll definitely join the Anatomy and Dissection Club next year,” Anatomy & Dissection Club member Rahul Suresh ‘25 said. “Doing all the dissections this year was a lot of fun and I learned a lot about anatomy and dissection techniques.”

In addition to providing dissection opportunities, the club has provided officers with leadership experiences.

“One of the most important things I learned from leading this club was how to put my thoughts into actions and instill change,” Wu said. “Prior to being elected president, I had the idea of changing the dissection meeting format for a long time. However, when the opportunity arose, a part of me was still anxious about how successful it would be. It all worked out in the end, and the feedback from members was overwhelmingly positive. This experience has motivated me to push for improvements and try new ideas.”

While some club members joined the club to enjoy the dissection process, others, like Wu, joined to supplement their medical knowledge from their health science classes. Regardless of members’ reasons for joining this year, the officer team strived to enhance members’ interest in anatomy, which resulted in positive feedback from the club as a whole.

“Of the clubs I’m a part of, [Anatomy & Dissection Club] grew to be my favorite this year,” Wu said. “[I’m] looking forward to what the officer team will do next year.”