School of Medicine

Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy

Regulations and Procedures for
Medical Gross Anatomy Laboratory
2009 

1.  Respect for the remains of human beings at all times is paramount.  At no time disrespect of the cadaver be tolerated.

2.  Removal of any of the cadaver material from the laboratory is forbidden.  The only exceptions are the bone set and skull which are assigned to you to study purposes for which you are personally responsible.  Violation of this policy could result in dismissal from medical school.

3.  There is a dress code for the laboratory.  All students must wear long pants (scrub acceptable) and shoes covering their entire feet whenever they are in the laboratory.  You will be asked to leave the lab if you are in violation of this dress code.  It is for your safety.  A lab coat or a scrub outfit with your name tag should be worn while in the laboratory.  A plastic apron may be worn over the lab coat or scrubs when you are dissecting.

4.  First aid supplies are available in the large laboratory for those who have need of such items.  Eyewash stations are located at the sink areas in each laboratory.

5.  Injuries in the laboratory:  All injuries incurred in the Gross Anatomy laboratory, no matter how insignificant they may appear, must be reported to an instructor.  The instructor will administer first aid and determine whether the student should be directed to a facility for further treatment.  Student Health operates during normal business hours on weekdays.  It is located at the LSU Clinics at 2820 Napoleon Avenue (Phone number = 412-1366).  If a serious injury occurs outside the hours of the normal business day, on weekends, or holidays, you should go to the emergency room at University Hospital.

6.  Pregnancy:  If any female student is pregnant, becomes pregnant during the semester, or is actively breast feeding, she is to inform the course director so that proper precautionary measures can be implemented.

7.  Students are NOT to touch the video screens and associated outlets.  These represent a significant investment purchased to enhance your educational experience.

8.  Each table group (4 students) is responsible for:  A) the cleanliness of their floor area; B) the care of the assigned tools and tool box; C) the care of their cadaver table, book rack and wooden supports for the cadaver; D) the preservation of their cadaver (properly cover and moisten the exposed parts after each dissection).
YOUR CADAVER AND TABLE ARE TO BE MAINTAINED IN A RESPECTABLE CONDITION AT ALL TIMES.

9.  You and your partners are responsible for the satisfactory completion of each dissection.

10.  All students are responsible for the care of the sinks, articulated skeletons and models.  If a skeleton or model or portion of such should break, please inform a faculty member immediately.  Do not disarticulate hanging skeletons.

11.  Stainless steel buckets beneath each table are for dissected material such as fascia and fat only.  They are not for the disposal of organs such as heart, lung, liver, intestines, kidneys and muscles.  These organs are to remain with the cadaver.  Paper towels and dissection gloves are to be disposed of in the Biomedical Waste boxes.  Place all used scalpel blades in the red plastic ('sharps') containers near the sinks.

12.  Keep soap, metallic objects and paper out of the sinks.

13.  On the first day of the course, each table group will be assigned a cadaver and a cadaver table.  At each table, there will be a tool box with a mallet, saw, urethral sound, chisel, and bone snips.  These tools are valued at $250.00.  Each table group is responsible for their care.  They must be returned in good condition at the end of the course.  There is room in the box for your dissection kits.

14.  A box of disarticulated bones and a skull will be assigned to each student for personal study.  You are responsible for safeguarding and maintaining these bones and returning them at the end of the semester in good condition.  You will be personally responsible for any  missing or damaged bones and will be charged accordingly.

15.  Each cadaver table will have one large cloth for covering the entire cadaver.  The entire cadaver should be wrapped and moistened regularly to keep it from drying out.  Expose only that region of the cadaver which you are dissecting.  Inspect your entire cadaver regularly (even those areas not currently being dissected) to prevent drying and inform and instructor if you notice any mold beginning to appear on the cadaver.

16.  Do not remove the numbered tag from the cadaver.

17.  Do not leave the cadaver raised when you leave the laboratory.  Cover and lower the cadaver and close the tank even if you are leaving for a short time.

18.  If you go to another tank to study, perform NO dissection on this cadaver and leave the cadaver the same way you found it.

19.  Do not force the cadaver limbs into a specific position since the tissue has been fixed in a certain position and doing this will only tear the muscles.

20.  Lockers are provided in hallways for personal items.  Do not bring them into the laboratory.

21.  From time to time models will be available for study in the lab.  They are provided to aid you in your understanding of a particular anatomical entity.  They are not used on practical examinations.  Please make sure your hands are clean prior to handling these models.

22.  Keep all doors to the laboratory closed at all times.

23.  Cameras or other photographic devices or not permitted in the laboratory at any time unless specifically authorized by the course administration.

24.  Smoking, eating and drinking is never permitted in the laboratory.

25.  No visitors are permitted during scheduled lab periods.  At all other times, only health care professionals will be permitted to enter the gross lab and then only with the approval of the course director and the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy.

26.  The laboratory will be open 24 hours every day during the course.  You are not allowed to be in the laboratory when scheduled to be elsewhere.  As long as you conduct yourselves in a professional manner and respect the property in the laboratory, the privilege of having unrestricted access to the laboratory will be permitted.