September 9, 2001

5:55 AM

The Autopsy -- a behind-the-scenes look at the hidden and disturbing world of autopsies from Methylsalicylate. 'The work swallows you, tact is right out the window, and you find yourself discussing decapitation over lunch, laughing. Someone points out that your blood oranges-and-balsamic vinegar salad looks like a tub of organs. You laugh some more. It is well known that your colleagues will die young; that's the way it is. You do not think about who will have to do their autopsies.'
posted by LMG (8 comments total)

Good link. Barbelith rocks, again.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:34 AM on September 9, 2001

Oh wow.. good article. Makes one realize how squeamish one really is. I could never do that kind of work.
posted by Hildago at 10:02 AM on September 9, 2001

You might find this fascinating, too:

http://home.online.no/~laaneb/autopsy.htm

It's a walk-thru of a "typical" autopsy, intended for people that want to represent one on screen.

Infant brains can be much softer than that before fixation, even as soft as a flan dessert warmed to room temperature, or worse, custard pie filling. Such a brain may be difficult or impossible to hold together and can fall apart as one attempts to remove it from the cranium.

posted by NortonDC at 10:29 AM on September 9, 2001

That was a cool link, Norton - it was interesting to read how differently things are done in the States than in the UK (mostly to do with the law, I suppose).
posted by methylsalicylate at 11:53 AM on September 9, 2001

It's definitely one of my favourite articles from the site so far. Thanks, Brooke!
posted by Orlando at 12:11 PM on September 9, 2001

Interesting parallel to computer-related jobs here. I could be an ass and criticize the comparison of dead humans to dead computers, but instead I think I'll just say "It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it."
posted by kevspace at 1:29 PM on September 9, 2001

I'm curious... what did people who liked it like about it so much? I really didn't think it was all that great, but maybe I'm just missing something...
posted by klint at 8:24 PM on September 9, 2001

more than anything content-wise, I liked the way it was written (style)
posted by juv3nal at 8:59 PM on September 9, 2001