I find the first chapter of "Stiff" interesting in the sense that it catches your attention, but it comes to a point where you want to stop reading to grasp what you've just been told. Specifically, that plastic surgeons in training practice on severed heads and that in the nineteenth century, patients had to endure procedures without anesthesia.
Biology concepts addressed in this chapter were: age's effect on fat pads of the body, such as the malar fat pad in the case of chapter 1, and how drying detached limbs can be rehydrated through injections of saline.
Chapter 1 focused mainly on psychology and the author's observation of cadavers being used in a real-world scenario (or at least, part of them) rather than the anatomy of the human head. Anatomical details were included however, as well as an anecdote of a bladder stone removal done in the nineteenth century by an incompetent surgeon on a rather tough working-class man, who would die from infection because of how awfully done the procedure was.
I completely agree with you on how in this first chapter the author makes the descriptions of the surgeries so vivid that it can even make you stop for a second and make you realize just how bad people back then without anesthesia.
I agree with you on how the book is so interesting that it catches your attention. But i disagree about it getting to the point you have to stop reading, I actually became even more interested once the procedures without anesthesia were discussed.
I agree with you when you want to stop to read because it is to grasp to understand but at the same time I think that surgery's without anesthesia must have been horrible.
I too agree we are so interested in this book because we are learning new thing like how in the nineteenth century surgeries were performed without anesthesia. Also with the aid of a vivid picture of what went down.
I agree with the author that the book was intresting beacuse the author of the book used relly viivid words and it did cath my attantion. How did they not use anesthesia back then it must of been painful to do any operations?
I agree you. At time there was a point where I myself wanted to stop reading the book and actually think to myself about what I read. Also, I would wonder how it felt having surgery without anesthesia.
I agree with you Tomas. While reading the chapter, I was intrigued by the fact that patients did not have anesthesia readily available to them at that time, causing them to endure all of that pain. I also agree that the chapter was extremely vivid, it felt like I was in the surgery room!
I agree with everything posted above, there were extremely vibrant details and descriptions for almost everything throughout the book. It was very lengthy, but at times, I felt I was not being able to put my book down until I finished! Additionally I also believe that the patients who had to undergo those surgeries in the 19th century were very painful.
Yes i agree that the first chapter bewildered me, but i found myself rereading some parts to make sure i actually understood it correctly. And the live experiments had to make me pause for a while, because i was slightly disturbed.
Yeah i agree with your statement on that they must have had a lot of endurance because to withstand those operations without anesthesia must have been extremely painful.
The same happened to me! I had this mixture of feelings about the first chapter of this book. I was stuck between it being super interesting and super weird! At least I learned something new about cadavers!
In this first chapter of "Stiff" I was really amazed at how the cadavers were being used. From the descriptions that the author gave about how surgeries on people were performed in the 19th century, it was very horrifying what these people actually had to endure during the procedures, not having any anesthesia and having to endure all the pain, it was something that might actually end up killing you. It was also interesting to learn about the different coping methods that people have while dealing with the cadavers.
This chapter seemed to talk a lot about how a person actually deals with performing practice surgeries on human cadavers and the psychological toll that it might take on a someone. This chapter also brought up some interesting points, like how "dissection and surgical instruction, like meat-eating, require a carefully maintained set of illusions and denial". I had never actually considered things like this until now.
I agree with what you wrote chapter one, it does talk mostly about the emotional and mental toll some people get when working with a cadaver’ head. Due to the reasons like some people may think about the cadaver’s old life, the cadavers’ family and friends, and so on. Therefore making the doctor feel awful about performing a facial anatomy on the cadaver’s head so to prevent this from happening some doctors must pretend that the cadaver never lived and never died as though the cadaver was just a practice head.
I agree with your view of this chapter, to me it also seemed as though a lot of psychology was involved. As well as the procedures done on the cadavers and what medicine was like in the 19th century.
I agree it is scary to think of what patients in the past went through during surgery. To be quite honest if I lived back then, I probably would have never undergone surgery. I also found how doctor's and students coped while working with cadavers very interesting.
It's definitely difficult to think about what medical patients of the past had to persevere through during procedures without at least frowning at the idea of going through that yourself. I can imagine surgeons of that time were under a lot of pressure during these surgeries. Thank goodness they came up with anesthesia or I, personally, wouldn't of had most or maybe even all of the surgeries I had to have when I was younger.
Living back then I wouldn't have went with any type of surgey, knowing their wasn't any type of Anesthesia to numb the pain. What if something went wrong ? To much pain for a patient to go through, probably putting them in shock? Yes most definately it is scary to think about.
I agree with your POV. I can't imagine what those people that had surgery had to go through. I would've never had surgery if anesthesia wasn't invented.
I agree with you, could you possibly imagine the amount of pain they had to endure when surgery was being preformed on them without having anesthesia. The worst part about it is that chances are you would end up dying.
It is absolutely difficult to endure the pain without the privilege of anesthesia. To add on to the point about coping methods surgeons use, they use objectification. They use it to think that those human body parts are made of wax, and are not real.
I completely agree with you on the fact of how painful it must have been to undergo surgeries, whether they are non invasive or not. From a personal experience point of view I would never ever want to have to go through the torturous experience of surgery without anesthesia.
I agree that the beginning procedures in the history of dissection where horrifying. These gruesome details catch the reader's attention and it made the chapter very interesting. Despite how horrible these procedures sound, it shows how far researchers have come. Today we have things like anesthesia and more sanitary ways performing dissections and research on better procedures are still being done. When it comes to dealing with a cadaver, there is alot of gross aspects and I agree that you have to obtain a strong will power and focus on the fact the body is no longer a living human, but it can still be used by anatomy students and doctors.
I agree that the history of dissection is horrifying, but she wanted to write the gruesome details so you can fully understand what happened in this field of science.
This chapter of Stiff was about the use of cadavers now, and what was done to live people in the 19th century. I never would have thought that cadavers were used for testing surgery. And in the 19th century, the fact that people not only had to cope with the pain of the surgery they wanted, but their bodies were violated to teach medical students horrified me. The teachers would not only prolong the pain of the surgery they came for as a demonstration to the students, but would do extra "demonstrations" since the body was there, and the person was getting cheaper surgery for the purpose of using their body for this. This chapter also mentioned how the bodies were maintained with rehydration, which will probably be brought up in Biology class.
In addition to what you wrote may I add that back then in the 19th Century the patients that were getting surgery being done on them would have to endure the pains that the surgery would give them do to the reason that in 19th century anesthesia was not yet used (created or made.)
When I read that students practiced on live people, this shocked me greatly as well! It is impossible to describe the horror that these people must have felt! It also shocked me how "extra" surgeries were done just for the sake of demonstration!
i completely agree with you i think what the doctors did back then was horrible and that they should not have used people that were in need of medical assistance as guinea pigs just so they could demonstrate a procedure to a student
I also found the live surgeries of the 19th century to be terrifying. Although, I disagree with your comment on how people's bodies were "violated" during teachings to medical students. Back then, a lot of people had no other choice than to be used in medical training to have procedures done.
I agree with you Tomas. They did have no other choice, it was in a time when we haven't progressed scientifically. To Debbie Perez that is also true, those patients had to sit there screaming in pain as there flesh was being cut through to perform the surgical operation. I myself certainly wouldn't want to go through that excruciating process.
I would agree, not only did they need to study this, the time in which the time period of the book is in which is the 19th century, they were not very progressed in there studies of cadavers. I wouldn't believe that was even legal to use people to study off of, unlike now that everything is either digital or written down and is all laid out for you.
I found this chapter of the book interesting because right away Mary Roach writes of the heads of cadavers laying on pans waiting for the surtgeons to work on them. I was also very interested by the explanation of all the procedures thst the surgeons were learning about, like the face lift, I never fully understood how a face lift worked until now! The way that the author included dialougue between herself and the surgeons not only made the chapter interesting but it helped me to better understand how surgeons are able to practice their skills on cadavers.
Some of the biology and anatomy concepts that were in this chapter include what happens to the body a few days after death; they look very much like when they were alive because they haven't been embalmed. It also includes the concept of how the human face ages; the malar fat pad slowly but surely will begin to sag. Concepts concerning anatomy that were in this chapter have to do with how the face lift works and how the malar pad will eventually fall down and why it happens.
My personal interpretation of this chapter is that it not only focused on how cadaver have been used in the field of medicine over the years but also about hopw the doctors are able to work on dead bodies. Some see them as wax models or just as a way to learn skills to help other people.
I agree. Before reading this chapter I thought that only medical students practiced on cadavers for surgery and after they graduated that was it. But now I see that even licensed medical professionals practice on cadavers.
The way Mary Roach started the chapter was an attention grabber by mentioning the heads laying on pans. I also liked it because Mary Roach includes her own thoughts and adds dialogue.
The author's anecdote about the decapitated heads on pans certainly got my attention as well. More in the way that it shocked me than it made me want to keep reading. Like you, this chapter helped me better comprehend how surgeons practice and train to become professionals.
I agree with you. I honestly found this chapter of the book extremely interesting. It was such an attention grabber. From the beginning of the chapter how she talks about the size of human heads being the same as a roaster chicken and the forty human heads resting in frying pans to the end where she asks why the dead women had no pupils. This chapter also gave me a better understanding on certain medical procedures.
This chapter did in fact grab my attention and encouraged me to read more, though i had to pause for the gross and painful things (live experiments, heads on pans, etc). And it helped me also to understand how doctors can actually go through working on dead bodies.
I found it interesting that Mary Roach starts this book on the topic of 'practicing [cosmetic] surgery on the dead'. Chapter one tells of her experience observing a facial anatomy and face-lift refresher course. She describes how the heads were removed from the bodies and put in roasting pans to catch the drippings. She also mentioned how surgery upon the dead is a tidy process and how the surgeons respected the heads as if they were alive and the techniques they used to make practicing with dead bodies easier.
Some of the biology and anatomy concepts touched in this chapter were malar, which means relating to the cheek and the nasolabial folds, 'the anatomical parentheses that run from the edges of a middle-aged node down to the corners of the mouth.
I really liked the first chapter because it touched on ways that doctors and med students deal with working with cadavers and how people would check themselves into teaching hospitals because they were too poor to pay for private surgery.
I thought chapter 1 was intresting to. Honestly I did not think that they would necessary have respect towards the dead while they are practicing on it. But they did, which showed me a different persepctive.
I also found interesting on how she explained how doctors and students deal with the fact that they worked with cadavers. I think it was a good idea for her to have mentioned this in the very first chapter.
I find this chapter interesting because the author used really vivid words to describe the scene. it was interesting to know how a facelift works and that it requires a lot of work.
One biology concept that is addressed in this chapter is that if you inject saline in any meat (human or animal) it will freshen them up. Another concept addressed is the malar fat pad. The malar fat pad is the cushion that sits high on your cheekbone. Aging causes the malar fat pad to go down, face lift surgery brings it back up. This will tie into our biology course because we might be learning about the human body in life and death.
My personal interpretation of this chapter was that Mary Roach did an amazing job on this chapter that everything was clear and easy to understand. Medicine has advanced so much because we are able to use human cadavers.
Mary Roach definitely took an interesting approach when describing the cadavers and she found a way to include useful information on anatomy that was clear for the reader. The chapter also talks about the history of dissection and in the beginning the procedures where very gruesome and did not include saline preservatives or even research on facelifts. This goes to show that the bodies have offered alot of opportunity for medical advancement and knowledge of anatomy.
I found the first chapter of the book "stiff" to be very interesting in the fact that it gave the reader a "backstage" look at how they test new surgeries, how students use to become professionals in the late 1700s to early 1800s, and even how surgeries where carried out back then due to the lack of anesthetics causing the patient to have to endure the hideous pain of undergoing surgery and those that weren't lucky enough to be able to pay for a private surgery had to go to a teaching hospital knowing that they may not survive the surgery due to lack of experience and knowledge.Also the chapter emphasized how surgeons had to have a certain mind-set to be able to undertaking the daunting task of surgery. Also this chapter has to do with biology and anatomy due to the surgeons injecting saline into the dead corpses to make the skin tissue more pliable and how we learn about the human body
I agree with you on how this chapter has to do with the biology and human anatomy. This chapter makes me thankful for not being born around that time. It would be pretty awful to have to withstand the horrible pain during surgery. It’s also very enthralling on how Roach gave very detailed description and history about it.
In chapter one of Stiff, I found the text to be interesting on how Mary Roach describes her observations in vivid detail to the point that I felt as if I was there. In addition, it was surprising to learn that in the nineteenth century there was no use of anesthesia meaning that every human felt any pinch, cut, stitch, and probing finger on them. This ties into biology because it examines the physical and chemical function of tissues, organs, and organ systems. For example, Marilena seems to know how to differentiate the complicated layering of the skin. My interpretation of this chapter is that every cadaver has a way of helping surgeons/residents to improve their skills in surgical practices. Like how the title says itself, a Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste.
I to found it interesting on How Mary Roach describes her observations. They made the text come to life. It was a shocking thing to find out back then, there was no such thing as anesthesia.
Hm, it is quite interesting to how it seemed sadistic in a way how surgeries would carry on in the past with the lack of anesthesia. But it also lead to development of medical better techniques and methods, so that's a plus.
I also found this chapter interesting and unlike any other books I've read in the past. I thought her vivid descriptions also made me feel as if I was there by her side. I think it was a great way to start off the book.
I agree with you. It's crazy to think about how people had to endure the pain and suffer. Reading this really makes one realize how much advances have been made in science and the medical field!
I found it intriguing the way Mary Roach explains the use of cadavers. I could only imagine the difficulty of working on an actual human head. I never thought there was a specific way to set up the room full of cadavers to make it more psychologically possible to perform surgery on a lifeless being. The author also included the historical part rather than making it all about science. The fact that patients weren’t given anesthesia in the past is unimaginable to me. The story that really got to me was the one about Bransby Cooper. What he did to a poor man is unforgivable; making a simple procedure complicated and killing a man who didn’t deserve to die. Nepotism is never right, especially when they have someone’s life in their hands.
A biology concept that was used was the malar fat pad. Gravity pulls the fat down creating the anatomical parentheses. Also, saline is used to rehydrate the cadavers that are drying up.
I liked the way Mary Roach wrote this chapter. She explains everything in a simple and understandable way. She makes the topic interesting by adding stories and including her own thoughts rather than just writing the facts.
I disagree with your view on the incident with Bransby Cooper and Stephen Pollard. Incompetence on the part of Cooper and arrogant presumption on the part of the public because of his uncle's reputation is what I believe resulted in the unfortunate death of Pollard, not complicating a lithotomy to the point of killing the man. However, I do agree about not being able to imagine having endure a procedure without anesthesia.
This chapter of "Stiff" was interesting right away when I read the head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken. Also, back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, they did surgery while the patient is awake and restrained them so they wouldn't escape was beyond me. Surgery was rather new to the people back then and I'm rather happy that, in this time period, we are more advanced. The biology concept that was used was the malar fat pad and how the saline is used to rehydrate the cadavers. This chapter showed me that a head is a terrible thing to waste because cadavers have a way to help people in the near future or now.
I agree, the fact that they did surgical procedures while the patient was awake and restrained to experience every cut and stitch is shocking. It's amazing to see how far we've come. The biological concept was also captivating, and I definitely know some facts about cadavers I previously hadn't known. A head is a terrible thing to waste.
I agree with what you have said. To add on to what was said, they also weren't given anesthesia as it didn't exist back then. I felt the same way Nathalia, I had no clue about these things until I read Stiff!
I agree, excellent biology concept, by the way. This chapter does a good job in catching the reader's attention so he/she wants to finish what they started. The part about doing surgery while the patient was awake was just unbelievable. I would hate having to do that!
Well, there wasn't much anesthetic, but there was the use of chloroform. It's just the patient would usually wake up in pain. But I agree that it's a great thing that medicine is more advanced.
i agree with all of these replies and also finding out that people actually had the courage to volunteer their own bodies for all of the tests done without any anastasia was very shocking because i know that i would never be brave enough to do such a thing. So i do agree with the fact that this book really informed me with a lot of information i would have probably never known.
It is true that a head is terrible to waste. Also how surgery was done to people while their awake is a really shocking and disturbing thing. I do agree that the biology concept is the malar fat pads and how the saline is use for dehydrated skin.
In the first chapter of Stiff, Roach immediately captivates your interest and is oddly compelling. The way she interpreted her surrounding were vivid and, at the same time, albeit disturbing. The method of operations done centuries back took me by surprise and I'm pleased at how the surgical procedure has improved over time with anesthesia and what not. The biological concept found in this chapter includes the mentioning of saline being used to hydrate the cadavers and the malar fat pad found on top of the cheekbones. I agree with Roach's view on the matter, a head would be a terrible thing to waste, and although working on severed heads is indeed disturbing, it's really beneficial.
The first chapter of “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” was interesting in my opinion. While reading it i wanted to continue to reading and not stop. Although there were a few times where it was a bit disturbing, yet I found it interesting. Especially since they practiced surgery on decapitated heads. Some biology and anatomy concepts that was addressed in the book is that it mainly deals with the face lifts and surgery dealing with it. It also talks about how to freshen a humans body in this case they would inject saline. My interpretation of this chapter is that it mainly focuses on surgery dealing with cadavers’ head. It also gives the author a bit of thoughts on other peoples psychological thoughts when it comes to dealing with cadavers. A few people just thought as the cadavers as wax model so it makes it easier for them to deal with cadavers.
This chapter definitely is interesting although disturbing. It was intriguing thought that the cadaver heads were being used for plastic surgery practices, although I knew that doctors must practice before doing surgery, I just never imagined that when donating a body to science it might end up in a plastic surgery practice.
I do agree that it is super weird to be working with decapitated heads, I seriously never thought that a plastic surgeon would have to do that. Imagine having to convince yourself you're working with wax in order to go through the day? Crazy.
I agree with your interpretation of this chapter. i had similar thoughts reading this chapter. i do believe that it was quite an interesting way to start a book. i do also feel it worked to the advantage of the author because i did not want to stop reading after finding out what happens to peoples bodies after they donate them.
The first chapter was a great chapter. What was interesting the first paragraph of the chapter. It was an immediate attention grabber. Who knew that the human head is the approximate weight and size as a rooster chicken ? Then it goes on to a vivid description of the lab Mary visited. Which was quite disturbing. How biology relates to this chapter is when it mentioned the Molar pads. How "Malar" means relating to the cheek. Which was a cushion of youthful padding that sits on your cheekbone. All in all Mary was right when she said a head was a terrible thing to waste, when you realize all the things it can be helpful in.
I agree this chapter was extremely an attention grabber especially since it dove right into a practice surgery with human heads. Also, the vividness was somewhat disturbing but made for a great read.
I agree this chapter was a attention grabber. When I read the first line of the book, I was so shocked, I had to to read it over. It made me more curious on to what the rest of the book is about. Further into the chapter Mary describes her experience inside the lab and how she talks to surgeon Marilena who basically tells her every part of the human cadaver is important.
The author has a very great way of talking about the bodies and anatomy in a way that interests the reader with her shocking, funny, and gruesome experiences. Cadavers have offered a way for doctors and students to learn more about the body and it has helped a great deal with medical advancements. Every single piece of the body can be useful.
Although I did know in pass times that medical specialists had preformed live autopsies on the dead in public gatherings, I was not prepared when this chapter informed me that they had also preformed live surgeries on the living. It was not the lack of anesthesia that scared me, but the fact that mainly poor people volunteered for this traumatic experience and very few ever survived these showings. Now in modern times, I'm happy to be assured that the dead are used to teach medical trainees about performing effective surgeries instead of just a acquiring the skills on a live patient. One of the most interesting points touched upon by the author was the psychological defenses many medical practitioners acquire to deal with learning about the anatomy of humans hands on, and detaching themselves from the situation emotionally.
I was also very shocked to hear that the people had volunteered for the traumatic surgeries that they had to go through without anesthesia because it was a painful procedure to go through! I mean I went through surgery and I know that if I hadn't gotten a surgery, I would not have been able to handle the pain. Plus the fact that they did live autopsies scares me. I feel bad for children who were in town that day going home after an outing with there parents and had to see that.
I agree with all of you I was also terrified at the fact that many surgeries performed in the past were perform with the lack of anesthesia. Many patients died in the process of surgery, and the sad part is the many poor people volunteered to take part in these surgeries.These patients felt every poke and incision that was made in surgery!
The first chapter of stiff, A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste, was an interesting chapter. Roach learns how professionals cope with knowing that they are working with human remains. The method was objectification. The surgeons like to think of the cadavers as if they were made of wax, rather than actual human remains. Roach also learns that the doctors do become nervous when working with cadavers and when people are watching them.
When reading “A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste”, what I found the most interesting was how graphic Roach was with her imagery. The reader could really imagine how the severed heads appeared when being prepped for the surgeons. I wasn't expecting such vivid details that even at one point, I placed the book down due to be disturbed. As for the biology concepts, those that were addressed mainly dealt with cosmetic surgery, such as the use of injecting saline to rejuvenate the cadavers. This chapter opened my eyes to see that there is much more use to a head than meet the eyes. I didn't think of the possibilities of using a cadaver in such a way for practicing cosmetic surgery.
I was also shocked when I read that a cadaver could be used as a way to practice cosmetic surgery. There was a few moments where I felt the need to pause for a second a recollect my thoughts because I was shocked by what I was reading, yet I felt the need to read more because I was curious. It does seem that there is more use to a head than meets the eyes.
I do agree with both of you guys. I really didn't think people would do that just because with all the updated technology that I abused that they would use 3D versions and Vitural surgeries.
I agree Celine she is very vivid and detailed about how people did things. This kind of freaked me out but i did not really like the first chapter of the book simply because it freaked me out and i did not understand it at first i literally had to read it twice to picture what was going on in my head.
In the book “Stiff” the first chapter, “a head is a terrible thing to waste”, in my opinion was the funniest chapter in the book. The author did a very good job in drawing my attention very quickly, beginning with the title. After reading this chapter, the title made total sense. Roach was extremely detailed in how she described the heads and I felt as if I was right there with her. I was amazed in the process and how many uses just one head of a human cadaver has. I also found myself very interested in how the people who had to deal with human cadavers actually dealt with them with Many amazing tricks and thoughts to what I think is a distraction from realizing it is an actual dead human cadaver that is being dealt with. The detailed descriptions also made me realize and almost literally feel the pain of a patient undergoing surgery without anesthesia during the 19th century. Although this chapter was quiet disturbing at points, I just couldn’t put the book down! It was a very entertaining chapter and personally my favorite.
I found the chapter quite amusing myself. It's one of my favorite chapters of the book. Roach is witty and sarcastic yet respectful when talking about the cadavers. It is one of the reasons I was compelled to the book and it was indeed hard to put down. The title of the chapter did pique my curiosity as to what she meant, and I agree with her point of view when she says that a head would definitely be a terrible thing to waste.
My thoughts on this chapter are simple. I think that the author, Mary Roach really knew how to grab anyones attention. I mean what better way to start off a book that by explaining how surgeons practice on decapitated heads, and how in the 19th century there was no anastasia. These were all ways to get the reader to think deep about the way people had to cope with such interesting situations by getting people to explain the way they manage to stay focused on the job they were dealing with,for example asking a woman named Theresa how she can stand to do such a job she just responds by saying "what i do is, think of them as wax". this suddenly made me want to put myself in the shoe of anyone doing a jod like that. Another way the author got my attention was by giving very vivid detail for almost everything written about making any reader imagine what is happening which got me wanting to keep reading.
I agree, Roach knew how to word everything in a way that left you wanting more. Although albeit disturbing, it also left you curious for what else happens to cadavers after death. Theresa did have an interesting way of coping with the cadavers around her. Thinking about them as wax does make you wonder if you could pull that off too.
I agree with both of you. Mary Roach did a fantastic job in keeping the readers' attention. The only thing I don't agree with is that there was a lot of information for the first chapter some of that information could've maybe been saved for further chapters. But overall, it was a great way to start the book.
I agree with you all of you, Roach did a great job of keep readers interesting in the book.She gave her experience about being in the lab with the human cadavers and watching the surgeons work on the head of a cadaver. One in particular surgeon name Theresa who had a interesting way of coping with working on the human cadaver heads.
This chapter caught me a bit off guard, i never expected plastic surgeons to be working on corpses' heads. I found it quite interesting how the surgeons would have to imagine that the heads were simply wax and negate their prior existence, completely disregard it's a human being and become emotionally detached. This chapter mostly talked about surgery on the dead and the living. Also i found it intriguing how people slowly expose themselves to cadavers, so later they can actually work on them. I could find myself gritting at my teeth when it came to live experimentation, how back then people didn't have anesthesia and worked on people who were fully aware of what was happening to them. Also i was quite astonished by the fact that they would let trainees work on the bodies when they were asleep to avoid any lawsuits, and how little they cared about their patients.
I like how you brought up of the fact that the surgeons have to think of a head as a wax when they are operating to cause no problems or even get more nervous then they are already.
I agree with you David even after reading this book I don't even like the site of a graveyard let alone caskets. So imagine the reaction to dead people i don't even think I would be able to even do so much as touch them.
Chapter1 in my view is a very interesting and thought making chapter. The subject of this chapter is surgery on the dead and Mary Roach decided to start with no other than the head. Its very interesting in the way that the heads were put in frying pans and the author compares the heads with chickens. Also she says that the age of the cadavers head matter because of the fat found in the cheeks. She even describes the way the heads look (she says the necks look like stumps all bloody and rough) when she went inside the university. At one point in the chapter Mary decides to put a events that happen in the 19th century. This surgeries in the 19th century all happened without anesthesia which means everyone that had a surgery felt it. Especially Stephen Pollard who went a stone bladder removal surgery and died 29 hours later. But seriously felling every single cut, insertion of a tool, and other stuff in surgery must be the most painful experience ever.
The main focus in this chapter was to not only introduce the humor that Roach posses but to start from the head would only be appropriate as an introduction. The way she just pulls you into the book, her analogies are on point with the topic and her analogies would make me chuckle. And how she admitted that the gross topics were in need of changing interpretation, for example when she described the heads on the table as halloween masks being worked on.
A biological concept that was addressed would be the use of anesthesia, and the little history lesson she gave us about a despicable excuse for a surgeon that made his patient suffer since there was no anesthesia.
I see this whole chapter as more of an introduction, the more humor she used the more eased the reader felt going deeper into the chapter. Her personal experiences did help mold an image of what she saw and how she felt about seeing those dismembered heads.
I do agree with you when the author made humorous parts to ease the reader and how this helps you read through the rest of the book and its cadaverous wonders.
The chapter starts off with a direct attention grabber as she compares the heads to chickens on a roasting pan. I can agree that humor is found later in the chapter but overall, the author manages to still take away some seriousness from the subject of cadavers but still offer alot of relevant information, and interesting experiences.
Roach started this chapter with an attention grabber, she wanted to draw in her readers into the lives of human cadavers. At first Roach is at a seminar where plastic surgeons are operating on cadavers heads. I was shocked that the same people who perform plastic surgery on celebrity's were now operating on human cadavers. I found it interesting how surgeons use objectification to help them cope while working with a cadaver.The was vivid detail of how one of the surgeons in the lab was working on human cadavers cheek. Also how the instructor led students through the process injection. I was also shocked at the fact that in the past that many of the trainees or students were allow to work on the bodies.
I agree that Roach certainly knew how to catch the reader's attention. Her story about being at the seminar was very interesting and learning about how surgeons try not to think about the cadavers as humans helps them cope with the fact that they are carving into once living beings, and of the same species as them. I can imagine how difficult it must be to get used to it at first and to try and forget that what you are cutting into once had a life of its own, a family, and a personality.
I believe that the first chapter of this book was great for a start and really captured the reader's attention. I had never heard of surgeons using decapitated cadavers as practice for facial lifts and various other plastic surgery procedures. Biological concepts addressed in this first chapter of the novel are when the tissues and various parts of the face are described, such as the malar fat pads and the nasolabial folds. This should tie into our course as we learn about what goes on beneath a human's skin and about the layers of fat and muscle. This text reflected the interesting and informative nature that the novel portrayed all the way until the end. It really caught my attention and made me eager to continue onwards; I was already learning new things from this chapter and was excited to see what else Mary Roach had in store for me.
Mary Roach wanted "Stiff" to catch the attention of readers right away. It seemed as if Roach's goal was to make the novel as vivid as possible for example when she talks about the severed heads on the pans. In "A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste" Roach explains objectification, sort of like treating the cadaver as a "thing". I found very interesting yet disturbing the history in this chapter. I can't image what it was like in the 19th century when there was no anesthesia during the surgeries. Additionally, the fact that injecting saline into the cadavers meat will rehydrate them is pretty cool.
Mary Roach made chapter one to explain what happens at the department of cadavers are located. It also shows who are the people's that are at the department as well as, what they do to the cadaver. She also explains its changed from years before when people have started to learn about surgeries and patients doing them without and medicine that makes them sleep or numb. She want to show different stories from different cadaver that are there.This shows biology terms such as the different names for different part of the body and explaining to us what happens to our organs in a human sight.
The chapter starts off by puling the reader in with a gruesome experience in the seminar. This along with the other stories that she mentioned really grabs the reader's attention and makes the book interesting. She manages to tie in alot of useful information about anatomy too which makes it a fun way for readers to learn and see what the use of cadavers have offered.
I agree with this that it talks about how the surgeons operate in the order. I do believe in his a opinion on how they go in some details for the pain the patients went through because they were so low in technology which also causes it to know very little about medicine.
The First Chapter of "Stiff" Really put the book into play, it explains all the gore that was actually done in the 19th century. The title is the most peculiar part of this chapter, "A Head Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" After I read this chapter I saw how much research meant to these surgeons and how much a surgeon wanted to study the human head and see what it contained. Every head lost was almost like losing a race at olympic race, trying to get to the end to see what was there. The first chapter also really catches the reader in this sense because it shows how people took research seriously, I believe Mary Roach really captured this in the first chapter.
Cadaver research and dissection methods have really come a long way and have offered a lot of useful knowledge. Even though methods of dissection have become less gruesome, there is still a psychological factor that ties in when the procedures are being done. People have better ethics with their research now and they show respect for the bodies but they have to remember that it is just body. It is not a living person anymore so they shouldn't be too emotional about it.
The first chapter of Stiff was a brief introduction to cadavers and the history of them. She mentioned that, in the past, cadaver testing was looked down upon. Due to religious views. Because people felt that in order for one to enter the gate ways of Heaven, the body must be untouched and perfect. The brief introduction of history is what actually lured me to continue reading Stiff. Roach is such a vivid writer; when she was describing the scene of how surgeries were done in the centuries, while reading, I felt as if I were actually put in the room with the patient. A very gruesome image.
The dissection of cadavers definitely had a negative connotation and some people thought it was "wrong". Even when the first dissections where done, the procedures where very gruesome. However, with increased research people have more sanitary and ethical ways of doing dissections. This has managed to mend the horrible connotation of cadavers and the research done with them, because something good has come out of it, which includes medical advancements.
Mary Roach begins the book by capturing the reader's attention with her experience of observing the cadaver heads on "roasting trays" comparing them to chickens, and how the anatomy seminar coordinator used "lavender to give a cheery/happy feeling". Right of the bat. this seemed very interesting and funny. After she mentions this grotesque event she goes on to explain that throughout history dissection was not viewed as acceptable, one of the reasons being that people where grossed out by it and thought it was wrong because it was perviously a living human being. However, she later goes on to express her views that the cadavers are just bodies after death and there is no intense emotion towards them as it would be to an actual living human, but she still keeps her respect, as do the doctors who perform the dissections. For example, one doctor put a white cover over the head she dissected after she was done, just out of respect. Too add to this, she mentioned that the bodies where donated from people who willingly said that they would like their cadavers to be used for anatomy research purposes. I really liked this first chapter, it was very interesting, and I liked that the people still had respect for the bodies.
This chapter was about how they use cadavers in the present day, and what was done to live people in the 19th century. I never would have thought that cadavers were used for testing surgery. And in the 19th century, the fact that people not only had to cope with the pain of the surgery they wanted, but their bodies were practically massacred, which must have been horrifying. But all in all it was a very interesting chapter.
Chapter one was a great way to start off the boo. It was mostly about the way cadavers are used in modern day. I would've never thought that they could be so useful throughout the many discoveries of science. it was very interesting and caught my attention. Mary's vivid writing and descriptions make the book even funner to read. I enjoyed it overall & learned a lot from just the first chapter.
In the first chapter of the novel, it was interesting to read how the cadavers were used for practice of plastic surgery. I remember that reading just the first page made me stop reading, and put down the book and try to understand what I’ve just read. To be more specific, in the first couple pages, it explains how the plastic surgeons have to practice on several heads, and how surgery was done in the 19th century. This chapter mainly focused on the author’s observation of how cadavers are being used in our world rather than observing the anatomy of the head.
The first chapter of the book gave good descriptions as well as a good introduction to the reader of the topic. This chapter mainly and most importantly dealt with cadavers and how scientist use them for practice. It specialized on how scientist used the heads of these cadavers to practice for plastic surgery procedures. I enjoyed how the author added some of her own humorous commentary in this chapter! Like for example she explained how she was wondering why the heads were cut the way they did. I found it humorous and this chapter really got me interested in reading the rest of the book and finding out more about this topic and the cadavers.
I find the first chapter of "Stiff" interesting in the sense that it catches your attention, but it comes to a point where you want to stop reading to grasp what you've just been told. Specifically, that plastic surgeons in training practice on severed heads and that in the nineteenth century, patients had to endure procedures without anesthesia.
ReplyDeleteBiology concepts addressed in this chapter were: age's effect on fat pads of the body, such as the malar fat pad in the case of chapter 1, and how drying detached limbs can be rehydrated through injections of saline.
Chapter 1 focused mainly on psychology and the author's observation of cadavers being used in a real-world scenario (or at least, part of them) rather than the anatomy of the human head. Anatomical details were included however, as well as an anecdote of a bladder stone removal done in the nineteenth century by an incompetent surgeon on a rather tough working-class man, who would die from infection because of how awfully done the procedure was.
I completely agree with you on how in this first chapter the author makes the descriptions of the surgeries so vivid that it can even make you stop for a second and make you realize just how bad people back then without anesthesia.
DeleteI agree with you on how the book is so interesting that it catches your attention. But i disagree about it getting to the point you have to stop reading, I actually became even more interested once the procedures without anesthesia were discussed.
DeleteI agree with you when you want to stop to read because it is to grasp to understand but at the same time I think that surgery's without anesthesia must have been horrible.
DeleteI too agree we are so interested in this book because we are learning new thing like how in the nineteenth century surgeries were performed without anesthesia. Also with the aid of a vivid picture of what went down.
DeleteI agree, when i was reading i couldn't put my book down, i mean to think that they had surgery without anesthesia must have been painful.
DeleteI agree with the author that the book was intresting beacuse the author of the book used relly viivid words and it did cath my attantion. How did they not use anesthesia back then it must of been painful to do any operations?
DeleteI agree that it would be painful without anesthesia and we take that for granted some times.
DeleteI agree you. At time there was a point where I myself wanted to stop reading the book and actually think to myself about what I read. Also, I would wonder how it felt having surgery without anesthesia.
DeleteI agree with you Tomas. While reading the chapter, I was intrigued by the fact that patients did not have anesthesia readily available to them at that time, causing them to endure all of that pain. I also agree that the chapter was extremely vivid, it felt like I was in the surgery room!
DeleteI agree with everything posted above, there were extremely vibrant details and descriptions for almost everything throughout the book. It was very lengthy, but at times, I felt I was not being able to put my book down until I finished! Additionally I also believe that the patients who had to undergo those surgeries in the 19th century were very painful.
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DeleteYes i agree that the first chapter bewildered me, but i found myself rereading some parts to make sure i actually understood it correctly. And the live experiments had to make me pause for a while, because i was slightly disturbed.
DeleteYeah i agree with your statement on that they must have had a lot of endurance because to withstand those operations without anesthesia must have been extremely painful.
DeleteI completely agree with your statement on how much pain a body can handle while going through a surgery without any anesthesia in the body.
DeleteThe same happened to me! I had this mixture of feelings about the first chapter of this book. I was stuck between it being super interesting and super weird! At least I learned something new about cadavers!
DeleteIn this first chapter of "Stiff" I was really amazed at how the cadavers were being used. From the descriptions that the author gave about how surgeries on people were performed in the 19th century, it was very horrifying what these people actually had to endure during the procedures, not having any anesthesia and having to endure all the pain, it was something that might actually end up killing you. It was also interesting to learn about the different coping methods that people have while dealing with the cadavers.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter seemed to talk a lot about how a person actually deals with performing practice surgeries on human cadavers and the psychological toll that it might take on a someone. This chapter also brought up some interesting points, like how "dissection and surgical instruction, like meat-eating, require a carefully maintained set of illusions and denial". I had never actually considered things like this until now.
I agree with what you wrote chapter one, it does talk mostly about the emotional and mental toll some people get when working with a cadaver’ head. Due to the reasons like some people may think about the cadaver’s old life, the cadavers’ family and friends, and so on. Therefore making the doctor feel awful about performing a facial anatomy on the cadaver’s head so to prevent this from happening some doctors must pretend that the cadaver never lived and never died as though the cadaver was just a practice head.
DeleteI agree with your view of this chapter, to me it also seemed as though a lot of psychology was involved. As well as the procedures done on the cadavers and what medicine was like in the 19th century.
DeleteI agree it is scary to think of what patients in the past went through during surgery. To be quite honest if I lived back then, I probably would have never undergone surgery. I also found how doctor's and students coped while working with cadavers very interesting.
DeleteIt's definitely difficult to think about what medical patients of the past had to persevere through during procedures without at least frowning at the idea of going through that yourself. I can imagine surgeons of that time were under a lot of pressure during these surgeries. Thank goodness they came up with anesthesia or I, personally, wouldn't of had most or maybe even all of the surgeries I had to have when I was younger.
DeleteLiving back then I wouldn't have went with any type of surgey, knowing their wasn't any type of Anesthesia to numb the pain. What if something went wrong ? To much pain for a patient to go through, probably putting them in shock? Yes most definately it is scary to think about.
DeleteI agree with your POV. I can't imagine what those people that had surgery had to go through. I would've never had surgery if anesthesia wasn't invented.
DeleteI also agree with you. it must have been horrible to go through so many painful things back then and not have anything to take away the pain.
DeleteI agree with you, could you possibly imagine the amount of pain they had to endure when surgery was being preformed on them without having anesthesia. The worst part about it is that chances are you would end up dying.
DeleteIt is absolutely difficult to endure the pain without the privilege of anesthesia. To add on to the point about coping methods surgeons use, they use objectification. They use it to think that those human body parts are made of wax, and are not real.
DeleteI completely agree with you on the fact of how painful it must have been to undergo surgeries, whether they are non invasive or not. From a personal experience point of view I would never ever want to have to go through the torturous experience of surgery without anesthesia.
DeleteI agree that the beginning procedures in the history of dissection where horrifying. These gruesome details catch the reader's attention and it made the chapter very interesting. Despite how horrible these procedures sound, it shows how far researchers have come. Today we have things like anesthesia and more sanitary ways performing dissections and research on better procedures are still being done. When it comes to dealing with a cadaver, there is alot of gross aspects and I agree that you have to obtain a strong will power and focus on the fact the body is no longer a living human, but it can still be used by anatomy students and doctors.
DeleteI agree that the history of dissection is horrifying, but she wanted to write the gruesome details so you can fully understand what happened in this field of science.
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ReplyDeleteThis chapter of Stiff was about the use of cadavers now, and what was done to live people in the 19th century. I never would have thought that cadavers were used for testing surgery. And in the 19th century, the fact that people not only had to cope with the pain of the surgery they wanted, but their bodies were violated to teach medical students horrified me. The teachers would not only prolong the pain of the surgery they came for as a demonstration to the students, but would do extra "demonstrations" since the body was there, and the person was getting cheaper surgery for the purpose of using their body for this. This chapter also mentioned how the bodies were maintained with rehydration, which will probably be brought up in Biology class.
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DeleteIn addition to what you wrote may I add that back then in the 19th Century the patients that were getting surgery being done on them would have to endure the pains that the surgery would give them do to the reason that in 19th century anesthesia was not yet used (created or made.)
DeleteWhen I read that students practiced on live people, this shocked me greatly as well! It is impossible to describe the horror that these people must have felt! It also shocked me how "extra" surgeries were done just for the sake of demonstration!
Deletei completely agree with you i think what the doctors did back then was horrible and that they should not have used people that were in need of medical assistance as guinea pigs just so they could demonstrate a procedure to a student
DeleteI also found the live surgeries of the 19th century to be terrifying. Although, I disagree with your comment on how people's bodies were "violated" during teachings to medical students. Back then, a lot of people had no other choice than to be used in medical training to have procedures done.
DeleteI agree with you Tomas. They did have no other choice, it was in a time when we haven't progressed scientifically. To Debbie Perez that is also true, those patients had to sit there screaming in pain as there flesh was being cut through to perform the surgical operation. I myself certainly wouldn't want to go through that excruciating process.
DeleteI would agree, not only did they need to study this, the time in which the time period of the book is in which is the 19th century, they were not very progressed in there studies of cadavers. I wouldn't believe that was even legal to use people to study off of, unlike now that everything is either digital or written down and is all laid out for you.
DeleteI would've never thought about cadavers being used as practice for surgery as well.
DeleteI found this chapter of the book interesting because right away Mary Roach writes of the heads of cadavers laying on pans waiting for the surtgeons to work on them. I was also very interested by the explanation of all the procedures thst the surgeons were learning about, like the face lift, I never fully understood how a face lift worked until now! The way that the author included dialougue between herself and the surgeons not only made the chapter interesting but it helped me to better understand how surgeons are able to practice their skills on cadavers.
ReplyDeleteSome of the biology and anatomy concepts that were in this chapter include what happens to the body a few days after death; they look very much like when they were alive because they haven't been embalmed. It also includes the concept of how the human face ages; the malar fat pad slowly but surely will begin to sag. Concepts concerning anatomy that were in this chapter have to do with how the face lift works and how the malar pad will eventually fall down and why it happens.
My personal interpretation of this chapter is that it not only focused on how cadaver have been used in the field of medicine over the years but also about hopw the doctors are able to work on dead bodies. Some see them as wax models or just as a way to learn skills to help other people.
I agree. Before reading this chapter I thought that only medical students practiced on cadavers for surgery and after they graduated that was it. But now I see that even licensed medical professionals practice on cadavers.
DeleteThe way Mary Roach started the chapter was an attention grabber by mentioning the heads laying on pans. I also liked it because Mary Roach includes her own thoughts and adds dialogue.
DeleteThe author's anecdote about the decapitated heads on pans certainly got my attention as well. More in the way that it shocked me than it made me want to keep reading. Like you, this chapter helped me better comprehend how surgeons practice and train to become professionals.
DeleteI agree with you. I honestly found this chapter of the book extremely interesting. It was such an attention grabber. From the beginning of the chapter how she talks about the size of human heads being the same as a roaster chicken and the forty human heads resting in frying pans to the end where she asks why the dead women had no pupils. This chapter also gave me a better understanding on certain medical procedures.
DeleteThis chapter did in fact grab my attention and encouraged me to read more, though i had to pause for the gross and painful things (live experiments, heads on pans, etc). And it helped me also to understand how doctors can actually go through working on dead bodies.
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ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that Mary Roach starts this book on the topic of 'practicing [cosmetic] surgery on the dead'. Chapter one tells of her experience observing a facial anatomy and face-lift refresher course. She describes how the heads were removed from the bodies and put in roasting pans to catch the drippings. She also mentioned how surgery upon the dead is a tidy process and how the surgeons respected the heads as if they were alive and the techniques they used to make practicing with dead bodies easier.
ReplyDeleteSome of the biology and anatomy concepts touched in this chapter were malar, which means relating to the cheek and the nasolabial folds, 'the anatomical parentheses that run from the edges of a middle-aged node down to the corners of the mouth.
I really liked the first chapter because it touched on ways that doctors and med students deal with working with cadavers and how people would check themselves into teaching hospitals because they were too poor to pay for private surgery.
I thought chapter 1 was intresting to. Honestly I did not think that they would necessary have respect towards the dead while they are practicing on it. But they did, which showed me a different persepctive.
DeleteI also found interesting on how she explained how doctors and students deal with the fact that they worked with cadavers. I think it was a good idea for her to have mentioned this in the very first chapter.
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DeleteI find this chapter interesting because the author used really vivid words to describe the scene. it was interesting to know how a facelift works and that it requires a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteOne biology concept that is addressed in this chapter is that if you inject saline in any meat (human or animal) it will freshen them up. Another concept addressed is the malar fat pad. The malar fat pad is the cushion that sits high on your cheekbone. Aging causes the malar fat pad to go down, face lift surgery brings it back up. This will tie into our biology course because we might be learning about the human body in life and death.
My personal interpretation of this chapter was that Mary Roach did an amazing job on this chapter that everything was clear and easy to understand. Medicine has advanced so much because we are able to use human cadavers.
Mary Roach definitely took an interesting approach when describing the cadavers and she found a way to include useful information on anatomy that was clear for the reader. The chapter also talks about the history of dissection and in the beginning the procedures where very gruesome and did not include saline preservatives or even research on facelifts. This goes to show that the bodies have offered alot of opportunity for medical advancement and knowledge of anatomy.
DeleteI found the first chapter of the book "stiff" to be very interesting in the fact that it gave the reader a "backstage" look at how they test new surgeries, how students use to become professionals in the late 1700s to early 1800s, and even how surgeries where carried out back then due to the lack of anesthetics causing the patient to have to endure the hideous pain of undergoing surgery and those that weren't lucky enough to be able to pay for a private surgery had to go to a teaching hospital knowing that they may not survive the surgery due to lack of experience and knowledge.Also the chapter emphasized how surgeons had to have a certain mind-set to be able to undertaking the daunting task of surgery. Also this chapter has to do with biology and anatomy due to the surgeons injecting saline into the dead corpses to make the skin tissue more pliable and how we learn about the human body
ReplyDeleteI agree. The history on how patients were awake and had to endure the pain of undergoing surgery makes me thankful that we don't have to.
DeleteI agree with you on how this chapter has to do with the biology and human anatomy. This chapter makes me thankful for not being born around that time. It would be pretty awful to have to withstand the horrible pain during surgery. It’s also very enthralling on how Roach gave very detailed description and history about it.
DeleteIn chapter one of Stiff, I found the text to be interesting on how Mary Roach describes her observations in vivid detail to the point that I felt as if I was there. In addition, it was surprising to learn that in the nineteenth century there was no use of anesthesia meaning that every human felt any pinch, cut, stitch, and probing finger on them. This ties into biology because it examines the physical and chemical function of tissues, organs, and organ systems. For example, Marilena seems to know how to differentiate the complicated layering of the skin. My interpretation of this chapter is that every cadaver has a way of helping surgeons/residents to improve their skills in surgical practices. Like how the title says itself, a Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste.
ReplyDeleteI to found it interesting on How Mary Roach describes her observations. They made the text come to life. It was a shocking thing to find out back then, there was no such thing as anesthesia.
DeleteHm, it is quite interesting to how it seemed sadistic in a way how surgeries would carry on in the past with the lack of anesthesia. But it also lead to development of medical better techniques and methods, so that's a plus.
DeleteI also found this chapter interesting and unlike any other books I've read in the past. I thought her vivid descriptions also made me feel as if I was there by her side. I think it was a great way to start off the book.
DeleteI agree with you. It's crazy to think about how people had to endure the pain and suffer. Reading this really makes one realize how much advances have been made in science and the medical field!
DeleteI found it intriguing the way Mary Roach explains the use of cadavers. I could only imagine the difficulty of working on an actual human head. I never thought there was a specific way to set up the room full of cadavers to make it more psychologically possible to perform surgery on a lifeless being. The author also included the historical part rather than making it all about science. The fact that patients weren’t given anesthesia in the past is unimaginable to me. The story that really got to me was the one about Bransby Cooper. What he did to a poor man is unforgivable; making a simple procedure complicated and killing a man who didn’t deserve to die. Nepotism is never right, especially when they have someone’s life in their hands.
ReplyDeleteA biology concept that was used was the malar fat pad. Gravity pulls the fat down creating the anatomical parentheses. Also, saline is used to rehydrate the cadavers that are drying up.
I liked the way Mary Roach wrote this chapter. She explains everything in a simple and understandable way. She makes the topic interesting by adding stories and including her own thoughts rather than just writing the facts.
I disagree with your view on the incident with Bransby Cooper and Stephen Pollard. Incompetence on the part of Cooper and arrogant presumption on the part of the public because of his uncle's reputation is what I believe resulted in the unfortunate death of Pollard, not complicating a lithotomy to the point of killing the man. However, I do agree about not being able to imagine having endure a procedure without anesthesia.
DeleteThis chapter of "Stiff" was interesting right away when I read the head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken. Also, back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, they did surgery while the patient is awake and restrained them so they wouldn't escape was beyond me. Surgery was rather new to the people back then and I'm rather happy that, in this time period, we are more advanced. The biology concept that was used was the malar fat pad and how the saline is used to rehydrate the cadavers. This chapter showed me that a head is a terrible thing to waste because cadavers have a way to help people in the near future or now.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the fact that they did surgical procedures while the patient was awake and restrained to experience every cut and stitch is shocking. It's amazing to see how far we've come. The biological concept was also captivating, and I definitely know some facts about cadavers I previously hadn't known. A head is a terrible thing to waste.
DeleteI agree with what you have said. To add on to what was said, they also weren't given anesthesia as it didn't exist back then. I felt the same way Nathalia, I had no clue about these things until I read Stiff!
DeleteI agree, excellent biology concept, by the way. This chapter does a good job in catching the reader's attention so he/she wants to finish what they started. The part about doing surgery while the patient was awake was just unbelievable. I would hate having to do that!
DeleteWell, there wasn't much anesthetic, but there was the use of chloroform. It's just the patient would usually wake up in pain. But I agree that it's a great thing that medicine is more advanced.
Deletei agree with all of these replies and also finding out that people actually had the courage to volunteer their own bodies for all of the tests done without any anastasia was very shocking because i know that i would never be brave enough to do such a thing. So i do agree with the fact that this book really informed me with a lot of information i would have probably never known.
DeleteIt is true that a head is terrible to waste. Also how surgery was done to people while their awake is a really shocking and disturbing thing. I do agree that the biology concept is the malar fat pads and how the saline is use for dehydrated skin.
DeleteIn the first chapter of Stiff, Roach immediately captivates your interest and is oddly compelling. The way she interpreted her surrounding were vivid and, at the same time, albeit disturbing. The method of operations done centuries back took me by surprise and I'm pleased at how the surgical procedure has improved over time with anesthesia and what not. The biological concept found in this chapter includes the mentioning of saline being used to hydrate the cadavers and the malar fat pad found on top of the cheekbones. I agree with Roach's view on the matter, a head would be a terrible thing to waste, and although working on severed heads is indeed disturbing, it's really beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter wasn’t that disturbing, in my opinion. But I do agree with you on how she catches your attention and interest quickly.
DeleteThe first chapter of “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” was interesting in my opinion. While reading it i wanted to continue to reading and not stop. Although there were a few times where it was a bit disturbing, yet I found it interesting. Especially since they practiced surgery on decapitated heads.
ReplyDeleteSome biology and anatomy concepts that was addressed in the book is that it mainly deals with the face lifts and surgery dealing with it. It also talks about how to freshen a humans body in this case they would inject saline.
My interpretation of this chapter is that it mainly focuses on surgery dealing with cadavers’ head. It also gives the author a bit of thoughts on other peoples psychological thoughts when it comes to dealing with cadavers. A few people just thought as the cadavers as wax model so it makes it easier for them to deal with cadavers.
This chapter definitely is interesting although disturbing. It was intriguing thought that the cadaver heads were being used for plastic surgery practices, although I knew that doctors must practice before doing surgery, I just never imagined that when donating a body to science it might end up in a plastic surgery practice.
DeleteI do agree that it is super weird to be working with decapitated heads, I seriously never thought that a plastic surgeon would have to do that. Imagine having to convince yourself you're working with wax in order to go through the day? Crazy.
DeleteI agree with your interpretation of this chapter. i had similar thoughts reading this chapter. i do believe that it was quite an interesting way to start a book. i do also feel it worked to the advantage of the author because i did not want to stop reading after finding out what happens to peoples bodies after they donate them.
DeleteThe first chapter was a great chapter. What was interesting the first paragraph of the chapter. It was an immediate attention grabber. Who knew that the human head is the approximate weight and size as a rooster chicken ? Then it goes on to a vivid description of the lab Mary visited. Which was quite disturbing. How biology relates to this chapter is when it mentioned the Molar pads. How "Malar" means relating to the cheek. Which was a cushion of youthful padding that sits on your cheekbone. All in all Mary was right when she said a head was a terrible thing to waste, when you realize all the things it can be helpful in.
ReplyDeleteI agree this chapter was extremely an attention grabber especially since it dove right into a practice surgery with human heads. Also, the vividness was somewhat disturbing but made for a great read.
DeleteI agree this chapter was a attention grabber. When I read the first line of the book, I was so shocked, I had to to read it over. It made me more curious on to what the rest of the book is about. Further into the chapter Mary describes her experience inside the lab and how she talks to surgeon Marilena who basically tells her every part of the human cadaver is important.
DeleteThe author has a very great way of talking about the bodies and anatomy in a way that interests the reader with her shocking, funny, and gruesome experiences. Cadavers have offered a way for doctors and students to learn more about the body and it has helped a great deal with medical advancements. Every single piece of the body can be useful.
DeleteAlthough I did know in pass times that medical specialists had preformed live autopsies on the dead in public gatherings, I was not prepared when this chapter informed me that they had also preformed live surgeries on the living. It was not the lack of anesthesia that scared me, but the fact that mainly poor people volunteered for this traumatic experience and very few ever survived these showings. Now in modern times, I'm happy to be assured that the dead are used to teach medical trainees about performing effective surgeries instead of just a acquiring the skills on a live patient. One of the most interesting points touched upon by the author was the psychological defenses many medical practitioners acquire to deal with learning about the anatomy of humans hands on, and detaching themselves from the situation emotionally.
ReplyDeleteI was also very shocked to hear that the people had volunteered for the traumatic surgeries that they had to go through without anesthesia because it was a painful procedure to go through! I mean I went through surgery and I know that if I hadn't gotten a surgery, I would not have been able to handle the pain. Plus the fact that they did live autopsies scares me. I feel bad for children who were in town that day going home after an outing with there parents and had to see that.
DeleteI agree with all of you I was also terrified at the fact that many surgeries performed in the past were perform with the lack of anesthesia. Many patients died in the process of surgery, and the sad part is the many poor people volunteered to take part in these surgeries.These patients felt every poke and incision that was made in surgery!
DeleteThe first chapter of stiff, A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste, was an interesting chapter. Roach learns how professionals cope with knowing that they are working with human remains. The method was objectification. The surgeons like to think of the cadavers as if they were made of wax, rather than actual human remains. Roach also learns that the doctors do become nervous when working with cadavers and when people are watching them.
ReplyDeleteI also found objectification very interesting. It actually should be pretty difficult trying to look at a cadaver, a person who once lived as wax.
DeleteWhen reading “A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste”, what I found the most interesting was how graphic Roach was with her imagery. The reader could really imagine how the severed heads appeared when being prepped for the surgeons. I wasn't expecting such vivid details that even at one point, I placed the book down due to be disturbed. As for the biology concepts, those that were addressed mainly dealt with cosmetic surgery, such as the use of injecting saline to rejuvenate the cadavers. This chapter opened my eyes to see that there is much more use to a head than meet the eyes. I didn't think of the possibilities of using a cadaver in such a way for practicing cosmetic surgery.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked when I read that a cadaver could be used as a way to practice cosmetic surgery. There was a few moments where I felt the need to pause for a second a recollect my thoughts because I was shocked by what I was reading, yet I felt the need to read more because I was curious. It does seem that there is more use to a head than meets the eyes.
DeleteI do agree with both of you guys. I really didn't think people would do that just because with all the updated technology that I abused that they would use 3D versions and Vitural surgeries.
DeleteI agree Celine she is very vivid and detailed about how people did things. This kind of freaked me out but i did not really like the first chapter of the book simply because it freaked me out and i did not understand it at first i literally had to read it twice to picture what was going on in my head.
DeleteIn the book “Stiff” the first chapter, “a head is a terrible thing to waste”, in my opinion was the funniest chapter in the book. The author did a very good job in drawing my attention very quickly, beginning with the title. After reading this chapter, the title made total sense. Roach was extremely detailed in how she described the heads and I felt as if I was right there with her. I was amazed in the process and how many uses just one head of a human cadaver has. I also found myself very interested in how the people who had to deal with human cadavers actually dealt with them with Many amazing tricks and thoughts to what I think is a distraction from realizing it is an actual dead human cadaver that is being dealt with. The detailed descriptions also made me realize and almost literally feel the pain of a patient undergoing surgery without anesthesia during the 19th century. Although this chapter was quiet disturbing at points, I just couldn’t put the book down! It was a very entertaining chapter and personally my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI found the chapter quite amusing myself. It's one of my favorite chapters of the book. Roach is witty and sarcastic yet respectful when talking about the cadavers. It is one of the reasons I was compelled to the book and it was indeed hard to put down. The title of the chapter did pique my curiosity as to what she meant, and I agree with her point of view when she says that a head would definitely be a terrible thing to waste.
DeleteMy thoughts on this chapter are simple. I think that the author, Mary Roach really knew how to grab anyones attention. I mean what better way to start off a book that by explaining how surgeons practice on decapitated heads, and how in the 19th century there was no anastasia. These were all ways to get the reader to think deep about the way people had to cope with such interesting situations by getting people to explain the way they manage to stay focused on the job they were dealing with,for example asking a woman named Theresa how she can stand to do such a job she just responds by saying "what i do is, think of them as wax". this suddenly made me want to put myself in the shoe of anyone doing a jod like that. Another way the author got my attention was by giving very vivid detail for almost everything written about making any reader imagine what is happening which got me wanting to keep reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Roach knew how to word everything in a way that left you wanting more. Although albeit disturbing, it also left you curious for what else happens to cadavers after death. Theresa did have an interesting way of coping with the cadavers around her. Thinking about them as wax does make you wonder if you could pull that off too.
DeleteI agree with both of you. Mary Roach did a fantastic job in keeping the readers' attention. The only thing I don't agree with is that there was a lot of information for the first chapter some of that information could've maybe been saved for further chapters. But overall, it was a great way to start the book.
DeleteI agree with you all of you, Roach did a great job of keep readers interesting in the book.She gave her experience about being in the lab with the human cadavers and watching the surgeons work on the head of a cadaver. One in particular surgeon name Theresa who had a interesting way of coping with working on the human cadaver heads.
DeleteThis chapter caught me a bit off guard, i never expected plastic surgeons to be working on corpses' heads. I found it quite interesting how the surgeons would have to imagine that the heads were simply wax and negate their prior existence, completely disregard it's a human being and become emotionally detached. This chapter mostly talked about surgery on the dead and the living. Also i found it intriguing how people slowly expose themselves to cadavers, so later they can actually work on them. I could find myself gritting at my teeth when it came to live experimentation, how back then people didn't have anesthesia and worked on people who were fully aware of what was happening to them. Also i was quite astonished by the fact that they would let trainees work on the bodies when they were asleep to avoid any lawsuits, and how little they cared about their patients.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up of the fact that the surgeons have to think of a head as a wax when they are operating to cause no problems or even get more nervous then they are already.
DeleteI agree with you David even after reading this book I don't even like the site of a graveyard let alone caskets. So imagine the reaction to dead people i don't even think I would be able to even do so much as touch them.
DeleteChapter1 in my view is a very interesting and thought making chapter. The subject of this chapter is surgery on the dead and Mary Roach decided to start with no other than the head. Its very interesting in the way that the heads were put in frying pans and the author compares the heads with chickens. Also she says that the age of the cadavers head matter because of the fat found in the cheeks. She even describes the way the heads look (she says the necks look like stumps all bloody and rough) when she went inside the university. At one point in the chapter Mary decides to put a events that happen in the 19th century. This surgeries in the 19th century all happened without anesthesia which means everyone that had a surgery felt it. Especially Stephen Pollard who went a stone bladder removal surgery and died 29 hours later. But seriously felling every single cut, insertion of a tool, and other stuff in surgery must be the most painful experience ever.
ReplyDeleteThe main focus in this chapter was to not only introduce the humor that Roach posses but to start from the head would only be appropriate as an introduction. The way she just pulls you into the book, her analogies are on point with the topic and her analogies would make me chuckle. And how she admitted that the gross topics were in need of changing interpretation, for example when she described the heads on the table as halloween masks being worked on.
ReplyDeleteA biological concept that was addressed would be the use of anesthesia, and the little history lesson she gave us about a despicable excuse for a surgeon that made his patient suffer since there was no anesthesia.
I see this whole chapter as more of an introduction, the more humor she used the more eased the reader felt going deeper into the chapter. Her personal experiences did help mold an image of what she saw and how she felt about seeing those dismembered heads.
I do agree with you when the author made humorous parts to ease the reader and how this helps you read through the rest of the book and its cadaverous wonders.
DeleteThe chapter starts off with a direct attention grabber as she compares the heads to chickens on a roasting pan. I can agree that humor is found later in the chapter but overall, the author manages to still take away some seriousness from the subject of cadavers but still offer alot of relevant information, and interesting experiences.
DeleteRoach started this chapter with an attention grabber, she wanted to draw in her readers into the lives of human cadavers. At first Roach is at a seminar where plastic surgeons are operating on cadavers heads. I was shocked that the same people who perform plastic surgery on celebrity's were now operating on human cadavers. I found it interesting how surgeons use objectification to help them cope while working with a cadaver.The was vivid detail of how one of the surgeons in the lab was working on human cadavers cheek. Also how the instructor led students through the process injection. I was also shocked at the fact that in the past that many of the trainees or students were allow to work on the bodies.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Roach certainly knew how to catch the reader's attention. Her story about being at the seminar was very interesting and learning about how surgeons try not to think about the cadavers as humans helps them cope with the fact that they are carving into once living beings, and of the same species as them. I can imagine how difficult it must be to get used to it at first and to try and forget that what you are cutting into once had a life of its own, a family, and a personality.
DeleteI believe that the first chapter of this book was great for a start and really captured the reader's attention. I had never heard of surgeons using decapitated cadavers as practice for facial lifts and various other plastic surgery procedures. Biological concepts addressed in this first chapter of the novel are when the tissues and various parts of the face are described, such as the malar fat pads and the nasolabial folds. This should tie into our course as we learn about what goes on beneath a human's skin and about the layers of fat and muscle. This text reflected the interesting and informative nature that the novel portrayed all the way until the end. It really caught my attention and made me eager to continue onwards; I was already learning new things from this chapter and was excited to see what else Mary Roach had in store for me.
ReplyDeleteMary Roach wanted "Stiff" to catch the attention of readers right away. It seemed as if Roach's goal was to make the novel as vivid as possible for example when she talks about the severed heads on the pans. In "A Head is a Terrible Thing to Waste" Roach explains objectification, sort of like treating the cadaver as a "thing". I found very interesting yet disturbing the history in this chapter. I can't image what it was like in the 19th century when there was no anesthesia during the surgeries. Additionally, the fact that injecting saline into the cadavers meat will rehydrate them is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteMary Roach made chapter one to explain what happens at the department of cadavers are located. It also shows who are the people's that are at the department as well as, what they do to the cadaver. She also explains its changed from years before when people have started to learn about surgeries and patients doing them without and medicine that makes them sleep or numb. She want to show different stories from different cadaver that are there.This shows biology terms such as the different names for different part of the body and explaining to us what happens to our organs in a human sight.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter starts off by puling the reader in with a gruesome experience in the seminar. This along with the other stories that she mentioned really grabs the reader's attention and makes the book interesting. She manages to tie in alot of useful information about anatomy too which makes it a fun way for readers to learn and see what the use of cadavers have offered.
DeleteI agree with this that it talks about how the surgeons operate in the order. I do believe in his a opinion on how they go in some details for the pain the patients went through because they were so low in technology which also causes it to know very little about medicine.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
ReplyDeleteI din't know that the heads of cadavers where use for cosmetic purposes.
Guerra,Yoel
The First Chapter of "Stiff" Really put the book into play, it explains all the gore that was actually done in the 19th century. The title is the most peculiar part of this chapter, "A Head Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" After I read this chapter I saw how much research meant to these surgeons and how much a surgeon wanted to study the human head and see what it contained. Every head lost was almost like losing a race at olympic race, trying to get to the end to see what was there. The first chapter also really catches the reader in this sense because it shows how people took research seriously, I believe Mary Roach really captured this in the first chapter.
ReplyDeleteCadaver research and dissection methods have really come a long way and have offered a lot of useful knowledge. Even though methods of dissection have become less gruesome, there is still a psychological factor that ties in when the procedures are being done. People have better ethics with their research now and they show respect for the bodies but they have to remember that it is just body. It is not a living person anymore so they shouldn't be too emotional about it.
DeleteThe first chapter of Stiff was a brief introduction to cadavers and the history of them. She mentioned that, in the past, cadaver testing was looked down upon. Due to religious views. Because people felt that in order for one to enter the gate ways of Heaven, the body must be untouched and perfect. The brief introduction of history is what actually lured me to continue reading Stiff. Roach is such a vivid writer; when she was describing the scene of how surgeries were done in the centuries, while reading, I felt as if I were actually put in the room with the patient. A very gruesome image.
ReplyDeleteThe dissection of cadavers definitely had a negative connotation and some people thought it was "wrong". Even when the first dissections where done, the procedures where very gruesome. However, with increased research people have more sanitary and ethical ways of doing dissections. This has managed to mend the horrible connotation of cadavers and the research done with them, because something good has come out of it, which includes medical advancements.
DeleteMary Roach begins the book by capturing the reader's attention with her experience of observing the cadaver heads on "roasting trays" comparing them to chickens, and how the anatomy seminar coordinator used "lavender to give a cheery/happy feeling". Right of the bat. this seemed very interesting and funny. After she mentions this grotesque event she goes on to explain that throughout history dissection was not viewed as acceptable, one of the reasons being that people where grossed out by it and thought it was wrong because it was perviously a living human being. However, she later goes on to express her views that the cadavers are just bodies after death and there is no intense emotion towards them as it would be to an actual living human, but she still keeps her respect, as do the doctors who perform the dissections. For example, one doctor put a white cover over the head she dissected after she was done, just out of respect. Too add to this, she mentioned that the bodies where donated from people who willingly said that they would like their cadavers to be used for anatomy research purposes. I really liked this first chapter, it was very interesting, and I liked that the people still had respect for the bodies.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was about how they use cadavers in the present day, and what was done to live people in the 19th century. I never would have thought that cadavers were used for testing surgery. And in the 19th century, the fact that people not only had to cope with the pain of the surgery they wanted, but their bodies were practically massacred, which must have been horrifying. But all in all it was a very interesting chapter.
ReplyDeleteChapter one was a great way to start off the boo. It was mostly about the way cadavers are used in modern day. I would've never thought that they could be so useful throughout the many discoveries of science. it was very interesting and caught my attention. Mary's vivid writing and descriptions make the book even funner to read. I enjoyed it overall & learned a lot from just the first chapter.
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter of the novel, it was interesting to read how the cadavers were used for practice of plastic surgery. I remember that reading just the first page made me stop reading, and put down the book and try to understand what I’ve just read. To be more specific, in the first couple pages, it explains how the plastic surgeons have to practice on several heads, and how surgery was done in the 19th century. This chapter mainly focused on the author’s observation of how cadavers are being used in our world rather than observing the anatomy of the head.
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter of the book gave good descriptions as well as a good introduction to the reader of the topic. This chapter mainly and most importantly dealt with cadavers and how scientist use them for practice. It specialized on how scientist used the heads of these cadavers to practice for plastic surgery procedures. I enjoyed how the author added some of her own humorous commentary in this chapter! Like for example she explained how she was wondering why the heads were cut the way they did. I found it humorous and this chapter really got me interested in reading the rest of the book and finding out more about this topic and the cadavers.
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