Gross Anatomy

Joseph Slovak.

All right if I call you Joseph?

You can call me Joe.

But if you want to call me Joseph,

that's okay, too.

Good scores on your M-CAT's.

You're 26, not fresh out of college.

That's good.

Tell me, Joe or Joseph,

why do you want to be a doctor?

That's easy.

I want to help people.

Your father's a fisherman.

In other words, he catches fish.

Yeah.

What kind of fish?

Mackerel.

Mackerel.

If you were forced to pick a specialty,

at this very moment, what would it be?

Gynecology.

Let's imagine that you're not Joe Slovak,

but you're one of his college professors.

You've come here to convince me...

to accept Joe into this program.

What do you have to say on Joe's behalf?

Joe is the most brilliant student...

I've ever had the opportunity to teach.

I really didn't teach Joe anything.

He taught me everything I know.

Come on, Joe.

You can be honest with me.

Why do you want to be a doctor?

Well, I uh,

I want to make lots of money.

Ah.

Not that one, the next one.

Ow!

You all right, Joey?

Yeah.

Hey!

Joe!

Did you run all the way? Yeah.

It'll only go so far!

Hey, ma.

What are you doing down here?

Aunt Rose.

You guys ought to go for a walk or something.

Ask him.

Pop, I'm gonna go down to Breakwater's...

And get some hydraulic fluid for that pump.

What?

What's the matter?

What?

You've never seen a medical student before?

What have you got in here?

Hi.

Hi.

I gave you that side of the room, if that's okay.

Yeah,

sure.

This side's great.

We've got some wild neighbors.

Yeah.

I just had to finish that chapter.

I'm David Schreiner.

You must be Joe Slovak.

How'd you know?

I checked the list this morning.

Have you bought any dissecting equipment?

Nope. I just got here.

It really helps if people in the same group --

if people in the same group share equipment.

We could share the cost of dissecting manuals.

I'd like to get organized as soon as possible.

That's my stuff there.

There's an empty closet for you.

That one.

When I filled out my housing application,

I asked for a roommate who was quiet,

serious, and neat.

How did you describe yourself?

I lied.

Welcome to medical school.

Many of you have only been here a day or so.

I'm glad you found your way here.

My name is doctor Rachel Woodruff --

My name is doctor Rachel Woodruff.

In the next 8 months,

you'll be required to memorize...

6,000 anatomical structures,

read 25,000 pages of text,

attend 200 lectures,

and pass or fail 40 examinations.

If you fail a class, you have to repeat it.

If you fail two,

you have to repeat the entire term.

If you fail three,

let's just say...

You probably don't belong here anyway.

Along with my duties as associate Dean of students,

I also teach gross human anatomy,

the one thing you've dreaded...

From the moment you made the decision to come here.

Nonetheless, it is the centerpiece...

Of your first year of medical school;

the systematic dissection of the human cadaver.

This woman, here,

died in our university hospital...

Just a few nights ago.

It's a very difficult thing...

to face death,

but that's what doctors have to do...

Their entire careers.

Your first year of medical school...

is a daily, hands-on exploration of it.

It's not easy.

It's, uh,

certainly not pleasant.

And there's absolutely no reason for you to do it...

Unless you want, more than anything,

to be a physician.

So if you're not completely sure of that,

I urge you to get up...

and walk out of this room right now.

Good.

I can assume you're committed.

I will help you,

those of you who should be doctors,

in any way I can.

By the way,

the profession you've just dedicated yourselves to...

carries the highest rates of alcoholism, drug addiction,

divorce, and suicide.

Welcome! Come in.

Come in!

Come on, come in!

Come in, come in.

Come in.

You should all know your table assignments.

If you don't,

there's a list posted over the sink.

There's no rush.

Your cadavers will wait patiently for you.

I promise.

Come in.

We're table 17.

No, we're 10.

I switched with 2 guys yesterday.

17 was a woman.

I told them my mother died and I couldn't dissect a woman.

Why did we switch?

Hi.

Thanks for letting us join your group.

Sorry to hear about your mother. Thanks.

It came as a real shock to all of us.

Joe Slovak.

Laurie Rorbach.

Kim McCauley.

Miles Reed.

Lovely tie. Very nice.

Quiet.

Quiet please!

My name is...

Dr. Geoffrey Banumbra.

This is gross...

Human anatomy, people.

It is the cutting of big parts...

into little parts.

Three things to take note of...

before you begin.

One, the head and hands...

will remain wrapped...

Until we dissect them next term.

Two,

there's a container at each table...

for anatomical debris.

Use it.

I don't want to see pieces of tissue and skin...

on this floor.

Three,

keep your cadavers moist.

If they dry up,

they are useless.

Remember,

use a delicate touch.

You all know Dr. Rachel Woodruff.

Work together, people.

By the end of this week,

I want to see every one of these groups working as a team.

You will all be issued keys.

You can work here at night, at your convenience.

This is a privilege.

If you abuse it, there will be severe consequences.

I know.

Sorry about the smell.

It's the formaldehyde in the embalming fluid,

and there's nothing we can do about it.

So get used to it, folks.

The smell will soon be on everything you own.