Editorial Review:

With humor, compassion, and wisdom, Howard Carter recounts the semester he spent watching first-year medical students in a human anatomy lab. From the tentative early incisions of the back, the symbolic weight of extracting the heart, and by the end, the curious mappings of the brain, we embark on a path that is at once frightening, awesome, and finally redemptive.

Many of us have heard stories about ghoulish medical students and the pranks they play using arms, heads, or other parts "borrowed" from the cadavers in their anatomy labs. Like most urban legends, these stories are both compelling and untrue, telling us more about how we imagine the world to be than how it really is. First Cut contains the observations of a humanities professor allowed to watch medical students struggle with the challenges presented by their first anatomy class. Carter tracks, and mirrors, the students' progress from initial nervous joking and unwillingness to touch the bodies to familiarity and respect for their "silent instructors," culminating in an end-of-term Service of Reflection and Gratitude.

As he sees changes "in personal feelings about death, touching, and the wonderfully complex activities of the human body" in the young men and women, he also puts to rest the memory of his father, who had donated his body for medical study. Pacing the story are three inspired essays on the nature of medical education and thirty beautiful and absorbing Renaissance anatomical illustrations. First Cut, far from being a sensationalistic account of young doctors run amok, is perfect for anyone who is interested in understanding medicine and its practitioners. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

hummm:

A little too flowery for my taste and not very scientific. Then again what did I expect !!! Easy pros however if you want to learn about anatomy, get an anatomy atlas !!

a great relief and a great read:

In the fall I will begin my first semester as a medical school student. I find the prospect of gross anatomy terrifying, and this book did an excellent job of lessening my anxiety towards the course and towards the ordeal that is medical school itself.

Wonderful Glimpse Into the 1st Year of Med School!:

As a premedical student, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of work...It examines the physical and emotional aspects of a first year med student quite well. A must-read for anyone contemplating a career in medicine.

Well written and insightful account of a unique experience:

The author provides the reader with an opportunity to experience something unique and different -- human dissection.For those involved in medical education, the dissectioin experience is portrayed in a sensitive, insightful and accurate manner. The author's essays and illustrations of the dissections by Versalius provides a sensory of history and meaning that any health propfessions student about to take gross anatomy would find fscinating. This book is must reading for any first year medical student and... more info

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