Anatomy & Physiology Dissection Vocab

Question 1

Probe

Answer 1

excellent blunt dissection tool to be used for investigation of a new region along with your fingers
- a probe is designed to tear connective tissue and allow the user to feel nerves and vessels before they are damaged
- with practice, the probe can become a primary dissection instrument to isolate and clean delicate structures

Question 2

Forceps

Answer 2

used to lift and hold vessels, nerves, and other structures while blunt dissecting with a probe
- two pairs of forceps needed for dissection
- one pair should have tips that are blunt and rounded and the gripping surfaces should be corrugated
- second pair should have teeth for gripping tissue

Question 3

Scalpel

Answer 3

primarily used as a skinning tool
- not recommended for general dissection because they cut small structures without allowing you to feel them
- scalpel handle should be made of metal
- should be held in a grip similar to holding a pencil
- sharp blade must be used at all times for most effective implementation

Question 4

Scissors

Answer 4

useful in cutting, blunt dissection, and transection
- two pairs of scissors are recommended:
a. heavy pair of dissecting scissors
b. small pair of scissors with two sharp points for the dissection of delicate structures

Question 5

Hemostat

Answer 5

powerful grasping tool that is helpful in skin removal.
- advantage of hemostats is the ability to lock the grip on the slippery surfaces such as skin to facilitate reflection or removal of tissue
- it crushes delicate structures
- cannot be repositioned quickly like forceps can, so slower process

Question 6

Dissect

Answer 6

“to cut apart”
- in our manual, dissect is to tear apart or separate
- recommended dissection is blunt

Question 7

Blunt Dissection

Answer 7

to separate structures with your fingers, a probe, or scissors by tearing (not cutting) connective tissue

Question 8

Scissors Technique

Answer 8

a method of blunt dissection in which the tips of a closed pair of scissors are inserted into connective tissue and then opened, tearing the connective tissue with the back edge of the tips
- effective way to dissect vessels and nerves

Question 9

Sharp Dissection

Answer 9

to dissect by use of a scalpel or the cutting edge of the scissors

Question 10

Clean

Answer 10

to remove fat and connective tissue, by means of blunt dissection (preferred) or sharp dissection, to expose the surface of an anatomical structure for study

Question 11

Clean surface of a muscle

Answer 11

to remove all fat and connective tissue so that muscle fascicles become obvious and the direction of force can be understood

Question 12

Clean the border of a muscle

Answer 12

to define the border of a muscle with blunt dissection by breaking the loose connective tissue that binds the muscle to surrounding structures

Question 13

Clean a nerve

Answer 13

to use a probe (or scissors technique) to strip the connective tissue around the nerve for purposes of observing its relationship and branches

Question 14

Clean a vessel

Answer 14

to use a probe (or scissors technique) to strip the fat and connective tissue off the surface of a vessel, or its branches, to illustrate its relationships

Question 15

Define

Answer 15

to use blunt dissection to enhance a structure to better illustrate its relationships. Defining a structure usually involves bluntly dissecting the loose connective tissue away from it

Question 16

Retract

Answer 16

to pull a structure to one side to visualize another structure that lies more deeply. Retraction is a temporary displacement and is not intended to harm the retracted structure

Question 17

Transect

Answer 17

to cut a structure in two in the transverse plane, as in transection of a muscle belly or tendon

Question 18

Reflect

Answer 18

to fold back from a cut edge, as in folding back a transected muscle to view what is beneath it. the reflected tissue should remain attached to the specimenS

Question 19

Strip a Vein

Answer 19

to remove a vein and its tributaries from the dissection field so that the artery and related structures can be seen more clearly.
- veins are stripped either by blunt dissection using a probe or carefully with scissors using a combo of blunt and sharp dissection techniques

Question 20

Sagittal Planes

Answer 20

course vertically through the body and divide the body into right and left halves
- often sagittal planes are given a specific point of reference to assist physicians in identification of structures correlating to that point, such as sagittal plane passing midway through the clavicle

Question 21

Median Plane (mid-sagittal plane)

Answer 21

the sagittal plane that lies in the midline of the body cutting vertically through the axis to divide the body cutting vertically through the axis to divide the body into “equal” right and left halves.
- medial is a term used to describe structures closer to the median plane, and lateral is a term used to describe structures further from the median plane

Question 22

Frontal (coronal) planes

Answer 22

course vertically through the body at a right angle to the median plane and divide the body into anterior/ventral (the portion of body in front of the plane) and posterior/dorsal (portion of the body behind the plane) parts

Question 23

Transverse (horizontal, axial, transaxial) PLane

Answer 23

course horizontally through the body at right angles to both the frontal and sagittal planes and divide the body into superior (portion above the plane) and inferior (portion below the plane) parts

Question 24

Daily Dissection Routine

Answer 24

1. Prepare the lab
2. Watch the corresponding dissection videos
3. Use a good atlas
4. Palpate bony landmarks
5. Remove fat, connective tissue, and smaller veins
6. Review the completed dissection
7. Complete each dissection before proceeding to the next