I'm afriad of my Anatomy & Physiology class this 2nd semester......but I want to be a

[MapleOwl18]

As many people noted if you want to be a vet you should practice on dead animals, before moving on to live ones. These animals spirits have already passed on and given your goal of being a vet probably wouldn't mind you learning how to keep their friends healthy.

Plus as to the online dissection, the inside of an animal looks completely different from the sketches. I remember the first time I opened up a frog and it was like ok where the heck is everything, and why is it not the right colors. I think I was expecting a purple liver and pink lungs or something. Plus my frog had eggs in it, that looked like caviar was all inside the body cavity. (sorry if that grossed people out)

Plus I think the formeldide just makes some people sick, if you're susceptible to it. I have friend who starts having trouble breathing when a guy has a heavy cologne on. Follow any of the advice like vix or peppermint oil and you should be fine.

Plus be happy you're in the U.S. and the animals are much more likely to be a) already dead b) humanely killed. I had a friend who came through the Indian medical system, and quite frankly some of those stories, would send chills down your spine.

[ccraib]

I'm sorry, I did read all of what you wrote, I just didn't read all of what everyone else wrote! Im a senior in college and have taken and tutored gross anatomy (with donated humans) so I'm pretty familiar with the smell! I have also done the cat dissection in A&P. Honestly, you really do get used to the smell, believe it or not, by the 3rd week you're saying "what smell." But for those who have a really hard time they do manufacture a sort of "gas mask", that just covers your mouth and nose and ventilates the air.

If you want to be a vet you really should (and will most likely be required to) dissect. You can learn SO much! Gross anatomy was the best class I have ever taken in my entire life! Until you look for something, find it, and touch it, you can't appreciate it. I have seen the online dissections, its just not the same. Dissections teach practitioners of all sorts how the body functions and works - they really give you an appreciation of the art of life (not to be corny!) You will need that practice of finding and knowing where things are that you can only get from doing it, not looking at pictures - So best of luck with the smell for now!

[goldbryant]

I also dissected a cat in A/P in Highschool. In my adult life, one of the careers I had was a massage therapist. We had an opportunity to take a Human Cadaver class. I was anxious like you of first the the smell, but also the impact of seeing a human on the table.

They had tubs of Vicks around the room. I didn't even need it. I was so impressed with and grateful for this amazing opportunity to see and feel what I had studied, After the first few minutes, the smell or the reality that this was someone's mother wasn't a big deal.

I am impressed with your ability to write and communicate your passion, goals, and concerns at such a young age. I think you'll be just fine and the DVM profession will be lucky to have you.

[mommyoffive]

If my physiology college course we had to dissect fetal pigs from pigs who were pregnant when they went to slaughter. It made me sad to see these pigs, but i'm glad we did get to work on them because they were not just thrown out like most fetal pigs, we got to learn from them and it was an interesting day in class.

[jenniwat001]

In the UK we don't dissect animals in high school-just kidneys and hearts from the butcher but when we get to uni (my friend is doing a vet course and she is veggie) the animals they dissect are all put down for medical reasons i.e. they were ill before and were going to be put down anyway...just like when a human dies and donates their body to medical science. If I were you I would ask where the animals come from and why they are dead. If the answer is they killed them just so you could dissect them I would ask if you could see about forming a relationship with a local vets regarding the disposal of their animals. You never know, you could start a trend!