Today, Kate and I skinned Semara for the first time; it was also both our first time using a scalpel. The proper way to use the scalpel, was to delicately cut using the tip of the blade; using too much force would have cut through the muscle tissue or even the cat’s internal organs. Kate and I also learned the proper way to remove and apply new blades. At first I was nervous about injuring myself with the scalpel but, within minutes, I quickly picked up the pace and was able to work more efficiently. In order to remove the skin, my lab partner and I had to cut through the connective tissue, which looked like tiny white spider webs. The connective tissue was extremely easy to cut through but, we had to be careful not to remove any muscle tissue while skinning. Luckily, neither I nor my lab partner damaged the muscle tissue or any internal organs.
The main focus of today was to remove the skin from the neck down as well as become comfortable with using a scalpel. Kate started to skin Semara by her neck and I started by the pelvic area. I had to work slower than Kate because it was harder to find the connective tissue due to the difference in Semara’s muscle tissue’s texture and color by her hind legs and pelvic area. The skin began to come off more easily once I had removed a larger section. By the end of class, my lab partner and I had removed all the skin from her chest, abdominal region, and left side of pelvic area. Nothing was significantly wrong was found with Semara. Posted below are a few pictures from today’s work, which show Semara’s skin tissue disconnected from her muscle tissue.
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