Dooley Noted: 12/6/2015
For the last three months, I’ve spent exorbitant time in the laboratory. Of all the fascinating things I get to share with students, by far one of the most amazing is a pelvic hemisection.
Since it’s not a typical surgery, it may be the only time the students get to partake in such an enormously educational event. i assisted them as they cut through the pubic symphysis, the anterior joint that holds the pelvis this together. Then I watched as they arduously cut through the sacrum and lumbar spine.
I watched as they visualized all pelvic organs cut in a near-perfect center, so they could better visualize the relationships in the sagittal plane.
As we completed the difficult cuts, I watched their fascination grow as I felt the rebirth of my own wonder.
The hemisectiion always gets me thinking about the halves of us as humans.
We have a left brain and right brain that can function virtually independent of one another.
We have asymmetrical parts that were never destined nor programmed for symmetry.
And we have other parts of us that are so perfectly symmetrical that you’d never be able to tell left from right if you weren’t given directions.
It made me appreciate the parts of me that battle back and forth for their right to express dominance.
And it made me appreciate the times when everything feels in sync and balanced with my atmosphere.
If you get a chance to see a pelvic hemisectiion in a laboratory, jump on the opportunity. You’ll be fascinated.
Until then, you can study and contemplate the parts of you that are perfectly symmetrical and asymmetrical.
Know that you are a true anatomical wonder.
Let this truth fuel your wonder to learn more about how we work.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
