Prosector and physician in a dissection. From "Anathomia", M. da Luzzi, 1459

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology: Dissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the function and relationships of its components. ... Medical school generally refers to a tertiary educational institution (or part of such an institution) which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners (medical doctors). ... A hospital today is an institution for professional health care provided in part by physicians and nurses. ... Greek anatome, from ana-temnein, to cut up), is the branch of biology that deals with the structure and organization of living things; thus there is animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytonomy). ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... Pathology (in ancient Greek pathos = feeling, pain, suffering and logos = discourse or treatise, i. ...

Famous prosectors

• William Bowman
• Paul Langerhans
• Paul Clemens von Baumgarten
• Eduard Kaufmann
• Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
• Josef Hyrtl
• Albert von Kölliker
• Giovanni Battista Morgagni
• Christian Albert Theodor Billroth
• Jan Evangelista Purkinje
• Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke
• Korbinian Brodmann
• Joseph Bernard Dawson
• Rudolph Virchow
• Paul Broca
• Ebert Landau
• Alexis Carrel
• Jean Zuléma Amussat

Sir William Bowman Sir William Bowman (July 20, 1816 - March 29, 1892) was a British surgeon and anatomist. ... Paul Langerhans (1847 - 1888) was a famous German pathologist and biologist. ... Paul Clemens von Baumgarten (born August 28, 1848, Dresden; died 1928, Tubingen) is a German pathologist. ... Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (b. ... Josef Hyrtl (December 7, 1810 — July 17, 1894) was an Austrian anatomist. ... Giovanni Battista Morgagni (February 25, 1682 - December 6, 1771), Italian anatomist, was born on at ForIi. ... Jan Evangelista Purkyně (also written Johannes Evangelists Purkinje,  listen) (1787 - 1869) was a Czech anatomist, patriot, and physiologist. ... Korbinian Brodmann (November 17, 1868 - August 22, 1918) was a German neurologist who became famous for his definition of the cerebral cortex into 52 distinct regions from their cytoarchitectonic (histological) characteristics. ... Dr. R.L.K. Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (October 13, 1821, in Schivelbein, Pomerania - September 5, 1902, in Berlin) was a German doctor, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, and politician. ... Paul Pierre Broca (June 28, 1824 - July 9, 1880) was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist. ... Alexis Carrel (June 28, 1873 - November 5, 1944) was a French surgeon and biologist. ...

Occupational risks

Prosectors for autopsies of diseased cadavers may run a high risk of suffering from health problems when caution is not taken. At least two diseases are named after prosectors: For the former Death Metal band called Autopsy, see Autopsy (band). ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Cadaver is a euphemism for a corpse or body. ...

• Prosector's paronychia: a primary inoculation of tuberculosis of the skin and nails.
• Prosector's wart, a skin lesion tubercle, also caused by contamination with tuberculous material

Contracting infections caused by contaminated cadavers is a constant danger among prosectors, particularly if a skin puncture accident results from the sharp surgical instruments used in this kind of work (about 70% of pathology workers report having at least one percutaneous incident). In this case, thin surgical gloves are not enough to protect. There are many cases of pathologists who died of acute septicemia (blood poisoning) because of this. It has been said that the famous Austrian physician Ignaz Semmelweis died of infection contracted in an autopsy, but this is not true. Presently, AIDS presents a problem. Although it is difficult to contract it by a single puncture incident (estimated to be ca. 0.11% [1] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9828964&query_hl=5)), at least one case has been reported [2] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14575423&query_hl=3) among pathologists, Tuberculous lungs show up on an X-ray image Tuberculosis is an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (miliary TB), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... Model of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system; which is composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ... The word nail has several meanings: In anatomy, a nail is a hard covering to the tip of fingers or toes In engineering, a nail is a metal pin-shaped object used to hold things together This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... A wart is a generally small, rough, cauliflower-like growth, typically on hands and feet. ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). ... Surgeon excising an arrow from a wounded soldier, Stele from Herculaneum, Rome, 1 BC A surgical instrument is a specially designed tool or device for performing specific actions of carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access or viewing it. ... Sepsis (in Greek Σήψις) is a serious medical condition caused by a severe systemic infection leading to a systemic inflammatory response. ... A physician is a person who practices medicine. ... Ignaz Semmelweis on an old Austrian postage stamp Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (originally Ignác Fülöp Semmelweis) (July 1, 1818 - August 13, 1865) was the Hungarian physician who demonstrated that puerperal fever (also known as childbed fever) was contagious and that its incidence could be drastically reduced by enforcing... The Red Ribbon symbol is used internationally to represent the fight against AIDS. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, rarely written Aids) is a disease characterized by the destruction of the human immune system. ...

The continuous respiratory exposure for formaldehyde, used to preserve cadavers, is also an occupational risk of prosectors as well as anatomists and pathologists. Inhaled formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing. Formaldehyde is listed as a potential human carcinogen. The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known by IUPAC nomenclature as methanal), is a gas with a strong pungent smell. ... A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play). ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ...