05 Opening the trunk (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
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This article is from the Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide FAQ, by Edward O. Uthman uthman@neosoft.com with numerous contributions by others.
05 Opening the trunk (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
The diener takes a large scalpel and makes the incision in
the trunk. This is a Y-shaped incision. The arms of the Y
extend from the front of each shoulder to the bottom end of
the breast bone (called the xiphoid process of the sternum).
In women, these incisions are diverted beneath the breasts,
so the "Y" has curved, rather than straight, arms. The tail
of the Y extends from the xiphoid process to the pubic bone
and typically makes a slight deviation to avoid the
umbilicus (navel). The incision is very deep, extending to
the rib cage on the chest, and completely through the
abdominal wall below that.
With the Y incision made, the next task is to peel the skin,
muscle, and soft tissues off the chest wall. This is done
with a scalpel. When complete, the chest flap is pulled
upward over the patient's face, and the front of the rib
cage and the strap muscles of the front of the neck lie
exposed. Human muscle smells not unlike raw lamb meat in my
opinion. At this point of the autopsy, the smells are
otherwise very faint.
An electric saw or bone cutter (which looks a lot like
curved pruning shears) is used to open the rib cage. One cut
is made up each side of the front of the rib cage, so that
the chest plate, consisting of the sternum and the ribs
which connect to it, are no longer attached to the rest of
the skeleton. The chest plate is pulled back and peeled off
with a little help of the scalpel, which is used to dissect
the adherent soft tissues stuck to the back of the chest
plate. After the chest plate has been removed, the organs of
the chest (heart and lungs) are exposed (the heart is
actually covered by the pericardial sac).
Before disturbing the organs further, the prosector cuts
open the pericardial sac, then the pulmonary artery where it
exits the heart. He sticks his finger into the hole in the
pulmonary artery and feels around for any thromboembolus (a
blood clot which has dislodged from a vein elsewhere in the
body, traveled through the heart to the pulmonary artery,
lodged there, and caused sudden death. This is a common
cause of death in hospitalized patients).
The abdomen is further opened by dissecting the abdominal
muscle away from the bottom of the rib cage and diaphragm.
The flaps of abdominal wall fall off to either side, and the
abdominal organs are now exposed.
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