12 The brain-cutting (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
Description
This article is from the Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide FAQ, by Edward O. Uthman uthman@neosoft.com with numerous contributions by others.
12 The brain-cutting (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
Remember the brain? We left it suspended in a big jar of
formalin for a few weeks. After the brain is "fixed," it has
the consistency and firmness of a ripe avocado. Before
fixation, the consistency is not unlike that of three-day-
old refrigerated, uncovered Jello. Infant brains can be much
softer than that before fixation, even as soft as a flan
dessert warmed to room temperature, or worse, custard pie
filling. Such a brain may be difficult or impossible to hold
together and can fall apart as one attempts to remove it
from the cranium.
Assuming good fixation of an adult brain, it is removed from
the formalin and rinsed in a running tap water bath for
several hours to try to cut down on the discomforting, eye-
irritating, possibly carcinogenic formalin vapors. The
cerebrum is severed from the rest of the brain (brainstem
and cerebellum) by the prosector with a scalpel. The
cerebellum is severed from the brainstem, and each is sliced
and laid out on a tray for examination. The cerebrum is
sliced perpendicularly to its long axis and laid out to be
examined. Sections for microscopic processing are taken, as
from the other organs, and a few slices are held in "save
jars." The remainder of the brain slices is incinerated.
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