Regarding snot and sex

[mamagotcha]

A few weeks ago, after I volunteered at the opening day of the Bodies: Revealed exhibit here at Union Station, I mentioned to the volunteer coordinator that I'd had some experience as a doula and might be someone who could help out inside the exhibit (I had been stationed at an information desk... "Where's the bathroom?" was about the most challenging question I got). Union Station has been asking for volunteers from the medical community to wander around and answer guests' questions (mostly med students and nurses have shown up), and while I'm certainly not a medical student or nurse, I've been around enough pregnant women and babies to pick up a thing or two.

So when I arrived today, I found that I'd been assigned to the Fetal Room, which turned out to be even cooler than I thought. I was given a white lab coat embroidered with the exhibition's logo, and sent down to interact with the masses.

It seems that this room is a bit controversial. None of the display embryos and fetuses were the results of abortions, but the topic certainly came up several times. While the producers claim to have documentation that all the bodies were knowingly donated to science for display and education, obviously these babies never had the opportunity to make that decision. And babies stir us at a very basic level; people would linger over these displays much longer than some others.

The centerpiece of the room is a young woman's cadaver with a 4-month-old male fetus, opened and exposed for view. Far and away the most popular question was "What happened to her?" Unfortunately, I had no idea. A few nurses and I speculated... the mother was tiny (maybe 5 feet, max), with not a spare ounce of fat on her. There were no signs of trauma; skull and ribcage were intact, long bones and muscles looked fine. Perhaps she had a quick, unexpected death: broken neck, stroke?

(Actually, none of the bodies on display showed much adipose tissue at all; one woman expressed disappointment, saying that we were treated to the results of long-term smoking and other diseases, but not any obesity consequence displays. She's right; with the US obesity epidemic, this exhibit really lost an excellent opportunity to affect and educate a lot of people. But perhaps there just aren't many obese Chinese who are willing to donate their bodies to science.)

You could see, if you were at the right angle, that the fetus inside the woman was a male. A lot of people really seemed to enjoy making that discovery; that it wasn't spelled out for them, that they could explore and find something out like that all on their own. If I were doing an exhibit like this, I'd try to have more "aha" moments like that... I'm sure it will stay with them a long time.

Some of the other questions that were asked several times:
"When do women have abortions? What's the law?"
"Where did these bodies come from?"
"What makes a small intestine have more surface area?" (That one was part of a school "scavenger hunt"-type packet some kids had to fill out... I think this display was missing, hence the frequency of the question. I answered it about five times, and I know other docents did, too)
"What is that thing?" while pointing at a part of a cadaver (answers included round ligament, gall bladder, placenta, sternum, and clitoris)

The only question I had to guess at was "How much blood does a human have in the first place?" (regarding a sign that said a woman produces up to 30% more blood during her pregnancy. I guessed about two quarts, but referred the guest to the circulatory section for confirmation. It turns out the answer is about 7% of a body's weight, and blood is slightly heavier than water, which is about a pint per pound... or a little over ten pints for a 150 lb. person, so I wasn't too far off)

My favorites:
"Why does the body produce snot?" (Lord only knows why this came up in the fetal room)
"What's bigger, a sperm cell or a chromosome?" (sort of understandable; the guest was reading a sign that said a sperm cell was the smallest cell in the human body. I said that a sperm cell had to carry a pile of chromosomes with him; if he was smaller, he'd have to rent a U-haul)
"Where's the tattoo guy/soccer guy?" (The tattoo guy is part of a different exhibition; the soccer guy, who is on all the promotional material for this exhibit, is held up on a train in Russia somewhere... along with another chunk of this exhibit. When I found out that this exhibit wasn't complete, I was surprised... we paid full price for Clay, Bill and Julia to go through. I think they should allow previous ticket purchasers to have a second go at the exhibition once the rest of the displays arrive)

(I think some of the fetal exhibit was missing, too; the sign just before this room said that some of the displays included birth defects, but there were none that I saw. There was definitely a lot of empty space in there, too... there could easily be one or two more pieces installed.)

"During sex, where exactly does the penis go?" (the display of the female reproductive system was quite shrunken... it made the vagina look about two inches long and maybe wide enough for a Sharpie. The asker was a punky-looking young teen girl accompanied by her Mohawked boyfriend... at first I thought maybe they were just being funny, but she was looking me in the eye and seemed earnest. So I answered her seriously, and we wound up having a great discussion on anatomy and sex, with many more questions from both of them.)

The whole three hours and babysitting exchange and aching feet were worth it just for those two kids, actually. I really feel like I was able to create and support an trusting atmosphere where they felt free to ask things that had been on their minds, and dispel a few myths, and maybe give them enough knowledge to help them avoid problems down the road.

So, yeah. I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Comments

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Did you get assigned anywhere near that smoking-hot medical student? I'd've volunteered just for him.

Apparently the one with all the artsy cadavers left San Jose in January, damn it. Jeanette said she would have taken me if she thought I'd be interested. Why does everyone think I'd be grossed out by dead folks?

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

My smokin'-hot med student was a she, so probably not the same one as yours.

Hey, *I* said I thought you'd be into it!

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

Have you ever seen the MRI pictures of het sex?

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I'd seen photos from the study, but never an explanation like that... thanks!

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

That sounds so awesome! I love the U-Haul answer. :D

[lorraine-inwash.livejournal.com]

you have certainly found some interesting events and activities. This is the sort of thing I would like to see but cannot manage a visit right now.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

wow, what a cool day.
Good for you.

[jinxleah.livejournal.com]

I remember a friend of mine calling me long-distance from her honeymoon in New Orleans, back in the days before cellphones. She called to ask me how one has sex. I was a split second away from laughing when I figured out that she was serious, neither she nor her husband knew. I was shocked! Mainly because she and her husband were both in their mid-20's at the time and had been living together for at least two years before they got married, and sleeping in the same bed.

So I sat there and uhm'd and hmm'd for a bit while I figured out the best way to tell her over the phone so that she would understand, and cause the least amount of embarrassment to her. Finally, I came up with "Tab A fits into slot A, repeat as necessary. Anything after that is up to you. Sometimes tab A fits into slot B, but that's extra credit and requires lots of preparation." She actually understood it! I could hear the light bulb click on over her head.

I still feel honored that she called me. And grateful that I realized that she was serious before I could snicker or guffaw!

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Good save!

[cheesepuppet.livejournal.com]

That sounds like so much fun! I'd have loved that. It would be fun to see how much of my anatomy I remember (probably not much, heh).