Summer in the morgue - Intern spends her summer sawing bodies

Many pre-meds spent their summer slaving away in laboratories, and senior Ariel Berk is no exception. However, while most worked on the micro-scale, examining proteins, enzymes and other molecules, she had the unique opportunity to intern for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), "sawing open dead bodies."

Under the auspices of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the OCME is responsible for investigating all homicides and suspicious deaths in the state of Maryland. In addition to investigating deaths, the OCME is responsible for educating the public about injury prevention and cooperating with research initiatives that support public health.

Although some religions do not permit autopsies, in the instances that the state requires one, family permission is not needed. However, if the autopsy is not being done by the medical examiner (i.e., not unusual circumstances), the family may object and the chief medical examiner will review the case to determine whether or not an autopsy is absolutely necessary.

Although Berk didn't get involved in the legal wranglings of the medical examiner, she did learn a great deal about human anatomy and what it means to be a forensic scientists.

In a typical day, she'd go around with the entire staff of doctors, physicians assistants, fellows, residents and, in the cases of homicides, the police, discussing the medical histories of approximately seven patients.

Then she would clean and undress the bodies. However, extra steps were involved in the cases where homicide was suspected, as she had to take photos of the body from all angles in case the medical examiner were to testify in court or the police were to conduct an investigation.

While the actual autopsies are performed by licensed medical doctors, Berk, along with technicians, could help to saw open the bodies and remove the organs.

Undaunted by this graphic summer job, she watched as "they made y-incisions on the patients chests, then peeled back the chest cavity to take out the organs and ribs."

The heart was examined for dilation and coronary disease, the stomach checked for pills, and drug and tyhroid analysis done in addition to other routine screenings.

Though this differed from Berk's CSI-inspired impression of forensic medicine, she says she'd still "love to go to med school and study forensics."