At the end of their unit on the digestive system, students in anatomy got the opportunity to dissect minks on Tuesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 2. The students were instructed to cut open the mink’s stomach, so they could examine the internal organs like the liver, kidneys and intestines.

Many of the students felt uneasy about dissecting the minks, but others saw it as an interesting learning experience.

“I just thought it was interesting. It was disgusting at first, but it was cool,” junior Keila Gillispie said. “We got to see the parts of the body, and it was easier to know where everything was.”

Over two class periods, students carefully studied the organs of the minks, by removing the large intestine, cutting the kidney in half, and distinguishing specific parts of the body.

“[The funniest part was when] we took the intestines out, and we squeezed out all of the poop. It was terrible but it was funny,” Gillispie said. “My least favorite part was cutting open the stomach, because of all the food that was in there. It was disgusting and it smelled terrible.”