King's College

Chapter 29 - Mission Accomplished.

The presentation of the last dissections of the perineum were made. Professor Ezekiel urged the students to observe other dissections because of the profound differences in male and female anatomy. Getting around the anatomy of a direct versus indirect hernia was a task unto itself, but to anyone going into a surgical subspecialty it would become their bread and butter.

After the first hour, Dr Ezekiel climbed onto the raised podium and spoke into the PA. "Students, please return to your usual stations. We are going to wrap up yet another semester of "Human Anatomy".

The students all returned to their individual tables and turned their attention towards the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I surrender the podium to Mr. Wadsworth, our diener, and most intimately familiar with the cadavers that you have studied."

Mr. Wadsworth, aka "Yellow trousers" stepped up to the microphone. "I don't know if you realize this, but I was fortunate enough to meet some of these people in real life. When a person decides to donate their body to science, we meet with them and orient them to the care that we take with their remains. Most are fine, but we have some that choose to opt out. The dissection is a level of intimacy that they dare not approach. Today, we need to thank these individuals for what they have shared. They have contributed to your future...and hopefully to your excellence as physicians. A few cadavers will be saved for the practical on Friday, but the majority will be cremated very soon, with the remains being given to their families. Let's share a minute of silence in respect to these generous individuals."

There was not a sound during that minute. Afterwards, the sound of wrapping and closing tables was all you heard.

"I bet she made great cakes," Rosemary ventured as they finished their job.

"I think her grandkids will be glad to have her ashes. I wonder if they'll be spread in a garden?" Chris brought the last bit of gauze over the body.

This action was followed by the sound of dissection kits being gathered and the egress of students from the room. A huge laundry bin stood right outside the door where almost every student stripped off their lab coat and discarded it. They were greasy and smelly beyond hope and would never be of use again. Rosemary decided to hang on to her step stool. "I can always use it at home," she said.

There would have been an atmosphere of all out rejoicing had it not been for the Biochemistry final that loomed ahead. Student had their heads immersed in piles of notes. There was a bit of hair twirling and nail biting going on, though the thought of that after anatomy lab was a bit repulsive.

"Congratulations, Mart," Chris told his tall lab partner. "Yes, Martin, congratulations to us all, don't you think?...almost finished with anatomy," echoed Rosemary. "Right, I'm ready to do it all over again," said Martin. They split up for their rooms, planning on lunch and a little break before Biochemistry at 1 pm.

They later reconvened and headed into the lecture hall. Test packets were distributed by Teaching Assistants as they filed into the room. The test began with a 90 minute limit. It was a mixture of multiple guess and text writing. (Sorry about the multiple guess...inside joke.). There were always one or two students that blasted through the paper almost impossibly quickly. They don't recheck. They have no regrets. Even Ellingham couldn't quite figure them out. Not that other students' performances affected what he did, but he always wondered how they performed.

Martin completed his paper to his satisfaction and walked to the stage to turn it in. Ascending the stairs to the exit he spied Montgomery flashing a seductive smile his way. Chris was engrossed in his exam, using every bit of brain power he had. Rosemary held her paper in front of her, in the air, and seemed to be attempting to focus at the questions therein. Martin returned to his apartment at Moonraker Point where he spent the rest of the afternoon working on a nineteenth century Fullerton clock that he'd purchased at an antique store. It had cost £50...not cheap...but Martin enjoyed bringing it back to life as a Fullerton clock was a work of art, to sell or to possess.

As oblivious as he usually was, Martin realized that Parsons had his final "Clinical Medicine" interview that afternoon. He dialed Chris up to see how it had gone, an action totally out of his repertoire. The phone rang. "Hello?" Chris said, picking up the phone. "Parsons, it's me, Ellingham," Martin said. "Wait a minute…..I'll be right back," Chris replied. In the background Martin heard whooping, laughing and banging sounds he couldn't identify.

"Mart, are you still there?" Chris questioned. "I'm here," Martin replied. "I had to hit my head against the wall a few times because I couldn't imagine that you'd be bloody ringing me, mate," Chris replied. "But it is you. What's going on?"

Martin paused. "What did you think of the Biochemistry final?"

"It was a bitch," Chris replied. "But it's over with."

"Erm...how did your patient interview go today? I was just wondering." Martin picked up one of the gears from the clock.

"Well, I'll be damned. Mart, the most amazing thing happened. Sally was my patient." He waited for Martin's response. "Yes, OUR Sally was my patient and it couldn't have gone better. How great was that? It went great. She set up a little glitch, nothing overwhelming, then we finished nice as can be. I'm so glad to have that behind me."

"I wish I did," Martin replied.

"Look, Mart, you've worked really hard. Worrying isn't going to help. I'll call Rosemary and let's meet at "A Taste of India" tomorrow at one o'clock. Good food...absolutely necessary for finals."

"I'm not sure about the hygiene at that restaurant," Martin whined.

"It tastes good...it doesn't make you sick...be there tomorrow at 1 pm. See you then." Chris hung up with a laugh. Martin Ellingham was a piece of work.