I have been looking forward to this day for a long time: the last session! Even though I knew we would be dissecting a gerbil today, I could only think “it’s the last time and in 2 hours I’ll be done.” As you already guessed, today’s focus was on mammals, represented by gerbils.

The gerbils came from the university’s laboratory breeding program. They are the “older” specimens that were no longer fit for making babies.

There were too many specimens again this time... I just have ask myself whether a few more animals could have been spared*. Again, a few people had to do dissections who really didn’t want to. Like my dissection partner and me. We didn’t want to dissect a gerbil.

When we cut open the abdomen, a horrible smell came out that made everything almost unbearable. One of the student assistants said we shouldn’t be so sensitive...

I think that each person is different and if you don’t want to do it but still have to because there are too many gerbils, then it’s perfectly ok to be sensitive.

In general, I found this course interesting and educational, but on the other hand I would have been more comfortable if we had dissected only a few animals in groups like with the frogs.

Adeline, 1st semester, Biology

*Editor’s note: In the dissection course, the students are given the old and sick animals from the university’s own breeding program. Because of their illnesses, the animals would have been euthanized even without the dissection course.