Prosector

Image:Prosector anathomia mondino da luzzi 1495.gif A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissectionfor demonstration, usually in medical schoolsor hospitals. Many important anatomistsbegan their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomyand pathology.

Famous prosectors

• Jean Zuléma Amussat
• Paul Clemens von Baumgarten
• Christian Albert Theodor Billroth
• William Bowman
• Paul Broca
• Korbinian Brodmann
• Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke
• Alexis Carrel
• Joseph Bernard Dawson
• Niels Ryberg Finsen
• Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
• Josef Hyrtl
• Eduard Kaufmann
• Albert von Kölliker
• Ebert Landau
• Paul Langerhans
• Giovanni Battista Morgagni
• Jan Evangelista Purkinje
• Rudolph Virchow

Occupational risks

Prosectors for autopsiesof diseasedcadaversmay run a high risk of suffering from health problems when caution is not taken. At least two diseases are named after prosectors:

• Prosector's paronychia: a primary inoculation of tuberculosisof the skinand nails.
• Prosector's wart, a skin lesion, also caused by contamination with tuberculous material

Contracting infectionscaused by contaminated cadavers is a constant danger among prosectors, particularly if a skin puncture accident results from the sharp surgical instrumentsused in this kind of work (about 70% of pathology workers report having at least one percutaneous incident). In this case, thin surgical glovesare not enough to protect. There are many cases of pathologists who died of acute septicemia(blood poisoning) because of this. It has been said that the famous Austrian physicianIgnaz Semmelweisdied of infection contracted in an autopsy, but this is not true. Another famous historical case is that of Dr. Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow, an Austrian physician, pathologist and physiologist, who infected his finger during an autopsy and became dependent on morphine, due to the pain; and, later, on cocaine, by instigation of his friend, Sigmund Freud.

Presently, AIDSpresents a problem. Although it is difficult to contract it by a single puncture incident (the overall personal risk has been estimated to be 0.11% [1]), at least one case has been reported [2]among pathologists.

The continuous respiratory exposure to formaldehyde, used to preserve cadavers, is also an occupational risk of prosectors as well as medical students, anatomists and pathologists. Inhaled formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing. Formaldehyde is listed as a potential human carcinogen.

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosector Wikipedia article Prosector.