Though one of the most important steps in an autopsy or necropsy, removal and emptying of the gastrointestinal tract is also one of the most unpleasant steps. I’ve done this for calves who had only been fed milk, which is smelly but tolerable, and for full-grown cows, which is far less stinky and gag-inducing than a human or carnivore. Full-grown cows are actually better than doing calf intestines, so long as they don’t have much protein in their diet that bypasses the rumen. Both cows and calves are better than people, as plant matter is much more tolerable to the nose (and eyes) than the digestive products that come from flesh foods and from the breakdown process in the human tract. TMI for someone who doesn’t want to do that for a living? Probably. But it’s something that has to get done in the world. It’s a dirty job. Not a bad one, though. Postmortem Examinations: Methods and Technique. John Caven, 1900.

Though one of the most important steps in an autopsy or necropsy, removal and emptying of the gastrointestinal tract is also one of the most unpleasant steps.

I’ve done this for calves who had only been fed milk, which is smelly but tolerable, and for full-grown cows, which is far less stinky and gag-inducing than a human or carnivore. Full-grown cows are actually better than doing calf intestines, so long as they don’t have much protein in their diet that bypasses the rumen. Both cows and calves are better than people, as plant matter is much more tolerable to the nose (and eyes) than the digestive products that come from flesh foods and from the breakdown process in the human tract.

TMI for someone who doesn’t want to do that for a living? Probably. But it’s something that has to get done in the world. It’s a dirty job. Not a bad one, though.

Postmortem Examinations: Methods and Technique. John Caven, 1900.