Underneath the White Tent

Mood: Mediocre

Music: Okay Go - "What to Do"

Medicine: Clinical Foundations (practicing the full physical exam)

Today, a few family members of the people that donated their bodies to the anatomy lab came to class to talk with us about their experiences with having their loved ones donate. It was unique, because we had the opportunity to hear about who these people were in life. Turns out that in life they were extraordinary, giving, selfless people. Even in death, they wanted to somehow give. Aside from donating your organs (if you're young and healthy), I can't think of a single more fantastic act of kindness that you can do for another person after you pass on. Those people gave us the chance to explore anatomy, to understand it in great detail, to feel it, to live it. For that, both my classmates and I are deeply indebted. Seriously.

One of my classmates, Samantha Costantini, wrote an absolutely beautiful poem, which I feel compelled to share. It captures the experience of anatomy so eloquently. Hope you enjoy it, and are moved to laughter, respect, and awe as much as we all were through the experience.


(note: at the risk of diminishing the mysticism, I feel it may be important to note that the "white tent" represents the sheet that covers each cadaver, which rises up with each curve of the body)

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Underneath the White Tent

Underneath the white tent lies a land 

That I must explore and document 

This is a traditional world

Where respect still stands

And I pause before each journey

Thankful for the honor of exploration

Most countries here are identified

By beautifully colored maps

Though the hue of the land

Has changed greatly

Since Mr. Netter’s visit

I still squint over his account 

Of quests long ended

Here, my compass is reversed,

My right, the left of the land

But north always points 

To an ominously wrapped monarch

Who once ruled this kingdom

But has long since lost his crown

I have comrades with me on this quest

Timid at first

Now bold as the sciatic nerve

All with an impossible amount of knowledge

About this once foreign terrain

We stop along the way 

To pick for gold and sapphires 

Among the caves of adipose

A nerve here, a vessel there

What joy there is in successful mining!

Sometimes we even pound a chisel 

In the search 

For grey-matter butterflies

While it may not be as glamorous 

As wielding a net through a field

The results are just as mesmerizing

There lies a labyrinth in the middle 

It may look complicated 

But there’s only one way out 

And though I much prefer the entrance 

To the posterior exit

I have spent ample time in both

But this quiet countryside

Represents a more rhythmic one waiting

Though the risks will be much higher

And the explorations much more delicate

Though the rivers and streams

Will flow in my future patients

And the grey hillsides replaced 

By a vibrant red

Though the mountains and valleys 

Will be bathed in warmth

And the drum of the heart 

Will audibly announce my arrival 

As the tide of the lungs 

Rolls in and back out again 

Though my travels will take me

To these different, living lands

I won’t soon be forgetting my journey 

Underneath the white tent

-Samantha Costantini

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"Mediocre people do exceptional things all the time"


P.S. To clarify, my song quote is not referring to Sam. She is extraordinary :)