Prosector

Prosector

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology.

Occupational risks

Prosectors for autopsies of diseased cadavers may 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 tuberculosis of the skin and nails.
* Prosector's wart, a skin lesion, also caused by contamination with tuberculous material

Contracting infections caused by contaminated cadavers is a constant danger among prosectors, particularly if a skin puncture accident results from the sharp surgical instruments used in this kind of work (about 70% of pathology workers report having at least one percutaneous incident). In this case, thin surgical gloves are not enough to protect. There are many cases of pathologists who died of acute septicemia (blood poisoning) because of this. Another example, a 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, AIDS presents 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% [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9828964&query_hl=5] ), at least one case has been reported [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14575423&query_hl=3] 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.

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
* Niels Ryberg Finsen
* Alessandra Giliani
* Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle
* Josef Hyrtl
* Eduard Kaufmann
* Albert von Kölliker
* Eber Landau
* Paul Langerhans
* Giovanni Battista Morgagni
* Jan Evangelista Purkinje
* Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher
* Rudolph Virchow


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  • prosector — PROSECTÓR, prosectori, s.m. (med.) 1. Persoană specializată în efectuarea disecţiilor şi a autopsiilor. 2. Persoană însărcinată să prepare piesele anatomice necesare la cursul unui profesor la facultatea de medicină. [acc. şi: proséctor] – Din… …   Dicționar Român

  • Prosector — Pro*sec tor, n. [L., an anatomist, from prosecare to cut up; pro before + secare to cut.] One who makes dissections for anatomical illustration; usually, the assistant of a professional anatomist. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prosector — (v. lat.), 1) Vorschneider; 2) Zergliederer; 3) bes. in anatomischen Lehranstalten der dem Lehrer zugegebene Gebnise, welcher die Cadaver zur Demonstration zubereitet u. die anatomischen Präparate für den Unterricht, od. zur Bereicherung des… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Prosector — (lat., Vorschneider), bei anatomischen Anstalten der Gehilfe, der die zu den Vorlesungen nöthigen anatomischen Präparate besorgt …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • prosector — Persona que, bajo la supervisión de un anatomopatólogo, lleva a cabo disecciones macroscópicas y prepara muestras de autopsia para el estudio anatomopatológico. Diccionario Mosby Medicina, Enfermería y Ciencias de la Salud, Ediciones Hancourt,… …   Diccionario médico

  • prosector — [prō sek′tər] n. [LL(Ec), anatomist < L prosectus, pp. of prosecare, to cut up < pro , before + secare, to cut: see SAW1] a person skilled in dissection who prepares subjects for anatomical demonstration …   English World dictionary

  • prosector — noun Etymology: probably from French prosecteur, from Late Latin prosector anatomist, from Latin prosecare to cut away, from pro forth + secare to cut more at pro , saw Date: circa 1857 a person who makes dissections for anatomic demonstrations …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Prosector's wart — Infobox Disease Name = PAGENAME Caption = DiseasesDB = ICD10 = ICD9 = ICD9|017.0 ICDO = OMIM = MedlinePlus = eMedicineSubj = eMedicineTopic = MeshID = Prosector s wart or tuberculosis verrucosa cutis (TVC), is a rash of small, red papular nodules …   Wikipedia

  • prosector — prosectorial /proh sek tawr ee euhl, tohr /, adj. prosectorship, n. /proh sek teuhr/, n. 1. a person who dissects cadavers for the illustration of anatomical lectures or the like. 2. a person who performs autopsies to establish the cause of death …   Universalium

  • prosector — noun A person who prepares a body for dissection by students, or dissects them as demonstrations …   Wiktionary

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