Dissection Workshop

Date: 10 December 2024

Location: Dissection Room, 2nd Floor The Hodgekin Building, Guy's Campus, King's College, London, SE1 1UL

Course times: 10.00 - 13.00 (meet at 9.45 for a prompt start)

Prerequisite: Any qualified therapist

CPD points: Five (following completion of reflective practice form)

Course content: The dissection workshop is three hours long and takes place at King’s College London, after which we take a break and you are free to enjoy the Gordon Museum. The Gordon Museum is a large, on-site pathology museum with approximately 8,000 specimens and is used by the students studying medicine at Kings College London. The museum is not open to members of the public so this is a fantastic opportunity to explore their pathology collection after your workshop.

The purpose of the dissection workshop is to provide you with an opportunity to see the structures that you massage on a daily basis as a therapist. There is no cutting – all specimens have been prepared for us in advance by the dissection technicians. These are in the form of ‘prosections’ (whole upper or lower limbs or torsos) and ‘pots’ (specimens held in liquid inside glass jars called pots). This is your opportunity to see (and handle if you wish):

• Lower limb (hamstrings)                
• Gastrocnemius (soleus, piriformis, iliacus (pot specimen), Psoas (pot specimen), rectus femoris)
• Iliotibial band
• Sartorious
• Knee joint (both prosections and pot specimens)
• Upper limb (Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Subscapularis, Deltoid, Biceps brachii, Triceps, Teres major, Teres minor)
• Torso (Pectoralis major, Pectoralis minor, Erector spinae, Trapezius)                      
• Real bones and full skeletons are also available. There are also pots containing feet, and shoulders.         

Throughout the workshop, you are encouraged to consider the relevance of the anatomical structures in front of you to your work/training as a therapist.

Handouts are provided and contain blank spaces in which you can write your answers to the questions posed during the day, along with illustrations you could label. Although you do not have to touch the specimens, you are very welcome to touch and handle them should you wish to, and gloves and lab coats are provided for you to wear during the workshop.

You can watch a vlog about the workshop made by a therapist who attended this workshop (there are no unpleasant images): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyXqQQH_cqI&t=1s 

Jane also answers your questions about Dissection Workshops in this video.

FAQs:

• There is no blood. All of the specimens have been specially preserved.
• There is no cutting. We have a large selection of ‘pro-sections’ available, full upper and lower limbs, full torsos, all of which have already been prepared to reveal muscles and soft tissues. There are full-body specimens with heads within the room and these are not on immediate display for obvious reasons. There are many ‘pots’ containing specimens such as knee joints and feet. Some bodies may be at different stages of dissection.
• No one has ever fainted during this workshop.
• You will not be tested on your muscle knowledge! We assume you will have heard of most of the muscles but do not assume you know where they all are. The aim is to help therapists revise musculoskeletal anatomy and if willing, to find these on the specimens provided.
• May I use this workshop as evidence of CPD? Yes, a self-reflective sheet is provided on joining, with questions to help prompt your reflection process
• Please wear closed toe shoes.

Course tutor: Jane Johnson is a physiotherapist with a passion for helping therapists to gain confidence in hands-on techniques. A massage and sports massage therapists for many years, she appreciates the value of touch and thrives on sharing the many tips she has picked up over the years. Jane is the author of six books for therapists: Soft Tissue Release, Therapeutic Stretching, Deep Tissue Massage, Postural Assessment, Postural Correction and The Big Back Book; Tips and Tricks for Therapists. You can contact Jane on her Facebook page, The Friendly Physio. 

Jane's comments on this course: 'No matter how many times I run this workshop I feel immense appreciation towards the people whose kind body donations make this possible for myself and the many therapists whom I have helped to train. I endeavour to support the work of the Dissection Room so that other students and therapists will have the opportunity to see the tissues with which they work. I hope you feel inspired to join me for this unique workshop.'

What to bring:

• Pen

Additional information:

• Lunch and refreshments will not be provided.
• Maximum class number: 20
• Attendee parking is not the responsibility of the FHT, parking and transport is the responsibility of the individual attendee.
• Students booking this course will be contacted directly by the FHT with further joining instructions.
• Embalming fluid can irritate contact lenses so these should not be worn.
• Hats are not permitted within the Dissection Room itself.
• Food and drink (including water) is not permitted within the Dissection Room.
• Mobile phones and cameras are not permitted. These must be switched off and left in the secure area within the Room.
• The workshop is not suitable for attendees who are pregnant.
• All attendees must comply with Human Tissue Act regulations, dissection room staff reserve the right to refuse admission to anyone not adhering to these regulations.
• If this course is not able to run due to insufficient attendee numbers, you will be notified four weeks before the course date. 

Standard prices: Member price £145/ Non-member price £165