Forensic Friday: ANATOMY CHALLENGE (Feb. 27, 2026)

A bit of a different take on the typical Forensic Friday.

I am a big believer in knowing anatomy and knowing it well. You may be thinking “Of course, Dr. Wolfe, all doctors must be excellent at anatomy.”

Well, maybe 40-80 years ago this was case but I regret to report that modern doctors and medical students do not have a command of anatomy like previous generations. (and before some of you come at me with pitchforks, I know that many of you are good at anatomy, but I’ve personally noticed a massive falloff in my time teaching medical students, which began in 2004).

Part of this is due to hyperspecialization in fields that require a doctor to only understand the anatomy of their given field. Another explanation is that many medical schools have gone to a system that is quite hands off, relying more on ‘learning on a screen.”

Ah but if there’s one thing I am, it’s old school in my belief that medical professionals should be able to speak the language of anatomy no matter what one’s chosen field is. Hence I am starting the ANATOMY CHALLENGE variety of Forensic Friday in which I will post a photo from a real autopsy and ask the participants to identify certain structures. This is not meant to tease out who knows anatomy and who doesn’t but rather it serves as a review for everyone (including myself. I still have a lot to master, in my own opinion).

Without further delay, I give the first challenge. I do need to warn you, this is a gruesome photo taken at the time of autopsy, and frankly it is not my most beautiful dissection.