Synthetic cadaver “Janis” rises from watery coffin at Tulsa Community College

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Community College is getting a little spooky in the classroom, with their synthetic cadaver “Janis” making her final classroom appearance Oct. 31.

Janis may look a creepy but all those muscles and tendons showing aren’t for the scare factor, they’re for learning.

Janis was purchased through a U.S. Department of Education Carl D. Perkins grant. The synthetic cadaver provides students with hands-on learning for the human muscle system.

Students in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Assistant programs spent Monday studying leg muscles.

“I only bring her out two to three times a semester,” says TCC PTA Professor, Carla Hinkle. “Getting her out more often is labor intensive, but they can get immersed... she’s such a memorable experience.”

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Janis is stored in a watery coffin so that her tissues don’t dry out and crack or disintegrate. Hinkle says while she is out, she is regularly spritzed down.

“I’ve gotten really attached to her... but she’s also a high maintenance girl,” Hinkle laughs.

Tulsa Community College synthetic cadaver pulled from watery coffin

Sadly, this is the last semester for Janis to be used in the classroom as the synthetic cadaver held together by dental floss has been well used and loved by students over the past six years.

The lessons she has taught are hopefully lasting, though. Hinkle says students build a mental map, seeing things they normally wouldn’t on a patient.

“All of the patients that we will see, of course, are covered in skin so you don’t actually get to visualize and see how the muscles are actually attached,” Hinkle says. “So this is priceless for the students to get the hands-on experience.”

“We can see easier which muscles attach and which ones can move the different joints,” TCC Physical Therapy Assistant student Kristen McGuire, explains. “Within the textbook it is harder to see... you can’t feel how thick a muscle is.”

The PTA professor explains it all boils down to better patient care, a win for both students and future patients.