What's the name of the chemical used in dissections?

Question

It begins with an F, foremelhaide? I don't know how to spell it properly.

Answer 1

Formalin (embalming fluid), actually. It's a solution of formaldehyde (which is actually a gas) suspended in water. I use this stuff at work all day. And the reason they use it is because it coagulates proteins to preserve them and make them an unsuitable substrate for microorganisms to prevent decomposition. The chemical formula for formaldehyde is HCHO (the water is only a vehicle that keeps it from turning back into a gas). For the purpose of dissection though, I think they replace the water (aqueous solution) with alcohol (tincture solution). Also, just a fun fact, you can neutralize embalming fluid with ammonia which turns it into a harmless gas called urotropin.

Answer 2

Dissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the function and relationships of its components. It may refer also to some spontaneous natural process of dissasembly as in aortic dissection.

Dissection is usually applied to the examination of plants and animals. The term is also used in relation to mechanisms, computer programs, written materials, etc., as a synonym for terms such as reverse engineering or literary deconstruction. Dissection is usually performed by students in courses of biology, botany and anatomy and in association with medical and arts studies.

Vivisection refers to the dissection of a living animal, often for the purposes of physiological investigation. However, in modern parlance the term usually refers to any type of experimentation in which animals are injured, with or without actual dissection.

Dissection is often performed as a part of determining a cause of death in autopsy (on humans) and necropsy (on animals) and is an intrinsic part of forensic medicine, such as would be practiced by a coroner.

The first public human dissection was conducted by Ján Jesenský (1566-1621), the Slovak physician, surgeon, anatomist and the rector of a Charles University in Prague in 1600.

High school students stereotypically dissect frogs in science class, though fetal pigs are often used instead because they are more anatomically similar to humans. As of 2002, only six American states (California, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, Florida, Pennsylvania) had passed laws allowing students to opt out of dissection activity, without academic retribution.

Answer 3

All the judges concur, formaldehyde is the chemical you are inquiring about (it is actually used in the preservation of the specimen though, thought you might like to know that).

Answer 4

formaldehyde

spell check is your friend...I didn't know how to spell it either.

Answer 5

formaldehyde

Answer 6

formaldehyde

Answer 7

formaldahyde