If you can stomach it, go see human organs

Visitors to the medical building are encouraged to examine the specimens.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A human heart, lungs, stomach, gallbladder and other organs, all preserved in formaldehyde and sealed in plastic bags, fascinated Chris Burke, an 11-year-old fairgoer with aspirations of becoming a veterinarian.
Chris visited the medical building at the Canfield Fair with his grandmother, Marilyn Schmidt, Saturday afternoon.
Chris and his grandmother are both from Canfield.
"He was surprised by how small the appendix is," Schmidt said.
"And that it doesn't do anything," the sixth-grader from Canfield Middle School chimed in.
Chris was also surprised by the size of the gallstones on display, one almost as big around as a quarter.
"He was surprised by the fact that they actually look like stones," his grandmother added.
Not squeamish
Although this was the first time Chris has ever seen and handled real human organs -- visitors to the medical building are encouraged to handle and examine the specimens -- he said he wasn't a bit squeamish.
Having a grandfather and an uncle who are veterinarians prepared him for the experience, he reasoned.
Other fairgoers weren't as eager for an up-close look.
Joann Dobbs of Beloit, who describes herself as an "off-and-on, 40-year smoker," looked at the healthy lung, the cancerous lung and the lung afflicted with emphysema as her sister, Janice Ward, also of Beloit, pointed out what happens to the lungs of smokers.
Visiting the display has become a routine for the two women as Ward tries to inspire her sister to quit lighting up.
"I smoked for 20 years, and then I gave it up. I started again about 15 years ago," Dobbs said. "I don't do it all the time. I'm not a chain smoker. I only smoke at home." Addressing her sister, she said, "I won't have a cigarette all day today."
Ward looked at her sister but didn't say a word.
"Her husband smokes too," Dobbs announced, in an apparent attempt to divert her sister's attention.
Michael Virden, 23, of Beloit, wasn't as interested in looking at the lungs as he was in getting a peek at the healthy liver and the one affected by cirrhosis.
"I drink too much," he explained.
Seeing how alcohol can damage a liver might discourage some drinkers, but Virden said it won't have an impact on his behavior. "It's gonna happen sometime," he shrugged.
People seem to have one of two reactions to the organs, "They either walk way out there where they can't see them and think it's disgusting, or they're really interested," said Dr. Paul Rich, a family practitioner and obstetrician from Liberty.
Staffing the booth
Rich and Dr. Susan G. Kelley, who practices internal medicine in Youngstown, staffed the Mahoning County Medical Board's booth early Saturday afternoon, answering questions about the organs.
"The lungs are always a big attraction, especially with smokers," Rich said.
One on display has a cancerous tumor so large the donor probably didn't have a chance, he said, noting that he'd diagnosed a 47-year-old patient with a cancerous lung tumor about the same size.
Kelley pointed out the differences between the cross section of a healthy heart and one damaged by a heart attack.
When blood flow is blocked in one of the arteries feeding the heart, the portion of the heart without enough nourishment dies, she explained, pointing out the discoloration in a cross section of an unhealthy heart.
Healthy tissue and unhealthy tissue also feel different.
The cross section of the healthy heart is firm but pliable; the unhealthy heart is hard, Kelley said, encouraging onlookers to feel the difference for themselves.
The same is true with lung tissue. The healthy lung, composed of many tiny air sacs, is spongy, Rich said; the lung affected by emphysema doesn't spring back as easily after being compressed.
The organs on display, Rich said, are from Forum Health's Northside Medical Center and have been donated within the past two years.
kubik@vindy.com