Our Cadaver

The cold Chicago air breezes in through the singular window in Cadaver Lab B. The overpowering smells of formaldehyde and bright fluorescent lights would be replaced with the chatter of excited medical students dropping their tools after everyone became familiar with their assigned cadavers. Dr. Nash walked around, excited to see the attentive students, and told them that this cadaver was to be treated like their first patient. Caroline Zachry along with three other male students she refers to as the three W's stare down at their cadaver. The tag is labeled J.B., male, 68, and like most people, Zachry had never seen a naked dead body.

Determined to make her second semester of medical school successful, after a few late nights, sleep-deprived Zachry swears she saw J.B.'s finger move into a thumbs up after she answered Dr. Nash's surprise question correctly. Brushing it off as an overworked medical student, Zachry tries to push through the semester battling memorization, sexism, a fight for ethics, and unlikely friendships.

This latest novella by Elizabeth Toman was the winner of the University of Indianapolis's student-run Etching's Press novella prize. Elizabeth Toman writes short fiction and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in CALYX, Halfway Down the Stairs, Emerge, and elsewhere. She works as a primary care physician in New Mexico.