Spine surgeon here. It doesn’t actually look like this in the body. What you’re seeing here is a cadaver specimen that has had all of the surrounding tissue cleaned off and what is left has been preserved in formalin. In the body, the spinal cord is much shinier and translucent. The vessels at the top are blue and red, which is definitely not like how they look in the body. Veins are not actually blue, and venous blood isn’t blue in the body before hitting air. I’d love to slap the person who came up with that myth.
Edit—thanks for the awards, everyone! I guess I should probably do real AMA sometime if there’s enough interest!
Also, this is a picture of a cadaver spinal cord from the base of the skull to about C5 (fifth cervical vertebra). Just because so many people are asking.
And the spinal cord only takes up a small part inside of that thing you see in the middle there. Most of what you’re seeing is actually the dura (sheath) covering the spinal cord. The spinal cord kind of sits in the middle of this sheath with a lot of fluid and fat protecting it. Nerves are basically electrical wires and need insulation to protect the electrical signals from going everywhere.
Lastly, veins look blue under light colored skin because skin is translucent and affects the coloring of tissues underneath. Kind of like if your skin stayed in 2014 with all of those crappy Instagram filters that made every color look fake and washed out. They are closer to maroon or dark reddish purple than blue in real life. Blood in veins is dark red. Blood in arteries is bright red. Hope that helps!
Edit 2: on second look, it does appear that the dura is cut open so you are probably looking at the exposed spinal cord here. Hard to tell in a cadaver that has had its structures filled to plump them up. Again, proves that this doesn’t look like what you actually see in the body. Thanks u/porkly1 for pointing this out.
predghostshadow on January 28th, 2022 at 18:25 UTC »
Wtf put it back
Marmite_Badger on January 28th, 2022 at 18:29 UTC »
Neat! I hate it.
drbobbybones on January 28th, 2022 at 21:25 UTC »
Spine surgeon here. It doesn’t actually look like this in the body. What you’re seeing here is a cadaver specimen that has had all of the surrounding tissue cleaned off and what is left has been preserved in formalin. In the body, the spinal cord is much shinier and translucent. The vessels at the top are blue and red, which is definitely not like how they look in the body. Veins are not actually blue, and venous blood isn’t blue in the body before hitting air. I’d love to slap the person who came up with that myth.
Edit—thanks for the awards, everyone! I guess I should probably do real AMA sometime if there’s enough interest!
Also, this is a picture of a cadaver spinal cord from the base of the skull to about C5 (fifth cervical vertebra). Just because so many people are asking.
And the spinal cord only takes up a small part inside of that thing you see in the middle there. Most of what you’re seeing is actually the dura (sheath) covering the spinal cord. The spinal cord kind of sits in the middle of this sheath with a lot of fluid and fat protecting it. Nerves are basically electrical wires and need insulation to protect the electrical signals from going everywhere.
Lastly, veins look blue under light colored skin because skin is translucent and affects the coloring of tissues underneath. Kind of like if your skin stayed in 2014 with all of those crappy Instagram filters that made every color look fake and washed out. They are closer to maroon or dark reddish purple than blue in real life. Blood in veins is dark red. Blood in arteries is bright red. Hope that helps!
Edit 2: on second look, it does appear that the dura is cut open so you are probably looking at the exposed spinal cord here. Hard to tell in a cadaver that has had its structures filled to plump them up. Again, proves that this doesn’t look like what you actually see in the body. Thanks u/porkly1 for pointing this out.