Remove the calvarium and an occipital wedge in preparation for removing the brain.
- Start with the cadaver in the supine position. Remove or reflect all soft tissues from the skull along a line extending from 2 cm superior to the superior orbital margin to a point just superior to the external occipital protuberance.
- Use an autopsy saw to make a cut along the same line. Attempt to avoid cutting completely through the bone and the underlying dura mater. Use a chisel and hammer to break the inner plate of compact bone and pry the calvarium away from the dura mater. You will need to turn the cadaver from the supine to the prone position part way through this procedure. Note the arachnoid granulations along the midline protruding through the superior sagittal sinus. (G 7.23;N 100;GI 34.12B).
- Remove or reflect all the posterior neck muscles from the occipital bone. Use the autopsy saw to make bilateral cuts extending from posterior to the ear to the foramen magnum just posterior to the occipital condyles. Use a chisel to pry the bone from the underlying dura.
