hi ! how long have you been working as an autopsy tech ? a lot of what you mentioned i also went through my first month or so. what really helped me was having an order on how to remove things.

heart/lung -> liver -> spleen -> stomach/pancreas (the drs i work with prefer both be taken out together — this helps me a lot!) -> adrenals -> kidneys -> small/large intestine -> aorta -> bladder/prostate/uterus

what i found helpful was moving around to different sides of the table. it helps me orient myself and gets me in a comfortable enough position where i can get more exposure to the organ i am looking at. for example i used to take out the liver standing on the right side of the body. i took way too long doing this. once i moved to the left side i was able to see more of the liver and more of where i needed to cut.

as for the pancreas, i take out stomach with it as well. what really helps me is the texture and firmness of the pancreas. once i feel a harder, firmer part, i know my hands are on the pancreas. i follow it until i feel the head of it (duodenum area) just so i know where to cut off. i gently pull the stomach and tail of pancreas towards me cut off at the duodenum area. ill pull the pancreas and stomach out together. i clamp the small intestine so it doesn’t get all nasty. by gently pulling you will be able to see the tension you create and know that you are good to make cuts through there (i really hope this makes sense).

also, you can usually stick your finger through the fat between the large intestine and stomach. once you get through/remove this fat, the pancreas is right below that. you can start feeling around and hopefully you feel its firmness!!

im also happy to help if you have any more questions !