These adorable yarn dissection kits let students swap knives for needles.

Dissecting animals never looked this cute or humane.

Remember the first time you had to dissect an animal in biology class?

I do. For me, it was a frog. And what I remember most was the terrible smell. I may have learned about (and subsequently forgotten) a frog's insides. But I also learned that anatomy was not the academic focus for me.

Image via "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

I probably would have felt a lot differently about the whole thing, though, if my biology lab had involved one of Emily Stoneking's cuddly creatures.

Emily sells knitted dissected animals on her Etsy shop called — wait for it — aKNITomy.

The animals are a lot nicer to look at than your typical formaldehyde-soaked dissection specimen. Plus, they offer a great alternative to dissecting animals. (According to Last Chance for Animals, over 6 million animals are killed each year so that they can be dissected.)

“The real deal [of dissection] is pretty messy and there are not a lot of distinct colors, and I want it to look more like an anatomical illustration," Emily said to Bored Panda, though she admits the creatures' innards aren't completely anatomically correct.

“What I wanted to do is create an homage to science and the artists who illustrated the work of past anatomists," Emily told Upworthy. “I wanted to create a piece of art where the dichotomy between gross and weird and cuddly and familiar would maybe make people stop and appreciate anatomy in a different or new way."

Emily sells animals like this frog, which she calls "the iconic image of high school biology class."

It's much cuter than the one I vivisected in eighth grade.

All photos from Emily's Etsy shop, used with permission.

She also sells this white rat, complete with tiny pink paws.

The rat also comes in a vegan version with yarn made from cotton and other plant fibers.

What's next? Emily has also started making human anatomy creations, like this bisected head:

And this awesome brain, complete with a knitted neuron:

These woolen animals and anatomy parts are awesome conversation pieces to hang on your wall, but they're also practical. After you examine your little buddy's organs, you can remove the pins and take your lab animal off the dissection table for a cuddle sesh. They're part stuffed animal, part science project.

Arguably even cooler? If you want to, you can learn about anatomy while you learn how to knit, too. Emily sells her knitting patterns and DIY kits for making your own cute, dissectible animal.

You can check out the rest of Emily's aKNITomy store on Etsy here. We used her photos with her permission, and she didn't pay us to write about this — we just love what she's up to!

If you're a student who's opposed to dissecting animals, there are many cruelty-free alternatives available like these dissection and anatomical models, too. Last Chance for Animals has a great guide to talking to instructors about not participating in dissections.