Cadaver Dissection Is Obsolete in Medical Training! A Misinterpreted Notion (original) (raw)
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The dissection course – necessary and indispensable for teaching anatomy to medical students
Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger, 2008
Anatomy is a major basic subject in medicine and related biomedical sciences. A central tool most universities use for teaching anatomy is the ''dissection course'', in which medical students learn the basic constructional principles of the human body by dissecting a cadaver. In recent years, the relevance and value of the dissection laboratory have been under discussion at different universities due to high costs and problems of shortness in time in some medical curricula. Indeed, during the last 10 years, several universities in the US and the UK have abandoned dissection and have moved from a cadaver-oriented to a cadaverless anatomy. This development results in a fundamental discussion on the role of the ''dissection course'' in the medical curriculum, ultimately raising the question as to whether we should continue teaching anatomy by dissection. This article presents nine arguments for the dissection course as a central tool for teaching macroscopic anatomy and is an attestment to the continuation of the use of cadaver material in anatomical laboratories within the auspices of scholastic and university order for the benefit of future physicians with due respect and honour guaranteed for every donor.
Medical Students Embarking On Their Career With Cadaver Dissection
European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 2020
Objective: This study was initiated with an aim to recognize the various perspectives, attitudes and beliefs of the undergraduate medical students of Hayat Medical college to human cadaver dissection. Their physical and emotional responses for coping with cadavers were also recognized. Students were also asked for their opinion regarding utilization of alternative digital methods for understanding human body. A structured questionnaire was administered to 220 students (PC1, PC2, C1 and C2) all at the same time in August 2016. The mean age for males was considered as 23.9±0.9 and for females as 22.7±0.7 years respectively. Results: Out of 22(11.5%) students who did not perform dissection their reason was found to be low motivation in 3.6%, fear in 2.1% and the irritating odor of the preserving chemical in 1.6%. 39.1 percent of the subjects felt considerable anxiety and stress in the dissection room during their initial exposure. Many students did not report any abnormal reaction after being exposed to cadavers for the first time, however; eye irritation was a common symptom experienced. 133 students (69.3%) strongly supported cadaver dissection and refuted its role in hampering their ethnicity and culture. 71.9% students deny any benefits of other digital instructional materials like videos and models over cadavers. Conclusion: This study found that eye irritation, nausea and, fear and stress are some of the symptoms reported by MBBS students when they are first exposed to a cadaver in the dissecting room. It is, therefore, very important that anatomy instructors bring up new ideas/strategies to reduce such problems in the dissecting room. Pointing out such problems faced by students should also urge medical professors and tutors to indulge into new innovational strategies for teaching anatomy. (1)
Cadaveric Dissection a Thing of the Past? The Insight of Consultants, Fellows, and Residents
Cureus, 2018
Objective The objective of our study was to determine whether cadaveric dissection is a necessity in medical education. Another purpose of our study was to assess the attitude and perception of consultants, residents, and fellows about cadaveric dissection and whether it helped them in their medical practices. Method We performed an analytical cross-sectional study among consultants, fellows, and residents of different specialty areas practicing in Punjab. A self-constructed questionnaire compromising of 41 items was used to assess the perception of doctors about cadaveric dissection and other alternative anatomy teaching methods. Consultants, fellows, and residents who were in clinical practice for more than six months were included in the study. Results Out of the total sample size of 842, 44.7% were female medical doctors and 55.3 % were male medical doctors. Cadaveric dissection was thought to be the most effective method for teaching anatomy by 27.9% of the doctors. Mean cadave...
Journal of Evolution of medical and Dental Sciences, 2015
Robert liston has said that “The foundation of the study of the art of operating must be laid in the dissection room.’’ Hundred medical students of first professional MBBS of Government medical college Jammu were asked to fill up a questionnaire Performa. Students appreciate diversity as all learn differently. By conducting this study we wanted to know about each students own personal view about dissection, their challenges, frustrations, rewards, experiences etc. Upon compiling the data it was inferred that although dissecting a cadaver is challenging but still this age old method is the most preferred method to learn anatomy, though they wanted the newer methods of teaching like learning from models, dissected specimens, etc. to supplement it.
Reflections of Medical Students’ on Cadaveric Dissection in Present Scenario
International journal of current research and review, 2016
Objective: Continuation of cadaveric dissection in era of computer assisted learning is losing its charm in many medical schools worldwide. For the past few years, we were observing that our undergraduates were not able to complete the whole body dissection in time. Therefore, we planned to substitute dissection with demonstration of carefully dissected parts (prosections). The views of students were taken regarding dissection and demonstration of prosections for learning anatomy. Methods: A questionnaire regarding perception of human cadaveric dissection, preference towards demonstration of prosections for anatomy learning and problems encountered during dissection was distributed to the first year MBBS students (n=243) immediately after completion of first professional examination. Results: Majority (78%) of students were in favor of performing dissection but only 45% students performed dissection when the chance was given to them. 49% students did not dissect all the allotted reg...
International Journal of Advanced Research, 2020
Along with significant advances in technology, information and imaging tools, the resource for teaching anatomy has made a huge leap in education system. In this way, there are a huge number of instruments and methods, ranging from computer, to live body scan, as well as virtual three images, pro-section, plastic models, plastinated, and synthetic simulators that look as good as part of a real human being. These modern educational tools are clean, durable, odorless, hassle-free, and aesthetical in the sense that students do not need training. This is different from the traditional dissection session. This advancement in technology has gained many followers of the therapeutic education community. In the current educational context, anatomy has been polarized into two belief systems. Modernists who regard the separation of the dead as outdated and unnecessary, and traditional theorists believe that anatomy is the key to education. In order to work with the process of training and training future health professionals, this change in perceptions of teachers needs to be analyzed from a larger perspective who will one day face living patients. Although the history of dissection has been well-studied, little attention has been paid to the use of living body in anatomy education. This study briefly reviews the historical perspective living anatomy. In addition, we discuss the value of individual dissection and executive use versus biometric and medical imaging studies. Finally, we consider future prospects: in the use of imaging and simulation techniques, in evaluating the educational method, and the use of art in supporting anatomical understanding (2). Historical perspective of dissection: Cadaveric dissection has been the anatomy education as the Renaissance. Further, the significant experience of medical teaching after 16 th and 17 th centuries. Therefore, cadaveric dissection brings out often in medical education, even though regularly in semi-official and informal manner. The private anatomy schools have been created in conjunction with hospital-based specialized courses in the UK and elsewhere. However, "Royal College of Surgeons" decided not to take summer courses as qualifications for college diplomas in 1822. It began to disrupt the activities of private medical schools as well as the 1832 Anatomy Act strengthened this process. At the hospitalbased Anatomy School, there are strict rules for performing surgery, where the bodies of their deceased patients can be used (as a free treatment for stricter survival). This is a professional training model from an "apprenticeship model" of medical training (often limited to one-on-one instruction) to a large group of students where the primary purpose of teaching has shown a significant shift in education. Along with that, a suitable distinction can be drawn among the observation of dissection (that was the mainstay of Renaissance teaching through the "Anatomy Theatre") as well as active dissection by the student themselves. In the United Kingdom, a method known as the "Paris Method" that gave each student their own executive responsibility. This is because students travel abroad as part of medical training. Step by step, dissection is considered a modern method and observation is associated with second class activities (3) .
Cureus, 2023
Cadaveric dissection, as a learning tool, has been a part of Indian medical education. Worldwide, with reforms in medical education and the introduction of new learning modalities, cadaveric dissection has been complemented with other modalities such as living anatomy and virtual anatomy. This study aims to collect the feedback of faculty members regarding the role of dissection in the present context of medical education. The method of the study involved a 32-item questionnaire to collect responses; they were collected using the 5-point Likert scale along with two open-ended questions. In general, the closed questions covered these sections: learning styles, interpersonal skills, teaching and learning, dissection, and other learning modes. The principal component analysis was used to explore the multivariate relationships among the items' perceptions. The multivariate regression analysis was conducted between the construct and the latent variable to develop the structural equation model. Four themes, PC1 (learning ability with structural orientation), PC2 (interpersonal skill), PC3 (multimedia-virtual tool), and PC5 (associated factors) had positive relation and were treated as a latent variable motivation for dissection, and theme 4 (PC4, safety) had a negative correlation and was treated as a latent variable repulsion for dissection. It was found that the dissection room is an important place for learning clinical and personal skills, along with empathy, in anatomy education. Safety issues and implementation of stress-coping activities during the induction phase are required. There is also a need to use mixed-method approaches that integrate technologyenhanced learning such as virtual anatomy, living anatomy, and radiological anatomy with cadaveric dissection.
Outcomes and satisfaction of two optional cadaveric dissection courses: A 3-year prospective study
Anatomical Sciences Education, 2016
At our institution, as in many other medical schools worldwide, the time devoted to teaching anatomy has been reduced significantly. In order to minimize the effects of this reduction two optional cadaveric dissection courses, each of a semester duration, were introduced in the first two years of our medical school. These courses were named Regional Anatomy I (RAI) and Regional Anatomy II (RAII). In RAI the regions being dissected were the following: thorax, abdomen, pelvis and perineum. In RAII the head, neck, back, and upper and lower limbs were dissected. This paper analyzes prospectively the academic results and students' perceptions of these two, newly-introduced, cadaveric dissection courses in this particular context. Student satisfaction was assessed anonymously through a questionnaire that encompassed questions regarding students' perception of the usefulness of the courses for undergraduate teaching and for future professional activity, as well as with regard to the adequacy of the courses' structure and teaching methods. For each of the 3 academic years studied, better final scores were obtained in the optional dissection courses than in the compulsory general anatomy course, in which dissection was not performed (p < 0.01). Furthermore, students undertaking both dissection courses ranked highly their importance in consolidating knowledge of anatomy, in preparing for other undergraduate courses, and for future clinical practice. The good academic results observed associated with the good opinion of students attending the dissection courses lend strong support to the adoption of similar courses as complimentary and compulsory disciplines in a modern medical curriculum.
Role of cadaveric dissections in modern medical curricula: a study on student perceptions
Anatomy & Cell Biology, 2015
knowledge of anatomy is imperative for crucial medical skills that include eliciting a clinical history and examination as well as clinical reasoning that would contribute to diagnostic acumen and patient management. The significance of anatomical sciences notwithstanding, the introduction of newer learning and teaching approaches such as problembased learning (PBL), new streams such as communication skills, bioinformatics and abridged curricula that reflect graduate-entry medical programs have necessitated a drastic reduction in time and resources dedicated for anatomy teaching, for the most part the dissection, as has been traditionally taught in a typical five-year undergraduate medical program [2, 3]. Anatomy has been taught using different approaches including didactic lectures; practical sessions based on models, pro-sected materials, cadaveric dissection and