Anat Biol Anthropol.  2022 Jun;35(2):41-45. 10.11637/aba.2022.35.2.41.

Current Status of Fixation Methods and Management of Cadavers in Medical Colleges/Medical Graduate Schools

• Park KR
• Park Jh
• Bae A
• Lee JH

• KMID: 2535002
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11637/aba.2022.35.2.41

Abstract

Dissection practice using cadaver is essential for anatomy education. Recently, the curriculum of each university has been diversified, and various methods of managing the cadaver are applied according to the university’s support, but recent data on this are lacking. In this study, the status of cadaver management in the department of anatomy in medical, dental, and oriental medical universities in Korea was investigated through an online questionnaire. A total of 32 universities responded, and on average, 13.6 (3 to 60) cadavers per year were used. Of the 32 universities, 10 universities (31.2%) used fresh cadavers, and the number was about 42.5 (4~270) per year. The average time between donor death and immobilization was more than 48 hours (37.5%), followed by 24~48 hours (21.9%). For fixation, forced perfusion was used in 50% of cases, and in 21.9%, bath fixation was performed after forced perfusion. About 25% of universities only offered natural perfusion. The amount of fixative injected was 34.4% for 15~20 liters, 25% for 10~15 liters, and 21.9% for 20~30 liters, based on a donor weighing 60 kg. The composition of the fixative was different for each university. Overall, about 10% formalin, 5~10% glycerin, 30~60% ethanol (70~80% including water), and 2~5% phenol were used. In all universities, fans or hoods were installed. However, 37.5% of the universities did not monitor harmful gas in the lab at all, and 34.4% of the universities also performed irregular monitoring. 21.9% of universities using exhaust type tables and 75% did not use them. The manager of the anatomy lab was the head professor of the anatomy classroom at 84.4% of universities, 9.4% were an executive officer, and 6.3% were the dean of the medical school. 87.5% answered that it is necessary to prepare standards for manpower and facilities in the operation of the anatomy lab. They answered that this standard should be prepared by academic societies (43.8%), government agencies (21.9%), or Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (15.6%). And if the dissection laboratory safety standards were made, 93.7% of universities were willing to participate. Through this study, we confirmed the status of cadaver management in domestic anatomy classrooms, and if standards for anatomical laboratory management are prepared based on this data, it is expected that both faculty and students will be able to do dissection practice in a safer environment.

Keyword

Cadaver fixation; Cadaver management; Anatomical laboratory; Lab management