Cadavers in anatomy classes: opinions of the students of Bursa Uluda¤ University School of Medicine

Objectives: Informing the medical students about the ethical aspects related to human cadavers has been an important issue that should be taken into consideration by anatomists. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the opinions of the students of the School of Medicine of Bursa Uluda¤ University, Turkey on the cadavers, prior to the anatomy education, and to determine the changes in attitudes towards the dead human body after basic and compulsory anatomy courses. Methods: The first-year class students of the School of Medicine of Bursa Uluda¤ University were included in the study. The questionnaire was applied before and after the education on cadavers in Topographic Anatomy Committee. The on-line survey form was created and the link address was shared with e-mail and social media. Statistical analyses of the obtained data were performed using the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: The first questionnaire was answered by 297 students and the second questionnaire by 212 students. In the survey applied before the anatomy education in Topographic Anatomy Committee, the percentage of positive opinions (agree and strongly agree) on “Human is a valuable asset. For this reason, the human body must be valued and respected during life and after death” was found to be 83.8% and this percentage increased to 95.3% in the later survey. Conclusion: Anatomy education can not be effective without cadavers. We believe that the current study will be useful for educators in order to contribute to the medical students’ awareness of humanity and privacy.

___

1. Yılmaz ST, Yılmaz C. Body: from anatomical theatres to galleries. [Article in Turkish] Lokman Hekim T›p Dergisi 2016;6:46–52.

2. Ghosh SK. Human cadaveric dissection: a historical account from ancient Greece to the modern era. Anat Cell Biol 2015;48:153–69.

3. Gürbüz H, Karl›kaya E, Mesut R. Opinions about bequeathed cadavers. [Article in Turkish] Türkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Ethics 2004;12:234–41.

4. Nurunnabi ASM, Ara S, Khalil M, Khalil M. Ethics in dissection of cadaver in teaching and learning of anatomy. Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2011;2:10–5.

5. Dissabandra LO, Nirthanan SN, Khoo TK, Tedman R. Role of cadaveric dissections in modern medical curricula: a study on student perceptions. Anat Cell Biol 2015;48:205–12.

6. Chen S, Pan Z, Wu Y, Gu Z, Li M, Zhu H, Yao Y, Shui W, Shen Z, Zhao J, Pan H. The role of three-dimensional printed models of skull in anatomy education: a randomized controlled trail. Nature Scientific Reports, 2017. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-00647-1

7. Sayek ‹, Odabafl› O, Kiper N. Türk Tabipleri Birli¤i Mezuniyet Öncesi T›p E¤itimi Raporu-2010. Ankara: Türk Tabipleri Birli¤i Yay›nlar›.

8. Tulgar fiF. T›p fakültelerinde mezuniyet öncesi anatomi e¤itiminin ö¤renci geribildirimleri ile de¤erlendirilmesi. Bal›kesir Üniversitesi Sa¤l›k Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans Bitirme Tezi 2014.

9. Ögenler O, Kara A, Kad›o¤lu S, Öztürk H, Sungur MA. Opinions of a group of anatomy instructors on cadaver and utilization of cadaver in anatomy teaching. [Article in Turkish] Türkiye Biyoetik Dergisi 2014;1:57–68.

10. Erbay H, Bilir A, Gönül Y, Turamanlar O, Songur A. Medical students’ perception of cadaver and, their attitudes towards using the cadaver in education. [Article in Turkish] Türkiye Biyoetik Dergisi 2015;2:63–72.

11. Chapman SJ, Hakeem AR, Marangoni G, Prasad GR. Anatomy in medical education: perceptions of undergraduate medical students. Ann Anat 2013;195:409–14.

12. Winkelmann A, Guldner FH. Cadavers as teachers: the dissecting room experience in Thailand. BMJ 2004;329(7480):1455–7.

13. Altan S, Rahman S, A, Çam S. The knowledge levels of the students taking pre-clinical medical school education, about medical ethics. [Article in Turkish] F›rat T›p Dergisi 2013;18:109–16.

14. Babacan S, Erer Kafa S, Kafa ‹M. Approach to cadaver used in anatomy education, dead body confidentiality and ethics II: Uluda¤ University Faculty of Medicine students’ opinions. [Abstract] Anatomy 2017;11:S97–8.

15. Babacan S, Kafa ‹M, Erer Kafa S. Approach to cadaver used in anatomy education, dead body confidentiality and ethics I: opinions of anatomy academicians. [Abstract] Anatomy 2017;11:S97.

16. Saylam C, Coskunol H. Orientation lesson in anatomy education. Surg Radiol Anat 2005;27:74–7.

17. Ar› ‹, fiendemir E. Students’ views on anatomy education. [Article in Turkish] Uluda¤ Üniversitesi T›p Fakültesi Dergisi 2003;29(2):11–4.

18. Sindel M, fienol, Y, Gürp›nar E. Evaluation of anatomy education by students in Akdeniz University School of Medicine. [Article in Turkish] T›p E¤itimi Dünyas› 2008;(28):31–6.