Anatomists’ views on cadaver and cadaver procurement in medical education

Abstract

Despite the importance of cadavers in anatomy education, there are a great difficulties in procuring cadavers in Türkiye due to the low quantity of donations. Anatomists have important roles in matters related to cadaver donation. Some of these roles are to explain to students and the public the value of cadavers in medical education and to inform them about cadaver donation. The aim of this study is to investigate anatomists' thoughts about cadavers and their supply. The study was conducted on anatomists who accepted the survey invitation sent from the digital platform. 100 volunteer anatomists participated in the survey. Ethics committee approval was received for the study. Anatomists argue that education with cadavers is a must (92%). Routine dissection is performed in 64% of the institutions to which the participants are affiliated. 78% of anatomists know the legal regulations regarding cadaver procurement, and 67% care about the method of procurement of the studied cadaver. While the participating anatomists found it appropriate to use unclaimed bodies for educational purposes, there was no common opinion among the anatomists in terms of ethics. Anatomists are more willing to recommend cadaver donation to someone they do not know than to donate a cadaver from their own family member. Only 13% of anatomists feel ready for body donation. The survey results show that anatomists have high knowledge and awareness about cadavers and their supply. High awareness has relatively less impact on anatomists' attitudes and behaviors regarding cadaver donation. It was determined that the majority of anatomists who participated in the research did not feel ready to donate cadavers. We think that bringing donation issues to the agenda more through trainings and events can contribute to the perspectives of anatomists.