Anatomy and cadavers

[alex28]

Does anyone know if it is possible to attend medical school and participate in anatomy without physically contacting cadavers? Due to my religion, I am not permitted to touch bodies that are dead. I can only touch bodies of patients whose lives I am trying to save (That's assuming I can go to medical school.). I truly want to become a doctor and help people, but I can't participate in the traditional anatomy class. I've heard that some progressive schools have anatomy more based in a virtual experience with computer aided learning. I could also atttend anatomy as long as I didn't have to touch -- only observe.
Does anyone have suggestions of schools I could attend?


Hopeful doctor,
Alex

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[Floydman175]

Hmmm, I don't think there is any medical school in the world that would attempt to train people to become physicians without teaching them human anatomy, and the best way to learn about anatomy is hands on. There are few specialties in medicine that don't have to deal with dead corpses, even if not interested in surgery or fields of that nature.

 

[Fiona]

There are plenty of UK schools which are moving more towards not touching the cadavers at all, but none have actually got there yet (as far as I know). Mainly they have prosections (already chopped up) and CAL, and you sign up for extra anatomy where you do get to do your own dissections.

Just out of interest Alex28, how do people of your religion deal with the deceased? (As in carrying out things like funerals?) Also, might it not be poss to get a special dispensation from whatever religious leader you have (like the pope for catholics) to allow you to touch cadavers?

 

[UlahSnackbar]

Well, you have to interact with cadavers at some point in your career. Although, you don't have to touch cadavers, you atleast have to look at cadavers in the anatomy lab and be able to identify structures on the cadaver. If you can't even be around cadavers then you are kind of in a no win situation here. Hopefully the med school you attend will allow you to just watch instead of do the cutting open of cadavers. I'm just curious, what religion forbids touching cadavers?

 

[prettyNURSEtoMD]

Does this involve post-mortem care as well? As they are essentially dead. Does your religion forbid all types of touching with the dead or only when it involves patients whose organs are exposed in a certain manner. I would like to know what religion this is as well. I'm not sure how you'll be able to get through anatomy unless you're a really good observer. I know of one school that does a burial ceremony after the course for the patients have donated their life. I'm not familiar with your religion so I don't know if proper ceremonial things would help. Just trying to see if there are any exceptions. How does your religion handle funerals? Somebody has to touch them then correct?

 

[Ismet]

Well, you have to interact with cadavers at some point in your career. Although, you don't have to touch cadavers, you atleast have to look at cadavers in the anatomy lab and be able to identify structures on the cadaver. If you can't even be around cadavers then you are kind of in a no win situation here. Hopefully the med school you attend will allow you to just watch instead of do the cutting open of cadavers. I'm just curious, what religion forbids touching cadavers?

You do realize that this thread is 14 years old, right?

 

[theseeker4]

Well, you have to interact with cadavers at some point in your career. Although, you don't have to touch cadavers, you atleast have to look at cadavers in the anatomy lab and be able to identify structures on the cadaver. If you can't even be around cadavers then you are kind of in a no win situation here. Hopefully the med school you attend will allow you to just watch instead of do the cutting open of cadavers. I'm just curious, what religion forbids touching cadavers?

Speaking of "cadavers," this thread is from the year 2000......do you really think the OP needs a response at this point in time?

 

[mehc012]

You do realize that this thread is 14 years old, right?

They clearly didn't even read the post (OP specifically stated "I can watch, just not touch", which somehow translated into "can't even be around them"?), do you really expect them to have seen the fine print?

 

[MrLogan13]

Oldest necropost I've seen.

 

[LizzyM]

A necro-post about cadavers. How apropos.
For those who are curious:
Jews who are in the direct male line from Aaron (brother of Moses) and who meet other criteria are considered priests who have a distinct role in Judaism. They can not be in proximity to corpses for reasons of ritual purity.

I am not Jewish so any clarification or correction that might be offered is most welcome.

 

[Ismet]

A necro-post about cadavers. How apropos.
For those who are curious:
Jews who are in the direct male line from Aaron (brother of Moses) and who meet other criteria are considered priests who have a distinct role in Judaism. They can not be in proximity to corpses for reasons of ritual purity.

I am not Jewish so any clarification or correction that might be offered is most welcome.

I have heard this as well, but I wonder if they might be able to get an "exception" from their rabbi for educational purposes. I would think that most or all medical schools would be very accommodating to someone who cannot touch a cadaver but can be in proximity to one (there were certainly people in my class who did not want to touch the cadavers), but it might be more difficult to accommodate someone who can't go into the anatomy lab at all. That person would be fine at my school, though, as anatomy lab attendance is not required (although quite helpful!)

 

[Goro]

I had a student once exactly like that. He was a "Chohanim", a member of the priestly class of Judiaism. We all had some heated dicussions about this proscription but in the end, we let him merely observe dissections.

Interesting fact. You can find markers on the Y chromosome for this lineage, and the same markers are not only in Yemenite Jews, but also in some black South Africans (the Lemba people). Their oral traditions speak of Jewish ancesters!

A necro-post about cadavers. How apropos.
For those who are curious:
Jews who are in the direct male line from Aaron (brother of Moses) and who meet other criteria are considered priests who have a distinct role in Judaism. They can not be in proximity to corpses for reasons of ritual purity.

I am not Jewish so any clarification or correction that might be offered is most welcome.

 

[dbeast]

A necro-post about cadavers. How apropos.
For those who are curious:
Jews who are in the direct male line from Aaron (brother of Moses) and who meet other criteria are considered priests who have a distinct role in Judaism. They can not be in proximity to corpses for reasons of ritual purity.

I am not Jewish so any clarification or correction that might be offered is most welcome.

So this is why there are so many Jewish psychiatrists.

[Disclaimer: I am Jewish]

 

[allantois]

I would think that any medical school should be accommodating of somebody who is from the mentioned Jewish group.But what I thits is interesting is how some medical schools made a move towards prosected cadavers in the past 14 years since this post originated.

 

[EMDO2018]

So what was everyone doing when this post was made? I was 12, in 6th grade, Brittany Spears and N-sync were big at the time. I'm 26 now.

 

[darkjedi]

 

[shllleedee]

Does this involve post-mortem care as well? As they are essentially dead. Does your religion forbid all types of touching with the dead or only when it involves patients whose organs are exposed in a certain manner. I would like to know what religion this is as well. I'm not sure how you'll be able to get through anatomy unless you're a really good observer. I know of one school that does a burial ceremony after the course for the patients have donated their life. I'm not familiar with your religion so I don't know if proper ceremonial things would help. Just trying to see if there are any exceptions. How does your religion handle funerals? Somebody has to touch them then correct?

Some native american tribes, such as the Navajo, traditionally avoid handling or looking at the deceased. There are formal Navajo burial ceremonies and traditions that limit handling of the deceased to 2-4 tribal members, however, some families elect to have a funeral home take care of handling and burying the deceased. In contrast, some of the Apache tribes will handle and bury their family members in traditional ceremonies themselves.

I'm not sure if Navajo tribal members working with the deceased in various capacities need to seek authorization from tribal or spiritual leaders for an exception, per say, but it does create a tough situation for members who are trying to balance their tribal customs/beliefs with the broader American/Caucasian culture and beliefs. For example, Navajo medical students face a tricky situation with anatomy labs, as they may have spiritual objections to handling the deceased, however, they do not want to face any turmoil for raising these concerns to peers or school officials who lack this cultural background. That being said, I think that most medical schools can and will accommodate students in this position without judgement. I read a book, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, last summer that illustrates cultural conflicts like this quite beautifully and would recommend reading it, if you can find the time.