cadaver dissection and air quality?

[Bleurberry]

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Is the air quality safe in anatomy labs? Has this been looked into?

 

[J-Rad]

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=1566

Yes. There are OSHA requirements to abide by. In any class some will be more sensitive to the formaldehyde and may benefit from respirator masks.

 

[Eudjinn]

Is the air quality safe in anatomy labs? Has this been looked into?

nope. you're the first person to mention it 🙂

 

[JonnyG]

Is the air quality safe in anatomy labs? Has this been looked into?

it has to be tested multiple times a year and it also is tested when the lab is full of students to see overall quality. It still suxs being in that area.

 

[surrender903]

i never minded the anatomy lab. but then again i enjoyed being in the morgue.

 

[schussboarder]

i really wonder this question as well...I'm TA'ing a comparative primate lab right now and the human cadaver that we use just sits in the same room throughout the semster. (air circulation sucks). The class has been taught for 27 years by the same professor, and has yet to have problems so I would assume that the air quality is fine despite the fact that it smells like garbage all of the time

 

[Bleurberry]

Alright. Since I've been on vacation I've read 2 or 3 articles about how dangerous formaldehyde is; cancer causing, etc., and it's in clothes, blah blah blah. Naturally, I thought "Dang, med students are inhaling this stuff 6 hours a day to start", which compels me to inquire further. I thought perhaps they did a chemical switch and were using something a bit safer.

 

[DocWahwee]

I should probably know the answer to this.....lol

But do they really still use actual formaldehyde? Or is it some preservative that people just call "formaldehyde" for the sake of habit?

Anywho, unless your pregnant, I wouldn't worry about it. How many of us have been taught by dinosaurs that have lived in anatomy labs for the last 50 years? They seem to be doing just fine (minus thoes extra limbs growing out of them and additional super powers- sorry, bad joke).

 

[sexyman]

I believe formalin is used, which is a basically formaldehyde diluted in water and some methanol.

*correct me if i am mistaken

 

[Bleurberry]

I believe formalin is used, which is a basically formaldehyde diluted in water and some methanol.

*correct me if i am mistaken

Thats the impression I'm under. 👎

 

[sexyman]

http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/niikiyo/KJ00004161800.pdf

Formalin is a colorless and irrative fluid that contains about 37% formaldehyde, and is widely used as a preserving agent in biological specimens because it is a good and potent fixative at a reasonable price.

Taken from the first paragraph of the article.

This is also a good article that talks about air quality etc.

PS-

Formalin is used in our lab at my school to preserve the cadavers as well.

 

[Bleurberry]

Great post, thanks. I did hear that Japan cracked down on it awhile ago. I wonder if the US has the same standards. I also wonder if some students with asthma or other lung disfunction are put at greater risk as a result of the continued exposure, accepting that the air is exchanged.

http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/niikiyo/KJ00004161800.pdf



Taken from the first paragraph of the article.

This is also a good article that talks about air quality etc.

PS-

Formalin is used in our lab at my school to preserve the cadavers as well.

 

[WestcoastMedicine]

AT PCOM they check the levels once a month I believe. I also remember them asking for people who are pregnant to discretely let them know (if everyone else didn't already know). They made them stand at a table directly underneath one of the exhaust vans.

 

[NPEMTIV]

At LMU-DCOM we have an air system that replaces the air constantly keeping the levels down. There's also a safety monitoring system in place that constantly measures the levels 24/7. If it goes above a safe level the alarm goes off and the fans kick into high gear.

 

[nevinleiby]

lol....when I saw your Q, all I could think of was this guy from my Kaplan class....

he was hoping to get out of anatomy lab because the dangers of being exposed to the vapors, a tank-based breathing apparatus, or at the very least, a heavy-duty filter similiar to what you would use for asbestos or painting....

I think that he got out of anatomy lab...no special exceptions made, however...

 

[Bleurberry]

lol....when I saw your Q, all I could think of was this guy from my Kaplan class....

he was hoping to get out of anatomy lab because the dangers of being exposed to the vapors, a tank-based breathing apparatus, or at the very least, a heavy-duty filter similiar to what you would use for asbestos or painting....

I think that he got out of anatomy lab...no special exceptions made, however...

lol.

 

[jklasser17]

at wvsom the system replaces the air every 60min. It's pretty sweet, never had a problem and their body preservation is fantastic. We had some cadavers from WVU and you could tell the difference immediately.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Stupid question, but can someone where a mask if they're especially sensitive to it?