Virtual dissection

[fonzy]

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I have heard some med schools are opting for virtual dissection [interactive software] instead of real cadaver dissection? Is that true?

 

[MechE]

I hope not. There's nothing like the smell of formaldehyde and rotting fat to start the morning.

 

[Mumpu]

I think students should go to autopsies instead of cadaver dissections. Things look much different when they are fresh and you get to see pathology as well. And yes, not smelling like pickled fat is a bonus as well.

 

[drstudent]

I have heard some med schools are opting for virtual dissection [interactive software] instead of real cadaver dissection? Is that true?

Yes it's true, here are some links of medical schools who have cut out dissection on cadavers. You can also do a google search on Medical school Virtual Dissection, there's tons of information.

Med Schools Cut Out Cadavers

CU first med school in country to add Visible Human Dissector to curriculum

 

[ColoMD]

Yes it's true, here are some links of medical schools who have cut out dissection on cadavers. You can also do a google search on Medical school Virtual Dissection, there's tons of information.

Med Schools Cut Out Cadavers

CU first med school in country to add Visible Human Dissector to curriculum

Just to clarify, CU hasn't eliminated cadaver dissection at all. They have just supplemented the dissection lab with the Visible Human Dissector.

 

[drstudent]

I apologize for the misinformation. I didn't read the articles. I just posted what I found on the subject by doing a search.

 

[Mumpu]

CU is lucky in that they actually have plenty of cadavers. Visibile human is used as a supplemental tool, mostly to teach anatomical relationships relevant to radiology. I wouldn't say that it hugely contributed to my learning (albeit things may have changed in the past few years) but I suppose it beats looking at black-and-white CT scans all day. We also had access to a virtual dissector program based on the visible male and IMHO it sucked pretty badly.

 

[velo]

I think students should go to autopsies instead of cadaver dissections. Things look much different when they are fresh and you get to see pathology as well. And yes, not smelling like pickled fat is a bonus as well.

I think you meant to say "in addition" to cadaver dissections.


Dumping real cadavers in favor of "virtual dissections" is a horrid idea. Supplementing the cadaver dissections with virtual dissections might not be bad.

 

[Mumpu]

No, I'd say autopsies instead of cadavers. You still get your hands dirty, you still get to handle the organs, but you actually see what they look like instead of that glamorous "boiled beef" look. I recently went to my first autopsy on a patient I took care of, and it was such an amazing experience compared to the drudgery of dissection. A lot more emotionally difficult too, but much better learning.

I agree, virtual dissections are good supplemental material but they do not substitute for the real thing.

 

[velo]

No, I'd say autopsies instead of cadavers. You still get your hands dirty, you still get to handle the organs, but you actually see what they look like instead of that glamorous "boiled beef" look. I recently went to my first autopsy on a patient I took care of, and it was such an amazing experience compared to the drudgery of dissection. A lot more emotionally difficult too, but much better learning.

I agree, virtual dissections are good supplemental material but they do not substitute for the real thing.

Yes but....

1) would that autopsy have been such a valueable experience for you without the knowledge you already had from cadaver dissection?

2) you can't do as complete a dissection in an autopsy as you can do on a cadaver. The cadavers end up getting ripped to shreds...not cool for an autopsy where the person has not donated their body to science.

3) since the body isn't emballmed you'd have to use a different body every time you went in...meaning you'd be using a lot more bodies (logistical concerns) and you'd be "starting from scratch" every time you went in.

I think that students viewing autopsies would be a nice supplemental anatomy lesson...but cadaver dissection has too many benifits to be eliminated

 

[drstudent]

My school is one of the few schools that doesn't use cadavers and I'm glad for it. I much rather attend a live surgery where I can see visceral in action rather than seeing it on a person that's no longer alive.

For me, being able to learn how an organ functions and then seeing it in action is much more benefical to me than being able to see it once it's no longer in action and has begun the process of decay.

I don't feel that I'm missing out, because I'll have plenty of experience during surgery rotation to actually see these organs in action and in a diseased state.

My only regret, is missing out on the stories that I hear from those who have actually done dissection on cadaver. However, I don't feel that it will make me less knowledgeable than someone who has done dissection on a cavader.

Again this is how I feel and I know that there will be alot of physicians out there who have never dissected a cadaver so I'm not alone.

 

[Mumpu]

Fair enough Velo, I agree with your points. 🙂

DrStudent, make your way to an autopsy or two -- there are things (like removing the brain and the spinal cord) that are not routinely done in surgery, and it's good to see where all the cranial nerves run.

 

[pikachu]

CU is lucky in that they actually have plenty of cadavers. Visibile human is used as a supplemental tool, mostly to teach anatomical relationships relevant to radiology. I wouldn't say that it hugely contributed to my learning (albeit things may have changed in the past few years) but I suppose it beats looking at black-and-white CT scans all day. We also had access to a virtual dissector program based on the visible male and IMHO it sucked pretty badly.

Visible human is an impressive project, but not that useful for clinical anatomy. CTs are what you're looking at all day on the floors - I have yet to see a human cross section. Yet my anatomy class tested primarily human sections (preserved slices in big plastic bags actually) and when I hit the floors I couldn't read a CT scan to save my life.

 

[Mumpu]

The only person who thinks that Visible Human is the ultimate solution is the guy who runs it. We got tested on both CTs and visible slices in gross anatomy.