A New Model for Training on Human Specimens in Surgical-Anatomical Skills Labs

Abstract

Embalming human bodies is of all times, after the introduction of formaldehyde fixation for organic tissues in 1893 by the German physician Ferdinand Blum, the donated bodies could be used more efficiently for gross anatomy purposes than before Fox et al. [1]. Nowadays the demand for (embalmed) human bodies used for surgical training, besides normal anatomy teaching, has increased. Mostly fresh frozen human bodies, donated for science, are used for surgical trainings. Its realistic tissue handling and flexibility represent the main advantages of fresh frozen human bodies. The disadvantages however are also well known: risk of infection (additional testing is essential), degeneration, time pressure and single use are only some examples. The introduction of “light” or “soft’ embalming methods like Thiel’s, Duke’s or other new method’shave contributed to prolonging the natural characteristics of the donated bodies Thiel et al. [2-8]. All of these methods have made it possible to re-use embalmed bodies for multiple purposes. It is now possible to use the bodies more efficiently because they can be used multiple times. These new methods slow down the degeneration process for weeks without losing their natural characteristics. Still these methods were not developed for long time fixation and conservation of human flexible characteristics.