Lack of cadavers sees dissection at medical colleges go virtual

Shortage of cadavers for dissection at medical colleges and advancement of technology have ensured that, in most medical colleges across City, actual dissection process has been replaced by virtual ones. Yet, experts say there can be no substitute for one performed on cadavers.

While on one hand, bodies are stored by the process of plastination (a technique to preserve bodies or different parts of the body wherein water and fat content are replaced by certain plastics.

These specimen can be touched, do not smell or decay), on the other, colleges that find it tough to avail dead bodies are now taking help of software programmes and computer assisted learning techniques to help students learn their anatomical studies lessons.

Poor ratio

While experts say, that, on an average, it is ideal that only 10 students use one cadaver for their studies, most students in private colleges have a 1:30 ratio. Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre  Department of Anatomy Head Dr Jayanthi V, said on an average, 30 students in her institute share one.

She explained that though there could be alternative processes such as plastination, the wholesome experience could never be gained.

“When it comes to a real corpse, students can feel each minute detail,” she said, adding by practicing, students will be able to differentiate between the types of blood vessels even when they are blind folded.

Also, the doctor said it was important to have the experience as it would give students a clear picture of how to hold the equipment, how the skin layers were arranged and also the depth at which the organs lie.

In the extensive training sessions for first year MBBS students that goes on for more than ten months,  they are not just taught to operate on human bodies but also trained to handle surgical tools which cannot be done without practical experience.

Corpses purchased

Dr Kantha from Karnataka Chapter for Anatomy said on an average, considering the number of medical students, the requirement of corpses would be at least 750 each year. “When institutes do not get bodies, they have to purchase them from other states for a huge sum of about Rs 20,000” she added.

While government colleges find it easy to obtain bodies as they have the support of police to find abandoned bodies, private colleges, mostly, will have to make arrangements themselves by organising body donation camps or contact the government institutions to find if they have a spare one.

“That is the reason we have also started a camp now,” Dr Jayanthi explained. Each college in the State with an average of 150 students per batch would need to have at least ten bodies as the Inspector from Medical Council of India who comes for inquisition recommends the same though it is not on paper, she added.

M S Ramiah Medical College Department of Anatomy Professor Dr Ashwini said they did not find it tough to acquire adequate number of bodies as they had a body donation programme organised by the college.

“It is mostly the colleges that are new that find it hard,” she explained. Dr Ashwini said there were alternatives such as virtual anatomy wherein teachers could explain using software that display three dimensional images. However, this had its own limitations.
Nischitha, a student pursuing her MBBS from one of the private medical institutions said they had to take turns to see what was done as about 30 of them had to operate on one corpse.

“We usually help each other because it is the people standing in the front row that can get a clearer picture of what is taught” she said.