Blog 1- Anatomical dissection

Image from: (What Are the Benefits of Thinking About Your Own Death?)

Death is sacred. When someone dies, it reminds us all of the finite existence of our lives and helps put into perspective how much we matter to each other. I want to know, that my time on this planet, in some ways, left it a little better for others than before I was here. One way I plan on doing that is by donating my body. More specifically, for research and anatomical purposes (ex. practicing procedures in hospitals, and dissection in medical schools).

Video from: (Ted-Ed Video: Ancient Rome’s Most Notorious Doctor)

Throughout this module, I learned a lot about the evolution of human dissection and body donation trends, and attitudes. During the Renaissance, Vesalius’s contributions to the world of anatomy, defying Galen’s religiously believed observations highlighted anatomy’s importance in medicine. He claimed “You [can’t] rely on other people to do it for you [anatomical dissections], you will never make any observations” (Dr. Jackie Duffin, Anatomy in Renaissance Period). Yet, people were wary of donating their bodies for religious, and dignity reasons (due to the likes of Burke and Hare, body snatching, etc.). The shift in attitude toward dissection came within the past century, as medical schools and research facilities changed the narrative around body donation. After their use, bodies began being returned to the families, or if unclaimed, given honorific burials. Throughout history, without human dissections, countless surgical techniques, medicines, and more would never have been discovered. So many discoveries have yet to be made, so why should we assume the importance is any less today? “It’s a tribute to the [medical] profession that they’ve been able to reassure…[dissection] is an important and respectful activity” (Dr. David Jones, 500 Years of Human Dissection). This is important toward my decision as the mistreatment of my body is a big reason why I’m against using it for public education.

Image from:(Ontario Science Centre, Exhibitions)

Seeing mistreatment happening for myself, helped me decide against public donation. When I was around 8 or 9 years old, I used to love going to the Ontario Science centre with my family. One weekend, we happened to go during a Body Works exhibit. That day onward, human body models, Eyewitness books, and anatomy “label the blanks” filled my bookshelves. I can appreciate from my experience how important these exhibits can be in igniting a flame of passion within people.

Image from: (Ask Gramps, Is There an Official Position on Donating One’s Body to Science?)

That being said, my fear of misuse outweighs this benefit. These exhibits blur the line between art, science, and freakshow (Dr. David Jones, 500 Years of Anatomy). I would have to agree. I can still vividly remember all those years ago, people pointing to the exhibits at and laughing; making comments and mocking the way they looked. Continuing with the lens of misuse, I am particularly concerned about the actual misuse of my body, not just people’s perceptions. In 2016, Calgary opened Canada’s first “body coupling” exhibit showcasing human bodies recreating sexual acts (CBC News – Body Coupling). The vulnerable bodies in these situations were once people, who trusted their bodies would be treated with respect… clearly, they weren’t. Donating my body for medical purposes would omit this risk. I believe everyone is deserving of basic humanity, and I’m not personally willing to subject myself to the risk of not receiving it.

Image from: (Daily, Public Dissection)

When I was interviewing my friend, she asked me a question that took me aback. “Given that there already are very detailed anatomy textbooks and resources, is it still necessary to donate”? I remembered Dr. Mackenzie telling a story of how a surgeon asked a medical student to point out the ureter on an open body, but they couldn’t because they thought the ureter was yellow (how it’s commonly shown in anatomy textbooks and in virtual labs). (Dr. Les Mackenzie, Learning Anatomy). When I had my first ANAT100 cadaver lab, I was so captivated by the body, I instantly realized the important of hands-on training.

I attest to learning more realistically from the cadaver than our paperback content (ex. being better prepared for bellringers where real specimens are often used). That being said, there is a time and a place for easy to understand diagrams/models and I find them a necessity when first learning about anatomy. These situations played a role in my decision as educating our future doctors/health professionals is indirectly helping improve health care. This is something people don’t often think about as things like organ donation are widely more popular.

And while I acknowledge that my organs would save lives, I believe it’s equally important that doctors/students have opportunities to practice their skills. This is why I would prefer donating my body to more anatomical/medical purposes, and not just donating organs.

Image from: (TalkDeath, Donating My Body to Science)

I find solace, knowing that after death, I’ll still be contributing to better the world. They say “[a body donor’s] legacy is that they’re allowing skilled people to go on and… be able to [alleviate human illnesses]” (University of Newcastle representative, The Body Donors). If possible, donating body for anatomical, and then procedural purposes would be ideal!