Synthetic models of bone, heart and digestive system among many others being used in AP Medical colleges

Updated on: Thursday, August 08, 2013

Medical students are no longer squirming during their anatomy class as colleges in the state are increasingly moving towards 'cyber anatomy' classes.

Armed with computer-based teaching tools like the virtual cadaver dissection software that displays a layer by layer dissection, medical colleges are forced to give real cadaver dissections a go by, mainly due to non-availability of bodies.

Synthetic models of bone, heart and digestive system among many others, closely resembling human organs are available today, which some doctors said are convenient for medical students to review.

The transition has been triggered by dearth of cadaver donations coupled with increasing number of medical colleges and seats.

While until recently, dissection of a cadaver was the sole source of providing first-hand information of the human body to medical students, e-tools are now slowly emerging as cost-effective substitutes.

M Narayan Reddy, former head, forensic medicine, Osmania Medical College, said, "Unlike a cadaver, the e-tools and artificial models are free from stench, do not carry the risk of infection and are cost-effective in addition to providing colourful and reversible digital information." One can now learn a lot with the help of technological advancements that were not available until recently, he said.

"In the US and UK, dissections are not performed on dead bodies as videos are available for demonstration," he said. A dissection software, doctors said costs around Rs 25,000, while a single body can be procured from a government medical college for Rs 15,000, if available.

However, many experts said students who are deprived of cadaver-based learning will only see the location or structure of an organ but will never feel its texture. "Such learning will be superficial. It is like playing with toys," said Dr G Surender Reddy, head, forensic medicine, Apollo Medical College.

Some doctors said that even in the United States, where 3D imaging and virtual dissection is in vogue, former forensic experts criticize the usage, saying technology cannot replace what one can learn from a real skeleton.

Doctors here said there is no shortage of cadavers as Osmania and Gandhi Hospitals get around 1,000 unclaimed dead bodies annually. However, both the colleges have stopped preserving unclaimed dead bodies for dissection lately due to controversies surrounding the issue. Sources said people are reluctant to take responsibility as preserving and providing bodies to medical colleges involves monetary transactions.

Dr T Mahender Reddy, forensic medicine, Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, said the college wrote to Osmania and Gandhi hospitals asking for bodies for dissection but has not received even a single body so far. "This situation therefore calls for the use of technology which may not be 100% accurate," said Dr Reddy.

Synthetic models of bone, heart and digestive system among many others being used in AP Medical colleges

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