Human anatomy class is a right of passage for medical school students, but the bodies they dissect tend to be an afterthought. Who can know the story behind this person on the lab table before them and the choices that ultimately brought them there? The opportunity to go to med school tuition free? A strong belief in education? A small gesture that they will continue to have value once theyve shed this mortal coil?

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is hosting its annual body donor memorial today. It is one of many that are held by medical schools around the country, mainly for the benefit of families so they can say good bye to loved ones. It is also a chance for medical school students to humanize the cadavers they dissect. The Medical College receives more than 400 bodies each year, some by families who see it as the most reasonable alternative to a costly funeral.

But it may be a fading practice. Medical schools are increasingly shifting to virtual dissection tools with iPads. Others have compromised. Columbia Medical School, for example uses an iPad app developed by a couple of medical school students that helps students interact with a particular part of the party and zoom in to view skin, muscle, tendons or bone. Its an approach that varies from school to school.

Australia-based Anatomedia developed a virtual cadaver that lets programmers assign tactile qualities and make objects respond to the movement which can be stiffness, and textures like the firmness of muscle or the flabbiness of belly fat. Norman Eizenberg, an associate professor at Monash University, founded the company.

In an interview with Digital Trends, Eizenberg said: A lot of programs across the country are moving to online or digital dissection, For me, I dont get a comprehensive understanding of the location and variation of the anatomy unless I see it myself.

Ellie Farr, a second-year medical students, who is among a medical students group participating in the event said she hoped the shift to digital cadavers would be limited. A lot of programs across the country are moving to online or digital dissection, observed Farr. For me, I dont get a comprehensive understanding of the location and variation of the anatomy unless I see it myself.

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Original post:

Wow of the Week: Medical school honors donated bodies, but how long before virtual dissections dominate?