ARTICLE #2 | 17
ARTICLE | #2
Title
Assessing the impact of the
cultural beliefs of medical
students on the cadaveric
dissection in gross anatomy
Author(s)
Rosalyn A. Jurjus (1)
Gisela Butera (2)
Ramy Khalil (3)
Puja D. Sheth (1)
Abdo R. Jurjus (4)
Angelo Elmi (5)
Janette Krum (1)
Contact
[email protected]
University
Department of Anatomy and
Regenerative Biology, The George
Washington University, Washington (1)
Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library,
The George Washington University,
Washington (2)
Department of Internal Medicine,
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,
Pennsylvania (3)
Department of Anatomy, American
University of Beirut, Lebanon (4)
Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, The George Washington
University, Washington (5)
Abstract
For centuries cadaveric dissection
has been a well-established method
for teaching gross anatomy to
medical students. Multiple studies
have looked at various aspects of
this experience; however, only a few
have addressed the question of how
cultural identity and beliefs impact
the student’s emotional response
to cadaver dissection. The purpose
of this study is to assess the role of
cultural self-identification and beliefs
on the experience of medical students’
cadaveric dissection.
Keywords
Gross anatomy, medical education,
cultural beliefs, dissection perception
Introduction
It is well established that cadaveric dissection offers a unique
learning experience for medical students in anatomy courses
(De Melo Bastos and Proença, 2000; Arráez-Aybar et al. 2004;
Drake. 2014). In addition to the intended academic benefits
of learning about the human body first-hand, there exists a
non-academic advantage which includes both personal and
emotional development among students, on the grounds that
dissection promotes humanistic values and the teaching of
ethical issues to future physicians (Weeks et al., 1995; Swenson
and Rothstein, 1996; Arráez-Aybar et al., 2008; Plaisant et al.,
2011; Rabow et al., 2013; Jones et al., 2014). The approach to
human cadavers is regarded by many as a way for the learner to
develop as a person (Arráez-Aybar, 2008; Cohen et al., 2009).
It is very useful for his/her emotional, professional and moral
development (Larkin and Mcandrew, 2013; Arráez-Aybar, 2014).
In addition, if well presented, it introduces students to death
in a controlled manner and provides a first encounter with
the patient-physician relationship, since the cadaver could be
considered as their first patient (De Horne et al., 1990; Finkelstein
and Mathers, 1990; De Melo Bastos and Proença, 2000; Dyer
and Thorndike, 2000; Lempp, 2005; Plaisant et al., 2011).
In the mid-1980s some anatomists began to take a real interest
in the perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of medical students
regarding cadaver dissection (Penney, 1985; Shalev, 1985). In
the past decade, in parallel to the almost universal reforms
movement taking place in medical education, the number of
studies addressing anatomy teaching and, in particular, the
effect of culture on the students’ emotional reactions during the
dissection experience, increased tremendously in the United
States (US) as well as in other countries (Lempp, 2005; Notzer
et al., 2006; Arráez-Aybar et al., 2008; Sergentanis et al., 2010;
Lamdin et al., 2012; Martyn et al., 2014). Various aspects of the
student-cadaver reaction were examined. For some, there was
a large amount of spirituality involved in such a relationship
and they resorted to religion as a coping mechanism. They
developed an “Interfaith service for Thanks and Respect”
for the “awesome” gift, the cadaver, which was, for some, an
extraordinary privilege (Sukol, 1995).
Historically, the link between religion, spirituality, culture, and
medicine has been well documented throughout time and is a
subject as old as humanity itself (Gregory, 2003). The nature and
anatomic location of the soul has been subject to philosophical,
theological, and scientific ideas from the Egyptian Pharos to the
contemporary period (Santoro, et al., 2009). In every period, the
concept of the soul has shaped the anatomy discipline as well as