Teaching medical procedures on cadavers during medical school

Abstract

Training medical procedures on cadavers is a traditional practice in medical training. This study aimed
to evaluate if medical students were invited to perform procedures on cadavers, whether consent
should be obtained, and whether the training was useful for learning. In total, 403 medical students
(23.4±3.3 years) and 87 professors (51.1±10.4 years) participated. Overall, 3.7% of students were invited
to perform procedures on cadavers, and 2.3% of the professors made the invitation. Only one professor
requested consent. Most students and professors agreed that obtaining consent is needed (students:
92.3%; professors: 21.8%) and that the training was useful (83.1% and 66.9%, respectively). This study
concludes that procedures on cadavers have a low frequency of occurrence, that on the participants
corroborate on obtaining consent, and that training in cadavers is useful for learning.