Emotional response of undergraduates to cadaver dissection

Abstract

The most effective way to learn human anatomy is through cadaver dissection. Historically, cadaver dissection has been the provenance of professional schools. Increasingly, cadaver-based courses in human anatomy are shifting to the undergraduate level, which creates both problems and opportunities because of differences between undergraduate and graduate student populations. Anxiety associated with dissecting cadavers can create a barrier to learning, and ultimately, entry into the health and medical sciences for some demographic subpopulations of undergraduates. We surveyed 76 students in 2007 and 51 students in 2009 at four times in the semester to investigate the timing and sociodemographic predictors of anxiety over cadaver dissection. We followed this with a second survey of 44 students in 2014 to test the effect of humanization of cadaver donors (providing information about donor occupation and cause of death) to reduce student anxiety. Students experienced anxiety upon first exposure to cadaver dissection. Female students experienced greater anxiety than male students upon first exposure to cadavers but this effect was short-lived. Self-identified non-white, non-Christian students experienced sustained anxiety throughout the semester, likely because cadaver stress compounded social and financial stressors unique to international students. Humanization was effective in reducing anxiety in non-white, non-Christian students but had the unexpected effect of increasing anxiety in female students. We recommend that humanizing information be offered to students who seek it out, but not forced upon students for whom the information would only add to their stress. Clin. Anat. 31:224-230, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anxiety levels among health sciences students during their first visit to the dissection room

“…Other studies that do not use the STAI have reported differences in anxiety between genders [14,21,31,32]. Wisenden [33] indicated that female students experienced greater anxiety than male students when exposed to cadavers. As a consequence, women adapt less quickly to the new situation of the dissection course than men and more frequently request an introductory course [13,34].…”

Comparison of the Effects of Clay Modeling & Cat Cadaver Dissection on High School Students’ Outcomes & Attitudes in a Human Anatomy Course

“…Consistent with previous research, exposure to dissection activities may have had a differential effect on male and female students. Studies of both high school and undergraduate cohorts have indicated that female students tend to hold more negative attitudes toward dissection activities (e.g., higher levels of disgust and increased anxiety, compared to male students; Holstermann et al, 2012;Fanc ˆ o vic ˆ o vá et al, 2013;Wisendin et al, 2018).…”

Attitudes and Responses of Medical Students and Professional Anatomists to Dissecting Different Regions of the Body

“…Indeed, there is evidence that religious beliefs influence reactions to the cadaver (Martyn et al, ). Furthermore, Wisenden et al () have reported that non‐white, non‐Christian students on their undergraduate pre‐med course are more likely to experience long‐term anxiety as a response to cadaver dissection. This could relate to different cultural or religious views concerning the “sanctity” of the body and/or be related to general issues relating to being in a foreign country and with the pressures and financial problems that can relate to being away from their homebase.…”

“…Indeed, it has even been suggested that teaching students using cadavers might be considered “unethical” (McLachlan et al, ; McLachlan and Patten, ). Recently, Wisenden et al () have reported that undergraduate, pre‐med students at their US liberal arts college also experienced anxiety as a response to cadaver dissection.…”