Body Donation Gives the Gift of Knowledge to Med Students

Q:  I want to donate my body to science. What will happen to my body after it arrives at the medical school?

A:  Thank you so much for considering donating your body. All American doctors learn about human anatomy on body donors. It is a course of study that teaches us a great deal and one we do not forget.

Students are able to work on these specially preserved bodies over the course of a whole semester - they are embalmed for long-lasting preservation, not for short-run aesthetic appearance, as at funeral homes.

As scientists work on the body, they learn to overcome their initial awe of the remains of another human being. But even as they perform their studies and think about the bodies' structures, they acknowledge that the body has enough moral significance that certain actions toward it may constitute mistreatment.

The dead body, while no longer a human presence, reminds us of the presence that it once was. If we think about the body, even for a few moments, it forces us to consider both freedom of thought and the limits of the flesh.

During the anatomy course, a group of four medical students is assigned a body donor; on any given day, one student will perform the dissection as the others observe. Students are required to memorize the location and function of nerves, muscles, arteries and major organ systems. Sometimes bodies also are used for research in surgical techniques, computed tomography (CT), scanning and pathology. At the end of each year, the donors are honored in a memorial service.

The use of cadavers is regulated by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. In Wisconsin, you can sign the back of your driver's license to certify that you dedicate your body after death to medical research and education.

I personally am indebted to the donor who contributed to my knowledge of anatomy, and I am reminded of the necessity of continued dissection so our current students can learn about the body. Despite modern computer programs, there is no substitute for looking inside the actual human body. I am also glad that students are properly treating such a personal gift - their first real patient - with due respect.

The phone number for the Anatomical Gifts Registry at the Medical College of Wisconsin is 414-456-8261. Signing the back of your Wisconsin driver's license facilitates organ donation for transplant.

Julie L. Mitchell, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She practices internal medicine at the Froedtert & Medical College General Internal Medicine Clinic - East. Her column also appears in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.