.jpg)
Opinion: Medical schools are eliminating the use of cadavers, and that’s a shame
“What will be lost when medical students are no longer made to uncomfortably face death to learn from what a real human body can teach?”
I will never forget stepping into the cadaver lab for the first time. As the doors swung open, a sharp, sour wave of formaldehyde hit me and made my stomach churn. I pulled my thin polyester scrub shirt over my nose, but it did little to block the smell, let alone shield me from the bone-chilling temperature. Steel tables surrounded me, each holding a body, and I could see grayish-yellow skin peeking out from beneath the white drapes. Everything about that moment was deeply unsettling.
But as the semester went on, and my knowledge of human anatomy grew, so did my excitement for the cadaver lab. I learned to see beyond the shock of lifeless bodies and appreciate the lessons they offered. Even the smell seemed to gradually fade away.
