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The pioneering Dundee mortuary using ʻflexibleʼ cadavers to train the doctors and dentists of tomorrow

2 March 2018

A Dundee mortuary is leading the way in the treatment of bodies donated to science.

The mortuary was the first in the UK to use the Thiel method of preservation.

Unlike the conventional means of embalming which stiffen bodies, the Thiel method renders them soft with flexible joints.

, Professor Tracey Wilkinson, Principal Anatomist at the University of Dundee, described how a lifelike donor can give students a far better understanding of how the body works, as well as the opportunity to rehearse procedures.

“We can do really exciting thingsË®, she said.

“We have second year dentists who come and practise their local anaesthetic injections inside the mouth.

“Our first year medical students practise intubating. They put a little tube down peopleʼs throats and itʼs because the Thiel bodies are so flexible they’re able to do this.Ë®

How the mortuary got its name

More about the Thiel method

Donating to medical science

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