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
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The Val McDermid Mortuary is unveiled at Dundee University after the crime writer’s name is chosen following a public vote.
More about the Thiel method
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An embalming technique pioneered in Austria that produces near life-like cadavers for medical use is set to improve surgical skills.
Donating to medical science
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How the demand for bodies has created a strange new industry in America.
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Dr Radha Modgi on the ʻprivilegeʼ of dissecting a body.
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More than 500 people have donated their bodies to a research facility near Sydney.
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What happens to tissue after donation?
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