This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/31/public-dissection-of-cadavers-about-time-embrace-death

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Cadavers are to be publicly dissected in Edinburgh – about time too Making dissections of cadavers public helps us embrace life, as well as death
(about 1 hour later)
The recent reports about the return of public anatomy lectures to the UK have divided opinion. As a trained modern pathology technician who runs a Victorian pathology museum, I have dissected cadavers myself and spent a long time researching and teaching the history of pathology. I have one foot in the past and one in the future (albeit both firmly attached to my legs), which gives me a unique perspective on the topic.The recent reports about the return of public anatomy lectures to the UK have divided opinion. As a trained modern pathology technician who runs a Victorian pathology museum, I have dissected cadavers myself and spent a long time researching and teaching the history of pathology. I have one foot in the past and one in the future (albeit both firmly attached to my legs), which gives me a unique perspective on the topic.
Recent headlines such as “First public dissections to be held since Burke and Hare” are damaging to anatomy and are not isolated occurrences. The retained organs scandal which came to light in the 1990s at Alder Hey and other hospitals, was widely covered in the media, which employed terms like “ghoulish” and also referred to “body snatchers” to fan the flames of public outrage. It led to the formation of the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) in the UK, a regulatory body which licenses premises where human remains are held – mortuaries, labs and pathology museums – and ensures that consent is properly obtained. It’s beneficial to most of us, but it is also the reason that many medical museums are not open to the public or, as in mine, that only half the specimens are on show.Recent headlines such as “First public dissections to be held since Burke and Hare” are damaging to anatomy and are not isolated occurrences. The retained organs scandal which came to light in the 1990s at Alder Hey and other hospitals, was widely covered in the media, which employed terms like “ghoulish” and also referred to “body snatchers” to fan the flames of public outrage. It led to the formation of the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) in the UK, a regulatory body which licenses premises where human remains are held – mortuaries, labs and pathology museums – and ensures that consent is properly obtained. It’s beneficial to most of us, but it is also the reason that many medical museums are not open to the public or, as in mine, that only half the specimens are on show.
Related: We’ll all die one day. Isn’t it time we got used to the idea? | Tim LottRelated: We’ll all die one day. Isn’t it time we got used to the idea? | Tim Lott
The use of cadavers was not always seen in such a negative way. If we go back to the heyday of medical museums and public dissections in the 18th century, there was a zeitgeist of enlightenment, and learning anatomy was considered an agreeable hobby. In 1857 however, the Obscene Publications Act resulted in many of these museums and their beautiful waxworks and mounted specimens being destroyed, condemned for being titillating and obscene.The use of cadavers was not always seen in such a negative way. If we go back to the heyday of medical museums and public dissections in the 18th century, there was a zeitgeist of enlightenment, and learning anatomy was considered an agreeable hobby. In 1857 however, the Obscene Publications Act resulted in many of these museums and their beautiful waxworks and mounted specimens being destroyed, condemned for being titillating and obscene.
There is nothing salacious about wanting to witness the intricacies of the human body: we all have one. There is also nothing particularly morbid about considering death and contemplating decay. In Buddhism for example, the practice of Maranasati involves meditating on death and decomposition in all its stages (from fresh, to bloat, to consumption by animals, to bone). This is said to be a way to increase mindfulness, improve the quality of life and relieve fear. Its legacy lives on in the Japanese art of Kusozu – images of decaying women used for contemplation – which you can view at the British Museum and at the Wellcome Collection’s current exhibition, Forensics.There is nothing salacious about wanting to witness the intricacies of the human body: we all have one. There is also nothing particularly morbid about considering death and contemplating decay. In Buddhism for example, the practice of Maranasati involves meditating on death and decomposition in all its stages (from fresh, to bloat, to consumption by animals, to bone). This is said to be a way to increase mindfulness, improve the quality of life and relieve fear. Its legacy lives on in the Japanese art of Kusozu – images of decaying women used for contemplation – which you can view at the British Museum and at the Wellcome Collection’s current exhibition, Forensics.
Nothing is new and everything comes in cycles. Just now there seems to be a vogue for events and campaigns discussing death, such as last year’s Death Salon at my museum, as well as Death Café, Death over Dinner, and Dying Matters. We are being encouraged to explore green funerals, to be more closely involved with our loved ones while they are dying, and to face our own mortality. It seems the attempt to engage the public with anatomy, in Edinburgh, is part of this more positive culture.Nothing is new and everything comes in cycles. Just now there seems to be a vogue for events and campaigns discussing death, such as last year’s Death Salon at my museum, as well as Death Café, Death over Dinner, and Dying Matters. We are being encouraged to explore green funerals, to be more closely involved with our loved ones while they are dying, and to face our own mortality. It seems the attempt to engage the public with anatomy, in Edinburgh, is part of this more positive culture.
And it’s with good reason: a 2009 psychological study by Nathan Heflick of Kent University indicated that thinking about death for five minutes a day reduced depressive thoughts after only one week, and had a generally positive effect on mood. A separate study found that students who were asked to write about their own death showed more positive emotions than those asked to consider the prospect of dental pain. And it’s with good reason: a 2009 psychological study by Nathan Heflick of Kent University indicated that thinking about death for five minutes a day reduced depressive thoughts after only one week, and had a generally positive effect on mood. A separate study found that students who were asked to write about their own death showed more positive emotions than those asked to consider the prospect of dental pain. 
The climate created by the retained organs scandal in the UK still exists (although it’s slowly changing). As it stands, in my museum, a member of the general public cannot see a real human forensic specimen from the collection. Let’s say this is a female victim of torture: a visual confrontation such as this, in its stark reality, may provoke an empathetic and perhaps even charitable response. A member of the general public can however, watch a woman be tortured in various films and even carry out torture themselves in some computer games, leading to a disassociation with pain and suffering. There is unease at the idea of the public dissection of a leg (from a deceased individual who consented to such activity), yet I can buy a computer game and beat someone to death in it with ease.The climate created by the retained organs scandal in the UK still exists (although it’s slowly changing). As it stands, in my museum, a member of the general public cannot see a real human forensic specimen from the collection. Let’s say this is a female victim of torture: a visual confrontation such as this, in its stark reality, may provoke an empathetic and perhaps even charitable response. A member of the general public can however, watch a woman be tortured in various films and even carry out torture themselves in some computer games, leading to a disassociation with pain and suffering. There is unease at the idea of the public dissection of a leg (from a deceased individual who consented to such activity), yet I can buy a computer game and beat someone to death in it with ease.
We have things the wrong way round. Confronting death and being “death positive” are natural ways to confront our mortality, rather than vicariously through increasingly violent media. It isn’t wrong for people to spend time with deceased loved ones, or to be curious about decomposition and medical specimens, and it isn’t strange to consider your own death. Indeed, by contemplating death, we gain a deeper awareness and appreciation for nature and life, and greater awareness and happiness, too.We have things the wrong way round. Confronting death and being “death positive” are natural ways to confront our mortality, rather than vicariously through increasingly violent media. It isn’t wrong for people to spend time with deceased loved ones, or to be curious about decomposition and medical specimens, and it isn’t strange to consider your own death. Indeed, by contemplating death, we gain a deeper awareness and appreciation for nature and life, and greater awareness and happiness, too.