ABSTRACT
The human bodies and organs have traditionally been preserved using formalin solution, although it irritates the eyes, nose and throat. Plastination is an unique and expensive method for preserving biological samples that can be used in teaching and research. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to prepare a costeffective solution using thermocol to plastinate the brain specimens as a supplement for teaching and research. Two human brains were used in this pilot research project. According to standard procedures, the brains were first fixed in 10% formaldehyde, sectioned horizontally, sagittally and coronally dehydrated in acetone, and then immersed in the plastination solution at room temperature and pressure. Then the specimens were airdried at room temperature. A team of 62 Anatomists and Pathologists assessed the quality of the specimens using a self-developed grading scale. The grading was provided based on the specimens’ clarity, stability, aesthetic look, colour and smell. Statistical analyses was performed using SPSS software, Kruskal Wallis test showed that the lowest mean score was 4.04 provided for colour and highest mean score was 5 provided for the smell with a statistically significant p<0.001. Thus our plastinated specimens were of good quality, durable and handlefriendly. Our study demonstrated that the cost-effective plastination solution (CEPS) procedure is an inexpensive and efficient way to create plastinated specimens that are appropriate for teaching neuroanatomy.