The Approach of Anatomists towards Voluntary Body Donation: Inspiring or Dispiriting???

Background: Body donation is a noble act towardscontributing to medical education and research.Although anatomists encourage the general populationto donate bodies, the attitude of anatomists towarddonating their bodies is less discussed in the literature.Aim and Objectives: The present study was conductedto obtain the knowledge, attitude and practice ofanatomists towards voluntary body donation. Materialand Methods: The study was conducted among theanatomists of different Medical Colleges of SouthIndia. To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practicesof voluntary body donation, a semi-structuredquestionnaire was designed and distributed to theanatomists. Results: The study involved 102anatomists. The majority 58.3% stated that the primarysource of supply of cadavers was from the bodydonation program. When it came to voluntary bodydonation, only 32.4% of the anatomists were willing todonate their bodies. The facilitating factors forwillingness to donate were contributions to medicaleducation 60.3%, personal satisfaction 7.4%,motivation to the general public 4.4%, andencouragement from a close friend/ colleague 2.9%.The factors that abstained individuals from donatingwere: restriction from family members 30.9%, malhandling of the cadavers 29.4%, and ritual beliefs20.6%. Conclusion: The approach of anatomiststowards donating their bodies is not promising. It maydiscourage the general public from donating theirbodies. Therefore, it is equally important to inspire andencourage the anatomists towards body donation.

Morphometric analysis of corpus callosum in relation to brain size in fetuses of South Indian population.

Background: The corpus callosum (CC) comprises axons connecting the cortices of the two cerebral hemispheres and is the principal white matter fiber bundle in the brain Morphological characteristics of fetal corpus callosum are of value from embryologic and diagnostic points of view. Knowledge of fetal callosal size is an essential prerequisite for the study of its changes during infancy and childhood. Methods: The study included twenty four formalin fixed fetuses ranging from 25 to 40 weeks obtained from department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College. The measurements taken were; frontal pole to occipital pole, anterior most point to posterior most point of CC, frontal pole of brain to anterior most point of CC, occipital pole of brain to posterior most point of CC, anterior edge of splenium to superior most point of superior colliculus and thickness of body of CC. Results: Spearman’s correlation test was used to determine the correlation between different parameters. A strong positive correlation was found between the length and gestational age (r=0.69), between thickness and gestational age (r=0.4) and between length and thickness of corpus callosum (r=0.5). Conclusions: Length and thickness of corpus callosum was found to increase proportionally to gestational age but it was not statistically significant. The growth of CC was proportional to the growth of brain. The precise anatomical knowledge regarding the morphology and growth of corpus callosum will provide baseline data for the diagnosis and assessment of progression of a disease affecting it.

Micronucleus assay on buccal cells: an indicator of DNA damage due to formaldehyde exposure in anatomy dissection labs.

Background: The occupational exposure to formaldehyde (FA) can lead to various hazards ranging from allergic reactions to genetic damage. Workers of Anatomy lab are at a higher risk of having the hazardous effects of FA. Micronuclei (MN) appear in the cells due to chromosome breakage and dysfunction of the mitotic apparatus which are the indicators for the DNA damage. The present study was carried out to detect the DNA damage in people exposed to FA using buccal cell MN Assay by measuring the MN frequency in buccal cells with respect to the duration of exposure. Methods: Thirty male workers of Anatomy labs of different medial colleges in Bangalore were included in the study. Thirty people with no FA exposure were considered as comparison group. Buccal cells were scraped from the cheek and slides were prepared. A total of 1000 cells were counted for the presence of MN after staining with Geimsa solution. Results: There was a significant increase in the frequency of MN in both buccal cells (p<0.001). A positive correlation was found between the years of exposure and frequency of MN in buccal cells (r=0.5, p=0.03). Conclusion: This study highlights that there is a significant DNA damage in people exposed to formaldehyde which is proportional to the duration of exposure.