First time learning anatomy on a human body

Hanoi Thu Huong walked into the morgue on the second floor of the Institute of Anatomy, suddenly stopped, the smell of formality through the mask rushed into her nose, making her nauseous and having difficulty breathing.

Hoang Thu Huong’s class, 40 second-year students at Hanoi Medical University, had their first lesson in Human Anatomy. This was the first time they had come into contact with preserved bodies at the Institute of Anatomy.

The room, about 100 square meters wide, reeked of formalin - a chemical used to preserve bodies. There were six coffins containing bodies, along with about 200 human body specimens kept in chemical jars for students to observe and study.

The class is divided into two groups of 20 students each, studying a cadaver. Due to the limited number of cadavers, students at Hanoi Medical University only practice but are not allowed to directly perform the surgery, called dissection. That is, as the content is learned, the teacher or technician will dissect and expose the blood vessels and nerves of that part for students to observe. Occasionally, some students are allowed to use forceps or pins to pick up the nerves and muscles for easy observation.

Like Huong, some students were initially excited to "learn on corpses", but when they entered the room, they could not stand the smell and had to leave. Some students survived the first class. Like Nguyen Hong Phuc, who is in Huong's class, said that her seniors had shared with her about the difficulties of this subject, but she could not imagine the reality being so harsh.

"There were too many people around and the unpleasant smell caused a lack of oxygen, making it difficult to breathe and almost fainting," Phuc said. After standing listening to the teacher for a while, Phuc had to run outside to vomit, breathe, then return to continue studying.

Ngo Ha My and Le Thi Thuong were in the same study group, had better endurance, wore masks and quickly caught up with the lecture. My listened attentively and observed the body, chest specimen, and arm specimen. However, when it came to the practical part, the teacher asked the students to use clamps, pins, and pick up the nerves to analyze the structure. The two students' hands were shaking, not daring to look straight ahead to pick them up.

In the morgue on the second floor of the Institute of Anatomy, second-year medical students gathered around human cadavers to learn about body structure.

Resident doctor Nguyen The Thai said that according to the process, the donated body is received by the hospital and preserved within 24 hours using two methods. One method is to preserve it with chemicals to prevent decomposition, called a dry body, and about a year later it is used for research and teaching. The other method is to preserve the body in a specialized refrigerator, called a fresh body, used in anatomy classes to train doctors and high-tech training in surgery.

"Anatomy is the first gate all medical students must pass. There is no better teaching tool than the human body itself," said Dr. Thai, adding that cadavers are called "silent teachers" by medical students.

According to Dr. Thai, most medical students are very brave and not afraid when they see dead bodies. What is unpleasant is the smell of chemicals. "Some students have to wait until the third class to gradually get used to this environment," the doctor said. Many female students "turn pale" when they see dead bodies, or turn away and cover their eyes when they see human body specimens soaked in formalin bottles.

"I always encourage students to overcome their fear, consider this a sacred duty, and be serious in front of someone who sacrificed their body to serve medicine," said Dr. Thai, adding that if they cannot overcome their fear, they cannot effectively learn this subject.

Doctor Thai instructs anatomy students. Photo: Tung Dinh — Doctor Thai (center) instructs anatomy students. Photo: *Tung Dinh*

Anatomy is the basic subject of all subjects related to the external system, teaching students to know the basic structure of the human body. If doctors do not understand the structure of each part of the human body, they will not be able to operate and treat patients. However, due to the small number of corpses, the number of students is too large, standing crowded around a corpse, making it very difficult to observe, let alone to dissect by hand.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Nghia, Deputy Head of the Department of Anatomy, Hanoi Medical University, said that studying and teaching anatomy is currently facing many difficulties. Over the past 10 years, the Institute of Anatomy has only received 13 cadavers, not enough for students and doctors to study and research.

"Each class should only have 8-10 students practicing on a corpse. However, currently due to insufficient numbers, more than 20 students practice on a corpse, the learning efficiency is not high," said Mr. Nghia.

The reason why the number of people donating their bodies to medical science is still low, stems from the Vietnamese mentality of "dying with the body intact", according to Mr. Nghia. Many people registered to donate their bodies but their families objected. Meanwhile, according to regulations, the person donating their body must have the consent of all family members.

Dr. Nghia hopes that more people will understand this noble act and register to donate their bodies for research, helping the medical industry solve the shortage that has lasted for decades. From there, it will also contribute to helping medical students improve their learning quality and become good doctors in the future.

Thuy Quynh

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