Anatomy Education Relies on Body Donor Program

I sat down in a fluorescent plastic chair in an ice cold, windowless room. I was a sophomore in college and it was my first lab experience at the University of Utah. Surrounding me, on big white tables, were the bodies of donors wrapped in plastic coverings. Nervously, the students gathered into groups and we surrounded our stations. Most of us had never seen a deceased human being before. Without hesitation, the teaching assistant (TA) unwrapped our donor and delicately began probing the cadaver, teaching us about the heart and the greater vessels.