Does cadaveric surgery have a role in modernizing anatomical education and sparking surgical interest in medical students?

Intensifying debates in the literature are encouraging the modernization of cadaveric dissection to teach anatomy to medical students. 1 McMenamin P.G. McLachlan J. Wilson A. et al. Do we really need cadavers anymore to learn anatomy in undergraduate medicine?. Med Teach. 2018; 40: 1020-1029https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018.1485884 Crossref PubMed Scopus (67) Google Scholar The typical educational model of students (guided by demonstrators) systematically dissecting a cadaver in small groups, led by a dissection manual and pre-reading they have done, is criticized for being outdated and focusing on minutiae rather than the most clinically relevant anatomy for this group. This is amidst a reduction in curriculum time dedicated to anatomy over the past century, due to the development of horizontally and vertically integrated curricula and increases in the amount and variety of material that medical students must learn 2 Drake R.L. McBride J.M. Lachman N. Pawlina W. Medical education in the anatomical sciences: the winds of change continue to blow. Anat Sci Educ. 2009; 2: 253-259https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.117 Crossref PubMed Scopus (566) Google Scholar ; this necessitates more efficient anatomy teaching. The criticism becomes especially damaging as a traditional cadaveric dissection program, requiring specialist technicians, facilities and administrative processes, is a very resource-intensive and time-consuming educational activity to provide.