Room-Temperature Resin Casting Technique a Low Cost Effective Teaching Tool in Human Anatomy

Abstract

Attached

Traditionally gross anatomy is taught at medical schools with cadaver dissections. Due to the cost involved in maintenance the medical faculties are considering novel teaching/learning tools in Anatomy. As a solution the Department o f Anatomy, Faculty o f Medical Sciences (FMS), University o f Sri Jayewardenepura (USJP) has invented a method o f mounting considerably anhydrous human tissues in a solid resin casts to study detailed anatomy. To develop a durable low cost technique to preserve human tissues in a manner that details the anatomy while retaining relevant properties. The tissues were initially fixed using formalin to stop the decaying and decomposition. The water content was significantly removed using series o f 99.9% acetone while maintaining the original tissue architecture. Dehydrated tissue parts were exposed to sub-atmospheric pressure in a resin bath to replace all acetone molecules by resin. Final specimens were embedded in clear resin after mixing with the catalyst, which will polymerized into a solid resin cast. The human specimens were taken from the cadavers that have been donated to the Department o f Anatomy, FMS, USJP with written consent obtained prior to death to use the cadaver fo r medical teaching and research. This is an appropriate method fo r preserving human body crosssections at specific vertebral levels. In this method, dehydrated human tissues were embedded in a clear synthetic resin cast, while preserving the original shape and volume. These casts have zero exposure to formalin during handling. The specimens are more durable than other routine specimen preservation methods used in Sri Lanka. Finally the tissue waste is low and thereby the preservation and maintenance cost o f cadavers could be reduced drastically. Currently these resin casts are in use fo r teaching/learning anatomy at FMS, USJP. Undoubtedly the detailed anatomy is best learned by cadaver dissections. Resin casted specimens are a cost effective and successful supplementary method o f teaching/learning gross and cross sectional Anatomy with no exposure to formalin.