GUEST EDITORIAL

Use of human cadavers as a teaching-learning tool: past or future?

Since a long time ago, the use of human cadavers for human body's study has been described. The advantage of this technique is to allow the contact with the genuine tissues, which enables a very close-to-real simulation. Repeatedly, it has been reported the use of preserved bodies, drawings and paintings containing accurate details of human anatomy, learned from the large observation of the human body.

Currently, health areas commonly employ human cadavers preserved in formalin for anatomical study. However, such preservation proves to be precarious, mainly because it modifies the tissues, as time goes by. Due to both lack of new models and weariness caused by the repetitive use by different student groups, the undergraduates find situations of intense dilaceration and loss of tissues and organs that deteriorate, almost complete wear out from their natural state. This contributes for a discrepancy in learning and knowledge, leading the student to start the clinical practice showing extreme deficiency. Therefore, errors may happen during the primary treatment of patients.

In Brazil, to improve the development quality of the health area skills, the use of animals have been employed. However, there are important differences between animals and human beings, which, in a certain way, limit the teaching-learning process.

On the other hand, when a well-preserved or fresh cadaver is handled, the simulation of clinical-surgical procedures of greater or lesser complexity seems to be very advantageous. This type of experience enables a slow practical demonstration for both the professor and undergraduate, with presentation of details, simultaneous discussion of the technique of choice, and a study with sense of reality, i.e., presenting texture, color, and deepness equal to those of a live patient. Additionally, it allows the student to observe carefully the clinical-surgical maneuvers and perform the procedures even without previous experience, inhibits the fear or insecurity that a determined manual therapeutic would provoke in a new operator, and still favors the correction of errors without greater consequences to "patient".

Once the ethical principles are respected, the use of cadavers in excellent state of conservation does not require any prerequisites, graduation, or years of study, which ends up being very valuable for stimulating the professional. For example, junior dental students can already have notions of either advanced surgeries related to Implantodontology, or even a simple tooth extraction. This short experience can contribute for the advancement of the undergraduate's process of professional thinking formation, representing a gain of months compared to the conventional teaching methods, besides to the deep knowledge on human anatomy, with the possibility of easily testing the limits of human morphology.

Despite all these advantages, the current Brazilian legislation does not allow the storage of human cadavers for study. However, since organ donation is free and accepted for saving lives, it could also have a didactic effect, enabling that health area undergraduates improve their clinical practice. In return, such attitude would help reducing the number of iatrogenic procedures and the risk of death. The discrepancies among different countries show that, unlike Brazil, the practice of study in cadavers is much more common and accepted, maybe even less problematic than in vivo application.

Based on that, in an unprecedented initiative, the professors of the Post-Graduation Dentistry Course of the Positivo University organized an extension course titled "Implantodontology and advanced surgeries with training in fresh human cadavers", at a meeting in the United States of America, in January/2011, for Dentistry professionals and undergraduates at any level. It is expected that such type of action brings human body's observation back from the past, resulting in great advancements for the future of health area teaching-learning process. For more information on future courses visit the website www.up.com.br.

João César Zielak, MS, PhD.
Tatiana Miranda Deliberador, MS, PhD.
Positive University