Environmental Hazard: Gross Anatomy

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To the Editor: Medical-school courses in gross anatomy have been the subject of numerous discussions regarding their relevance, content, length, and format.1 2 3 Of perhaps more immediate importance is the physical environment in which such courses are conducted. In the gross-dissection laboratory, medical students and faculty are exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals — primarily formaldehyde and phenols. Concern over possible teratogenic and mutagenic effects has caused one medical school to bar a pregnant student from the dissecting laboratory (Benator R: personal communication).Human cadavers are preserved in a formalin solution with phenols added as a bleach and germicide.4 Formaldehyde has been . . .

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