Anatomy Training in Nigeria and Lack of Bequests

Anatomy is one of the oldest disciplines in the world and an essential component of all the professional degrees, including Medicine, Dentistry Nursing Pharmacy, and Physiotherapy. Undoubtedly undergraduate anatomy education is on the decline globally [1-3] albeit, more in the developed countries than in most developing countries that still heavily depend on cadaveric dissections. [4-6] Cadaveric dissection remains the method of choice for teaching human anatomy [7-12] because it has withstood the test of time, [1,4, 13, 14], impacts positively on the majority of medical students who had attested that dissection fosters teamwork, provides them with a foundation critical to development of clinical skills, aids with their professional development, as it helps to build discipline and independent skills that are essential requirements of modern health care setup. It also helps them come to terms with death and dying. [5,6] However, the acquisition of cadavers, the material to be dissected, leaves a gap in the moral fabric of the principles and practice of Anatomy as a discipline and profession.

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