NILAI: The mushrooming of medical, dental and other health science institutions has contributed to the lack of cadavers for dissection and research in medical institutions.
Hospital Kuala Lumpur National Institute of Forensic Medicine director Datuk Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood said the use of cadavers was crucial for doctors in training, to allow them to understand the theory behind patients' symptoms, perform a relevant physical examination, interpret clinical images and form differential diagnoses.
"Human cadaver has been widely used for anatomy teaching and medical training around the world. For doctors in training, appreciation of the architecture of the human body is essential in the application and practice of medicine," he said.
"However, now that cadavers are becoming increasingly scarce, with their preservation costs continuing to rise, it is becoming more difficult for medical institutions to expose their students to real human bodies for them to apply what they learn in their medical class.
"This scenario has further deteriorated by the steep increase in the number of medical institutions in the country," he said.
Dr Mohd Shah said attempts have been made to develop computerised imaging models in anatomy as an option to teach the subject.
"But it still can't replace cadaveric dissection based on the fact that cadavers provide clear visuospatial picture of the human body, real texture of human tissues and to comprehend pathological conditions," he said.
He added with that, special processes need to be conducted on every cadaver to ensure that it was not damaged and suitable for use for a longer period of time.
Dr Mohd Shah was speaking to the media after launching the Handling of Cadaver for Teaching and Learning Purposes: The Islamic Perspectives seminar at Faculty of Economics and Muamalat University Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) here today.
Also present were Jakim Division of Planning and Research senior principle assistant director, Dr Muhammad Yamin Ismail, dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) USIM, Professor Dr Muhammad Shamsir Mohd Arif and USIM medical lecturer and anatomist and organising committee director, Dr Ku Mastura My Mohd Noor.
The one-day seminar was held to provide exposure to academicians and medical practitioners on guidelines to handle cadavers in accordance with the Islamic perspectives.
Dr Muhammad Shamsir said FMHS, together with relevant experts from Forensic Department, Health Ministry, World Fatwa Management and Research Institute and Jakim, a complete guideline on the use and handling of cadavers in accordance with the Islamic law and perspectives had been lined up, which would be used in teaching and learning processes at all public and private institutions in the country.
"Once it is ready, it will mark Malaysia as the first country in the region to have such guidelines in medical institutions. We are proud that this seminar has also seen participations from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Brunei," he said.