First-Year Medical Students Host Cadaver Memorial Service

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (November 13, 2006) – Once a new class of medical students at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine steps on campus, they begin their training almost immediately. One of the most important and memorable rights of passage of any doctor-to-be is the gross anatomy course. Students spend three days a week for the first four months of medical school in the lab, learning about the basics of the human body.

Having just completed the gross anatomy course last Wednesday, the class will be hosting the annual Cadaver Memorial Service this Wednesday, November 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the Reynolds Medical Building lobby.

“Gross anatomy is a true initiation into medicine,” first-year student and class vice president Laura Tribuzi said. “It is such a unique experience and incredibly beneficial to our education. These people that donated their bodies to the College of Medicine were somebody’s parents and grandparents, so we have great feelings of respect for them. The Cadaver Memorial Service will allow us to really personalize this experience a lot more.”

During the gross anatomy course, students work in teams of six and rotate after each of their major tests, so teams have the opportunity to spend time with and learn from different cadavers. The course heavily relies on laboratory dissection, which is the most effective method to obtain a three-dimensional understanding of the human body.

“The first day I was a bit apprehensive, but our professors do a great job of helping us get used to it,” Tribuzi said. “There is so much to see on a three-dimensional, real person that we could never learn any other way. Gross anatomy really helps us to get over our initial fear of touching or hurting people, because as a physician, it’s our job to make them well.”

Class president Jeffrey Liu will offer remarks on behalf of the class. Dr. Wei-Jung Chen, Gross Anatomy Course Coordinator and Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, will also speak, followed by a candle lighting ceremony.