UA medical students paid their respects yesterday morning to men and women whose names they never knew, but whose bodies were essential to their education.
More than 100 first-year students, all of whom successfully completed last semester's medicine 801: Gross Anatomy course, gathered at the Arizona Cancer Center's Kiewit Auditorium to honor donors to the Willed Body Program, which supplies the course with the cadavers necessary for medical students to understand the physiology of the human body.
"It's a way of saying 'thank you' to these individuals," said Nicholas Panayi, one of the 118 first-year med students from last year's anatomy class. "It really is a profound contribution."
Students like Panayi begin the anatomy class by attending a one-hour lecture called "Coping with Cadavers," which helps familiarize students with the donor program and ease them into what can be a traumatic learning experience.
"We go over what they can expect in the class, and we walk them into the lab and show them an actual cadaver," said Dr. Maria Czuzak, course coordinator for the Gross Anatomy class. "It helps them come to terms with actually cutting into a cadaver."
Students are then put into groups of four and presented with an anonymous cadaver and spend the next semester literally getting to know it inside and out.
"We never knew their names, just the cause of death," Panayi said. "But in spite of that, we're here to show our appreciation for something we'll always remember."
One by one, the groups of four came forward to pay their respects, filling a vase with a colorful bouquet of orchids, roses and carnations. The flowers were later distributed to patients at University Medical Center.
Students also took turns placing stones into an ornate wooden box, which will be kept on display for future anatomy classes.
"We encourage people to find their stones somewhere in nature," said Amanda McDowell, one of the key student organizers of the event. She said the tradition began last year and served as a more lasting reminder of the donors' sacrifices.
"It's something more permanent so other students will always remember," McDowell said.
Dr. William Adamas-Rappaport, an associate professor of surgery and keynote speaker for the ceremony, stressed to the students the importance of a medical student's first dissection and how it relates to the students' future relationships with living patients.
"Medicine is based on a bond of trust between a doctor and patient, and in a way your cadaver was your first patient," Rappaport told the students. "These individuals have unconditionally given us their bodies to literally dissect every fiber to make us better physicians, and all their families ask is an unwritten agreement that we will treat them like members of our family."
The ceremony also featured music courtesy of two anatomy students: cellist Devin Kim and Vivi Nguyen on violin.
The duo performed "Meditation" by Jules Massenet, a somber string duet that complimented the mournful and reverent tone of the ceremony.
"It just seemed like an appropriate choice," Kim said.
Joshua Lopez, director of the Willed Body Program, the program's donors represent a wide demographic of the community.
"Some are physicians who understand the importance of the program," Lopez said. "Others have made it a family tradition; instead of getting a family burial plot they donate themselves to the university."
The ceremony has long been a part of the anatomy program, but last year's ceremony was the first to be organized entirely by the students, Czuzak said.
"It's their possession now, and it has been very successful," Czuzak said. "We're hoping to continue this component."
There are concerns that changes to next year's curriculum, which will combine the Gross Anatomy course with other core classes into a year-long program, will eliminate the need for the ceremony since students will likely be working with multiple cadavers in the future.
Czuzak said that even with the curriculum changes, the honoring ceremony is an integral part of the anatomy program that will be retained.
"We will be able to continue the ceremony." Czuzak said. "It's very important to bring them full-circle. We begin it with the Coping with Cadavers session, and this ceremony brings closure to the whole experience."