Dry Preservation of Cadaveric Hearts: An Innovative Trial

Decay is a vital process in nature but an impediment to morphological studies, teaching and research. It has always been a goal for anatomists to find suitable preservation techniques. Wet cadaveric specimens allow 'hands on' learning but students and teachers have to contend with noxious formalin fumes. This paper describes an alternative approach to the study and teaching of gross anatomy of human hearts to undergraduate and postgraduate students using Quickfix® impregnated dry cadaveric hearts. Formalin fixed hearts were utilized as the source of specimens to be plastinated. The reasons for this choice were a result of the decreased cadaveric availability and limited funds in our institution. The procedure is simple to perform, cost effective and carried out at room temperature (37°C-40°C). It precludes the use of expensive resins and equipment. The hearts were well preserved in the dry state without showing any change of color or fungal growth. We regard this process as an important factor in bridging the gap between anatomy and clinical practice.