From “Silent Teachers” to Models

For decades,embalmed cadavers have played an important role in teaching anatomy to the scientists and doctors of the future. most anatomy departments use a traditional formaldehyde-based embalming method,but formalin embalming makes the bodies very rigid,which limits their usefulness for procedures other than dissection. a more recent embalming method developed by w. thiel has allowed these “silent teachers” to take on a further role in applied anatomy research and teaching: to act as models for surgical training and medical research. © 2014 eisma,wilkinson.