LUCKNOW Like their MBBS counterparts, medical students pursuing degrees in Ayush colleges will also get the opportunity to understand human anatomy with the help of cadavers.
“We have recommended necessary amendments in the Uttar Pradesh Anatomy Act of 1956 to facilitate Ayush colleges with dead bodies donated for medical studies,” said Dr Arvind K Verma, director of Homeopathy, Uttar Pradesh, and member of the committee that recommended changes.
The recommendations will first be approved by the state government and then implemented. “This will pave the way for students of homeopathy and ayurveda to study real organs. The use of cadavers will equip them with the right knowledge in the context of treating patients,” added Dr Verma.
There are nine government homeopathy colleges in Uttar Pradesh. In all, these colleges intake 828 students every year. Meanwhile, the 58 government Ayurveda colleges in the state intake 502 students annually. However, a majority of them lack cadavers in anatomy classes.
In undergraduate courses in AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, and Homeopathy) colleges, there are a total of 7,338 seats. Explaining the significance of cadavers for medical education, Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general association of international doctors said, “Dissection of a cadaver is the first exposure of the medical students to the human body. It helps students develop knowledge about human organs, their function, and position in the body.”
In the absence of a cadaver, students in some colleges are made to understand the body and functions of the organs with models. “These models have pre-defined openings and allow students to see artificial organs but the feel of nerves and organs is missing, which is the core of medical education,” said a senior official in the Ayush department.
Once the state cabinet approves the change in Anatomy Act, the colleges will make necessary arrangements to obtain a body and preserve the same on campus. A dedicated space for receiving and preserving the body will be made. This space is not a mortuary but a space in the anatomy department with facilities such as temperature-controlled units.
The college will then contact offices that conduct body donations. In Lucknow, Hardoi, and Ayodhya, medical colleges are conducting body donations. In Lucknow, King George’s Medical University gets about 30 body donations annually and need at least 20 for MBBS and PG students. Ayush colleges can contact medical colleges receiving and keeping donated bodies or voluntary organisations doing the same. The bodies obtained are kept will respect and dignity.