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Background Laparoscopic surgery is associated with a shallow learning curve. AnubiFiX embalming technique enables laparoscopic surgical training on supple embalmed and hence insufflatable human specimens in the dissection room. Aim of the present trial is to test whether dissection-based anatomy education is superior to classical frontal classroom education on the short and long term. Methods A total of 112 medical students were randomized in three groups. Group I attended classroom education, group II laparoscopic dissection-based education and group III received both. All groups completed an anatomy test on human specimens before, immediately after and 3 weeks after the anatomy training. Results Group II and III scored significantly better compared to group I immediately after the anatomy training ( p I–II < 0.001, p I–III < 0.001). This difference was still significant after 3 weeks ( p I–II < 0.001, p I–III < 0.001). No significant difference was found between group II and group III immediately after the course ( p  = 0.86), nor at the follow-up ( p  = 0.054). Conclusions The AnubiFiX™ embalming technique enables laparoscopic anatomy education in human specimens, with superior outcomes on the short and long term, as compared to classical frontal classroom education.

Introduction Thiel’s embalming technique, first described by Thiel in 1992, conserves texture and colour in cadavers close to that observed in the living. It would appear that few anatomy laboratories use this method, and literature describing its use worldwide is sparse. The aim of our study was to conduct a worldwide survey on the use of this method. Methods A questionnaire was sent out by mail to 311 anatomy laboratories or institutes across the five continents. There were six multiple choice questions to assess the level of awareness of Thiel’s method, the frequency of its use among respondent institutions, the most frequently used solutions for conservation of cadavers and perceived obstacles to the use of Thiel’s technique. Results 109/311 (35%) centres replied to the questionnaire; 56% of centres had previously heard of Thiel’s technique, but only 11 centres (10% of respondents) used it regularly, and all of these were in Europe. Formalin remains the most widely used conservation solution around the world. Conclusions Thiel’s embalming technique is not widely known, and therefore, little used. The main obstacle to its wider use is likely the language barrier, since most of the publications describing Thiel’s method are in German, which is not widely spoken outside of a few European countries.

The ability of the ancient Egyptians to preserve the human body through embalming has not only fascinated people since antiquity, but also has always raised the question of how this outstanding chemical and ritual process was practically achieved. Here we integrate archaeological, philological and organic residue analyses, shedding new light on the practice and economy of embalming in ancient Egypt. We analysed the organic contents of 31 ceramic vessels recovered from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara 1 , 2 . These vessels were labelled according to their content and/or use, enabling us to correlate organic substances with their Egyptian names and specific embalming practices. We identified specific mixtures of fragrant or antiseptic oils, tars and resins that were used to embalm the head and treat the wrappings using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses. Our study of the Saqqara workshop extends interpretations from a micro-level analysis highlighting the socio-economic status of a tomb owner 3 – 7 to macro-level interpretations of the society. The identification of non-local organic substances enables the reconstruction of trade networks that provided ancient Egyptian embalmers with the substances required for mummification. This extensive demand for foreign products promoted trade both within the Mediterranean 8 – 10 (for example, Pistacia and conifer by-products) and with tropical forest regions (for example, dammar and elemi). Additionally, we show that at Saqqara, antiu and sefet —well known from ancient texts and usually translated as ‘myrrh’ or ‘incense’ 11 – 13 and ‘a sacred oil’ 13 , 14 —refer to a coniferous oils-or-tars-based mixture and an unguent with plant additives, respectively. Philological analysis of labels and instructions, together with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of residues on vessels recovered from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara, Egypt provide insights into ancient Egyptian embalming practices.

In accordance with ancient Egyptian beliefs, the preservation of the body after death was an important prerequisite for the continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife. This involved application of various physical interventions and magical rituals to the corpse. Computed tomography (CT), as the gold-standard technology in the field of paleoradiology, enables deeper insights into details of artificial body preservation. Therefore, CT was applied to investigate age at death, sex, mummification techniques, and the state of soft tissue preservation in 21 child mummies. The specimens are housed in European museums and were found in various archaeological sites. This sample included 12 males, 7 females, and two specimens of unknown sex, all between the ages of one and 14 years. Time periods were determined by radiocarbon dating, and time-related indicators of funerary equipment and decoration. Most of the mummies date from the Late Period to the Roman Period (664 BC–395 AD). Differences were identified concerning techniques of wrapping and embalming and removal of brain and internal organs, depending on age at death, social status and the archaeological site of the individuals. The variety and multifaceted nature of mummification and soft tissue preservation was analyzed in an integrated approach including a large number of specimens. The study highlights the significance of subadult remains as valuable bioarcheological archives to investigate burial customs and religious concepts in past societies.

While medieval and modern embalming practices in Western Europe are attested to historically and bioarcheologically, especially for famous historical figures, there are few recorded occurrences of this type of corpse preparation for a large number of archaeological individuals from the same lineage. Moreover, evidence of such practices mainly concerns adult individuals, whereas traces of child embalming are extremely rare. In 2017, the discovery of a crypt in the chapel of the Château des Milandes (Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Dordogne, France) revealed a collective burial of the scattered remains of seven adults and five children of the aristocratic Caumont family, who died in the 16th and 17th centuries and whose skeletons all show marks of embalming practices. In 2021, another excavation in the chapel uncovered the individual grave of an elderly woman whose body was also embalmed. This skeletal sample provides a unique opportunity to examine the modus operandi of medieval embalming through the cutmarks left on the cranium and appendicular skeleton and to compare mortuary protocols for adults and children. Our macroscopic and microscopic investigations revealed a thorough and highly standardized technical treatment that was similar for both adult and very young immature individuals and displays a skillset that was passed down over two centuries.

Mold growth on body donations remains an underreported yet serious issue in anatomical teaching. Bacterial and fungal growth pose health risks to lecturers and students, alongside with ethical and aesthetic concerns. However, limited information exists on the presence of bacteria and fungi on body donations and their underlying causes. To investigate the potential impact of airborne germs on body donation contamination, we conducted indoor air measurements before, during, and after our anatomical dissection course, with outdoor measurements serving as a control. Tissue samples from the dissected body donations were collected to assess the germ load, with qualitative and quantitative microbiological analyses. Air samples from the dissection hall contained no fungi, but various fungal species were identified in the adjacent stairways and outdoors which implies that fungal occurrence in the dissection hall air was independent of lecturers’ and students’ presence. Moreover, our results indicate that adequate ventilation filters can effectively reduce indoor fungal germs during courses, while the bacterial load in room air appears to increase, likely due to the presence of lecturers and students. Additionally, the tissue samples revealed no bacterial or fungal germs which implies that our ethanol-formalin-based embalming solution demonstrates an effective long-term antimicrobial preservation of corpses.

To identify the specific contents of the vessels, an Egyptian-German team analysed the mixtures using a technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at a National Research Centre laboratory in Giza, Egypt. \"Egypt was resource-poor in terms of many resinous substances, so many were procured or traded from distant lands,\" says Carl Heron, an archaeological scientist at the British Museum in London who was not involved in the research. Many of the resins had antimicrobial properties - one bowl containing elemi and animal fat was inscribed \"to make his odour pleasant\" - or characteristics that promoted preservation.

[...]we focused our attention on the needle tip position. The red point is the location of the needle tip estimated from this present case and the images performed by Aikawa et al . 3 The yellow points are possible needle tip positions based on the images reported by Sawada et al . 1 CC, costal cartilage; EOM, external oblique muscle; M-TAPA, modified thoracoabdominal nerve block through perichondrial approach. Evaluation of sensory loss obtained by modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach in aptients undergoing gynecological laparoscopic surgery: a prospective observational study.

Crosado-embalming has been successfully used as embalming technique in research and teaching for over 20 years. It is applied in biomechanical testing experiments if the fresh tissues are unavailable, e.g., for cultural, ethical, logistical or health and safety reasons. However, features of human Crosado-embalmed tissues biomechanical characteristics including its load-deformation properties in comparison to fresh tissues and its controllability through hydration fluids may be insightful and therefore need to be studied further. This study compared the uniaxial load-deformation properties and the cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements of fresh-frozen and Crosado-embalmed collagen-rich tissues, namely the iliotibial band (ITB, 16 unembalmed and 35 embalmed specimens) and cranial dura mater (DM, 60 unembalmed cadavers, and 25 embalmed specimens). The water content of 120 Crosado-embalmed ITB samples (30 cadavers) were analysed considering established rehydration treatments, including polyethylene glycol (PEG). Crosado-embalmed tissues presented an increased elastic modulus (EM) (all p  < 0.050; e.g., Crosado ITB PEG only 306 ± 91 MPa vs. fresh-frozen ITB PEG only 108 ± 31 MPa; mean ± standard deviation; p  < 0.001) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (e.g., Crosado ITB PEG only 46 ± 15 MPa vs. fresh-frozen ITB PEG only 21 ± 8 MPa; p  < 0.001) when rehydrated similar to the fresh tissues. The maximum force was different for the dura mater (Crosado 25 ± 13 N vs. fresh 21 ± 20 N; mean ± standard deviation; p  = 0.050) but not for the ITB. The CSA following rehydration in PEG only was decreased for Crosado-embalmed samples (3.4 ± 1.2mm 2 , ITB; 1.1 ± 0.5 mm 2 , DM) compared to fresh-frozen (5.8 ± 2.1mm 2 , ITB; 3.1 ± 1.2mm 2 , DM) (all p  ≤ 0.003). Furthermore, rehydration effects were observed following 24 h of PEG treatment (untreated tissues, 49 ± 9% vs. PEG only, 77 ± 4%; p  < 0.001), in comparison to fresh samples (69%) tissues were hyperhydrated. In conclusion, Crosado-embalming appears to alter collagen-rich tissues’ morphological and mechanical properties. While an increase in material properties of Crosado-embalmed tissues was observed (Emod and UTS), the overall load-bearing capacity and peak structural strength remained unaltered for ITB tissues. This may result from CSA-related, geometric or molecular alterations after the fixative and osmotic water protocols related to changes in the collagen backbone and water-binding capacity.

BACKGROUND: Human anatomy is a fundamental aspect of a physician’s knowledge. While novel technologies offer innovative ways to teach anatomy, cadavers remain an essential component of anatomical education. The quality of specimens begins with well-preserved cadavers, and the chosen vascular access for injection plays a crucial role. Unfortunately, there is a lack of literature regarding embalming procedures, as discourse on such practices could enhance the quality, safety, and effectiveness of anatomical instruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a femoral artery approach is described for embalming, which entails a meticulous process of cutting through the skin, and navigating through fascias and adipose tissue by means of blunt dissection, ultimately reaching the artery for embalming injection. Tips and techniques pertaining to this technique are provided, including vital details for convenient accessibility and minimal impairment of tissue. CONCLUSIONS: The objective of this study is to facilitate anatomists and technicians in the adoption of the femoral artery approach, and to encourage further exploration of alternative embalming methods, thus contributing to the continuous advancement of anatomical sciences.