Originally published by The Conversation. Subscribe to their newsletter here.
Every year, first-year medical students approach their human cadavers with a mixture of awe and trepidation. They will come to know their assigned cadaver intimately. During the course of their studies, they will carefully pull back layers of skin, muscle and tissue as they learn the fundamentals of human anatomy.
When the long process of dissection is complete, the cadavers are cremated, with the remains returned to family, interred in a dedicated plot, scattered in a memorial garden or sometimes buried at sea.
