Gaya: A shortage of human bodies for dissection for dissection is affecting anatomy teaching at Anugrah Narain Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH) in Gaya. The college administration acknowledged that the lack of unclaimed bodies for practical training is hampering hands-on learning for medical students. Some students, speaking on condition of anonymity, also alleged that protocols for preserving skeletons are not being followed properly at the institution.Refuting the allegation, ANMMCH superintendent Dr Anand Prakash Anand said the available skeletons were being preserved in accordance with established protocols. However, he acknowledged that the non-availability of cadavers remained a major challenge for the institution.He said that in several medical colleges, including Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), unclaimed bodies are handed over to medical institutions after 72 hours for dissection and demonstration. However, ANMMCH has not been receiving such bodies from the local administration despite repeated requests.“The ANMMCH administration has written several times to civil and police authorities seeking unclaimed bodies for teaching purposes. Cadaver-based learning and practical demonstrations are extremely useful for medical students,” Anand said.City SP Abhinav said the matter was under consideration. “The ANMMCH principal has approached police officials with documents supporting the institution’s request for unclaimed bodies. So far, the practice has been to perform the last rites of unclaimed bodies after 72 hours. The matter is being revisited, and the principal will soon be informed about a decision on whether such bodies can be handed over to the medical college for teaching purposes,” he said.Meanwhile, experts in medical education said that while some institutions use high-quality plastic models of the human body, real bones remain the gold standard for anatomy teaching because they provide accurate topographical variations, structural details and pathological features that models cannot fully reproduce.Stakeholders at ANMMCH described the absence of a steady supply of cadavers as a serious concern requiring intervention at higher levels.Mohd Moosa, a former member of the ANMMCH advisory committee, suggested exploring alternative solutions, including voluntary body donation for medical education. “Just as people donate organs to save lives, awareness should be created to encourage body donation for teaching and research purposes,” he said.
