International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences
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10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12
Volume 4 Issue 1
2013 (January - March)
EMBALMED CADAVERS –ARE THEY SAFE TO HANDLE, A STUDY TO SEE THE MICROBIAL FLORA PRESENT IN THE EMBALMED CADAVERS.
Cadavers remain a principal teaching tool for anatomists and medical educators teaching gross anatomy. Infectious Pathogens in cadavers that present particular risks include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, the AIDS Virus, HIV and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathy such as Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). It is often claimed that fixatives are effective in inactivation of these agents. Unfortunately cadavers, even though they are fixed, may still pose infection hazards to those who handle them. The purpose of this study is to draw attention to the infective agents that can be detected in fixed human cadavers and to suggest safety guidelines for the protection of all who handle cadavers. In this study we collected the samples from the different sites of embalmed cadavers and from the limb which was kept outside the body tank for about fifteen days to see any microbial flora present in the embalmed cadaver. The results were alarming, all the samples from the 17 cadavers were negative in culture and there is no bacterial, viral and fungal growth. But the sample from the dissected limb of the embalmed cadaver which was outside the body tank is positive for fungal and bacterial growth that might pose health hazards to the handler. So the precautions are necessary during handling and dissection of embalmed cadaver.
DR. JITENDRA GUPTA, DR. MANISH CHATURVEDI AND DR. MANISH PATIL
Cadaver dissection, embalmed cadavers, microbial flora, cadaveric dissection infection.
383-386