About Cadavers

A cadaver is a human corpse. The term cadaver is generally used by the medical community to describe a corpse that has been put to some medical or scientific use. The law enforcement community also uses the term when referring to bodies that may be buried or missing. Cadavers have a rich and extensive history in the scientific community, and they play a part in everything from class instruction to cosmetic products.

Medical Dissection

• The most common use for a cadaver is the medical cadaver study in which students dissect the body to view the organs in situ. Some schools use embalmed cadavers for their studies, but the best cadavers are the unembalmed (or fresh) corpses of the recently deceased. Since the embalming process changes the texture of the muscles and organs, a fresh body is more natural and the muscles and organs look and feel much like they would in a live person. Cadaver studies are an important part of a medical education and, prior to the use of cadavers, physicians basically had to guess where (and even what) things were inside the body. Some medical schools are phasing out cadaver studies in favor of computer-generated imagery. And while there is ample information available on the location and function of the organs, cadaver studies provide one valuable advantage: exposure to an actual body. Cadaver studies give the students hands-on experience with cutting into and handling the structures in a human body -- something a computer program simply can't replicate.

Practice for Plastic Surgeons

• Plastic surgeons use cadaver heads to practice cosmetic procedures. In a live patient, swelling distorts the finished work and it's almost impossible to tell what it actually looks like until the swelling recedes. With a cadaver, there is no swelling, so the finished product looks exactly the way it would look after a full recovery. This is important in an educational setting, because the students can't wait weeks or months for the swelling to go down to determine if they've done the procedure correctly. Working on cadaver heads also allows the trainers to circulate and assist without having to worry about cross-contamination or infection -- both major factors when dealing with live subjects.

The Body Farm

• There is a farm in Tennessee where they plant noting but bodies. The bodies are "planted" in different conditions to simulate situations in which a body might be left after a murder or accidental death. Some are planted in water, others inside structures or partially buried -- basically, the bodies are planted in as many was as possible to simulate real-life conditions. The purpose of this farm is to study the rate of decomposition and animal activity around a dead body. By studying these things, forensic scientists can learn more about how the body behaves after death, which helps law enforcement determine time of death and even the place of death.

Crash Test Dummies

• NASA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and auto manufacturers such as Saab and GM have all used cadavers in crash safety tests. While crash test dummies can be calibrated for these accidents, the only thing that really responds like a human body is a real human body. Cadaver testing also provides a baseline to properly calibrate crash test dummies. Many people have taken issue with the idea of cadavers being used in crash testing. While crash testing may seem to be a crude activity and is not as glamorous as going to a medical school, it's no less important and provides valuable, life-saving information.

Allografts

• Cadaver tissue is often used in bone and skin grafts in accident and burn victims. Cadaver skin is used in grafts for burn patients, and cadaver ligaments are used to replace torn ACLs. Bones, corneas, lenses, heart valves and large blood vessels are all collected from cadavers for use as replacement parts. Organ transplants are not technically cadaver tissue, because the organs are collected after brain death but while the organs are still getting a blood and nutrient supply (usually through mechanical means). Organs must be collected in this way; otherwise, they are no longer useful for transplant. Cadaver tissue is collected after the body has stopped functioning completely, within 48 hours of death.

Cosmetic Uses

• Alloderm is adermal filler made from donated cadaver tissue that has been stripped of its epithelial cells but still maintains its collagen structure. It's used for both cosmetic and reconstructive purposes and also comes in a micronized form called Cymetra. Other human-derived dermal fillers include Fascian, CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast.