Different Perceptions on Body Donation for Anatomical Teaching in Brazil: a Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Gonçalves Levi M. , Carioca Levi C. , Rocha Paulo V. P. , Morano Domingos A. C. M. S , e Silva Renata S. , de Oliveira Vitoria C. , Cerqueira Gilberto S. 
Published: May 2022

Sciences like Anatomy were developed in the meaning of trying to fulfill the gap of knowledge about the structure of the body and how every component interact so harmonically. However, according to recent studies, the most important part of anatomy studying, the cadaveric dissection, faces multiple obstacles created by the society itself, like religion, folk beliefs, local culture, and history. By that optic, the study of anatomy becomes much more affected by the decreasing numbers of body donation in different countries. This study aims to evaluate the manifold perception on body donation for anatomical teaching between different demographic shares from Brazil. For that, a descriptive, cross‐sectional exploratory study with a quantitative approach that was carried out with a sample of 250 individuals divided into four groups: (1) health graduatings; (2) health professionals; (3) graduatings from other areas and (4) general population. All participants agreed to fill the Term of Free and Informed Consent. A semi‐structured questionnaire was used for collecting data, containing 10 objective questions about the demographic profile of the public and its intentions on body donation. The questionnaire was based on the model of Marsola (2013) and adapted according to the purpose of our research. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The sample population studied varied between 18 and 87 years of age, consisting of 100 males and 150 females. The analysis shown that 50.4% said they would donate their body for teaching anatomy. Regarding the motivation to donate bodies for the study of anatomy, 26.8% of the participants said it would be to contribute to the advancement of education in the health area, 9.1% said they would donate, knowing the need for this material in anatomy laboratories, 5.9% because it would be considered useful after death and 4.3% in gratitude to science, and the other 7.8% justified it for different reasons. Cadaveric dissection is still the main method of learning anatomy in many health schools because its understanding provides students with theoretical‐practical learning, making it possible to identify the forms and structures of the human body and correlate them with its functions. However, despite the importance of studying anatomy in real cadaveric pieces, the donation of bodies for such purposes is low worldwide. Study carried out by Habicht et al. 2018 shows that, in most countries, bodies that are not claimed remain the main sources. The participants in this research showed relative aptitude to donate their own bodies, a fact that contrasts with the current scarcity of anatomical material in educational institutions. In conclusion, the answers obtained by the questionnaire, although positive, go directly opposite with what is seen at the universities, where the number of bodies available to dissection is not sufficient. Therefore, the effective development of programs that raise awareness about body donation and its wide dissemination are necessary for the increase of this practice.