Preventive Measures and Suggested Guidelines to Reduce the Chemical Health Hazards on Medical Students and Educators

Teaching and research in anatomy is mainly based on chemical fixed embalmed cadaver dissection and museum specimens. Formalin bases embalming solution is widely used in preserving dead bodies and making museum specimens. Phenoxyethanol may be an alternative to it. Formalin has an odor that many students and faculty members find unpleasant. Chemical hypersensitivity has been attributed to exposure to formaldehyde or other volatile compounds. Medical students develop many troublesome symptoms like nausea, headache, and gastrointestinal disturbance during cadaver dissection or complain of disorders due to irritation of the mucous membrane of the eye and nose. The aim of our article is to describe the different preventive measures used and suggest safety guidelines for the protection of all who deals with the chemical fixed cadaver.