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Preservation of the brain in cadavers embalmed according to the Thiel protocol (913.2)
Author(s) -
Filgueira Luis,
Jungo Franz,
Gagliano Marco,
Yotovski Peter
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.913.2
Subject(s) - embalming , cadaver , medicine , anatomy
Embalming according to the method developed by Walter Thiel has been well accepted world‐wide for practical teaching and training of surgical procedures, as this embalming procedure preserves the softness and elasticity of the tissues. However, this method has the disadvantage of the insufficient preservation of the brain. Walter Thiel has therefore proposed additional intracranial in situ fixation of the brain (W. Thiel, Ann Anat 2002, 184, 267‐9). As the brain is usually taken separately for teaching of neuroanatomy and neurohistology, or for research purpose, we explored the possibility of taking the brain before embalming the body using the Thiel protocol. 4 cadavers were used for this preliminary study. Firstly, the brain was gently excised from the cranial cavity after an extended craniotomy, including the dura mater, the pituitary gland and the medulla oblongata. Thereafter, the internal carotid and vertebral arteries were ligated and the body was perfused using the Thiel protocol. There was no substantial leakage of embalming liquid and the bodies could be used later on for teaching and training procedures. The brains were further processed. They were either freshly processed for research purpose, or fixed in 10% formaldehyde and used either for teaching in the neuroanatomy course or for histology. In conclusion, we recommend that the brain may be taken and processed separately from bodies that are embalmed with the Thiel protocol, especially when human brains are needed for teaching and research purpose.