Assessment of Ethical Compliance of Handling and Usage of the Human Body in Anatomical Facilities of Ethiopian Medical Schools

Human anatomy has historically been a cornerstone in medical education and is special in that it uses human remains kept in various anatomical facilities like a morgue, gross anatomy laboratory, or museums for instruction and research. While serving knowledge advancement facilitating clinical practice and research, human cadaver handling, and usage at all levels, such as cadaver sourcing, transportation, storage, preservation, dissection, and final disposal deserves in return the utmost respect. In Ethiopia, even though there is not enough information on when, where, and by whom the first cadaver dissection was conducted, dissection is being conducted in many of its medical schools. Despite ethical necessity surrounding human body usage in every anatomical setting, there is still ethical and legal uncertainty due to several challenging barriers which is severe in developing nations including Ethiopia. The aim of this study is, therefore, to assess ethical practices of handling and usage of the human body to promote, in the near future, formulation and implementation of acceptable, respectful, and ethical guidelines for the anatomy dissection laboratories and related settings in Ethiopia.