Anatomy
The University Of Manchester has exceptional anatomy facilities and teaching staff which allow us to:
- offer whole body dissection to our medical and dental students
- have a dedicated team of teaching fellows in anatomy alongside traditional lecturers/senior lecturers and professors to deliver anatomy teaching
- offer students in relevant degree programmes a chance to dissect and handle cadaveric material
- employ GMC registered doctors to demonstrate topographical anatomy
- continue to provide histology resources from our extensive histology bank
- have specially written computer assisted learning packages in anatomy
The anatomy facilities at Manchester are licensed under the Human Tissue Act 2004. Our facilities are used by a diverse range of students from across the University.
About us ¦ CAL lab ¦ Dissecting room ¦ Histology room ¦ Resources areas ¦
Tutorial room
About us
The anatomy laboratory is licensed under the Human Tissue Act 2004. Cadavers held in the anatomy dissecting room are the embalmed bodies of public-spirited individuals who have left their remains to the University for medical and scientific teaching and research.
Access to the dissecting room is regulated under the Human Tissue Act 2004.
The anatomy laboratory comprises of a mortuary, embalming room, a large dissecting room, resource areas, tutorial and CAL rooms and a histology room.
Students that take anatomy as a taught component of their course are granted access to the anatomy laboratory. Students must first attend an introductory talk and sign a strict code of conduct.
CAL lab
A dedicated computer lab where neuroanatomy and other computer-based learning programmes may be viewed and used by students.
The room also contains facilities for teaching surface anatomy.
Dissecting room
The dissecting room at The University of Manchester is a large, spacious facility where 10 groups of 12 students may work side-by-side to explore human anatomy.
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Each year around 40 cadavers are obtained from the North West region to teach our students topographical anatomy. There is a range of previously prosected material readily available for students to view and study from. Posters and skeletons are displayed across the room to e learning. Our friendly dissecting room technicians prepare the room in a different way depending on what type of class is being taught.
At Manchester, whole body dissection is still carried out to give students a thorough grounding in anatomy and anatomical relations of organs. Classes are run by members of staff (including anatomy demonstrators) and students are encouraged to take an active role in dissecting. One of the many advantages of whole body dissection is that students get a real feel of the structures and organs. Participants are provided with dissecting kits and are required to wear gloves and a clean white lab coat.
Histology room
This large classroom holds various microscopes for students to investigate histology.
Each week histological slides and posters on current topics are put out for students to examine. Expert help and advice is always present to guide the students in the form of trained anatomists and medics.
Resource areas
There are two dedicated areas within our dissecting room for students to come and look at cadaveric specimens, models or posters to aid understanding of the topics being studied that week. Students are encouraged to do this in their own time in small groups or as part of self-study. Pathological specimens are also displayed here for students to compare with 'normal' anatomy.
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Comparative anatomy
Students at Manchester have the chance to study the functional morphology of modern humans. Functional morphology refers to the relationship between body form and body function i.e. locomotion, mastication, support or protection. The study of functional morphology can be used to interpret the functional significance of human body form. Typically such studies are carried out from a comparative perspective. Students take part in hands-on practical sessions with mammalian oeteological material at the Manchester Museum.
Medical images
Each week different radiographs, CT and MRI scans are displayed for our students to examine and interpret. This helps students to apply their anatomical knowledge to both two dimensional and three dimensional images. Anatomical science students have the opportunity to produce rendered reconstructions from these resources.
Plastic models
There are a wide range of plastic models available for our students to observe and study. These models supplement dissecting classes and help to reinforce normal and pathological anatomy. Appropriate models are displayed each week in the resource area alongside prosections and posters.
Plastinated specimens
The technique of plastination was developed by Dr. Gunther Von Hagens at the University of Heidelberg. At Manchester we use a similar technique to plastinate specimens. This entails carefully dehydrating the embalmed specimen and then saturating it with a solvent before impregnating it with a special polymer. This takes between 4-15 days. The excess polymer is drained off and the specimen is 'cured'. It is now ready for use as a teaching/demonstrating specimen.
Some of our prosections have been preserved in this way.
Potted specimens
There are a vast range of specimens preserved in plastic pots which show anatomical variation and illustrate important anatomical relationships. Our chief technician has very carefully preserved specimens in such a manner over the years so that generations of students have benefited from such potted prosections.
Tutorial room
The tutorial room is a large, well-equipped room within the anatomical laboratory. There are ample computing facilities, a large white board and LCD projector available to aid teaching. First, second and third year anatomical science tutorials are held here on a weekly basis. Our anatomy students use these facilities to deliver second and third year project presentations to their peers.
There are two allocated areas for surface anatomy classes where there are examination couches and curtains for privacy. Mannequins and blue mats are also located here when Basic Life Support is taught to our medical and dental students.