From 1883 to 2019; Variables Influencing Body Procurement at McGill University

The authors note that McGill University has continued to maintain whole body dissection as an integral component of its medical school curriculum. To better explore the factors influencing body procurement at McGill University, records of body receipts were collected from their paper and electronic records and analyzed by the authors from 1883 to 2019. The data collected by the authors allowed for discussion on the number of bodies received at McGill University each year, the age at death of the bodies, their sex, as well as religious affiliation and language spoken at home. As bodies of the deceased have a long held and unique status in law, this information was considered in light of historical and legislative data and, in the case of religion and language, it was compared to census data for Montreal. The authors explain that the overall numbers of bodies procured by McGill University have varied throughout the years, with no discernable target number over time. The authors found that the current body donor profile at McGill University is likely to be a male in his 70's and likely to speak French at home. However, they found that the strong connection of the university with Montreal's Anglophone community is reflected by the significantly higher proportion of English-speaking donors when compared to the general population of the city. In regard to legislation, it appears that the most recent legislations did not affect the rate of procurement. However, the authors found that when legislations were embraced by religious institutions in 1883, there was a 261 percent increase in bodies sent for dissection, over the following two decades.

Anatomical Sciences Education

Vol. 15

2021

en