Comparison of the effects of formaldehyde used in plastinated and embalmed cadavers on medical student in anatomy laboratory in Basrah medical college .

Abstract

ABSTRACT:A total of 224 medical students were rolled in a prospective study to compare the effect of formaldehyde in embalmed and plastinated cadavers on medical students. The study was conducted in Basrah medical college at 2009-2010 . Questionaire were used to study the effect of exposure of medical students to formaldehyde at department of anatomy. The results indicate the effect of formaldehyde used in embalmed cadavers is more than in plastinated cadavers. 66.38% of the students used embalmed cadavers and 8.99% of the students used plastinated cadavers developed eye symptoms like ( itching ,burning ,lacrimation ) , 14.69% of the students used embalmed cadavers and 12.77 % of the students use plastinated cadavers developed nose symptoms like (irritation ,running nose ,sneezing ) 31.14% % of the students used embalmed cadavers and 7.36% the students use plastinated cadavers develop respiratory tract symptoms (sore throat ,cough ) ,15% of the students used embalmed cadavers and 5.72% of the