Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Academic Building, 3rd Floor, Phulwarisharif, Patna, 801507, Bihar, India.
Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University, Kopernica 12, 31-034, Krakow, Poland.
Surg Radiol Anat. 2022 Aug;44(8):1185-1192. doi: 10.1007/s00276-022-02994-9. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
Anatomical sciences involve handling of human tissues and, therefore, application of principles of bioethics is central to anatomical practice. For a considerable period of time, anatomy was practiced without ethical norms as concept of ethics developed during second half of twentieth century. Hence, possible glimpse into contrast in ethical standards between anatomy in the past and present was deemed as an intriguing research theme.
A literature search was undertaken from indexed databases (Medline and Pubmed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science and Google Scholar). Relevant data were extracted from 37 articles that were selected from an initial pool of 752 articles based on search criteria set for the study.
Prevalent anatomical practices in the past such as dissection of executed criminals, acts of vivisection, illegal procurement of human remains, use of human tissues obtained as part of war crimes and dissection of human fetuses as well as their archival were analyzed through prism of established ethical norms in present day. The observations from past were presented vis-à-vis ethical practices undertaken in present times such as use of donated bodies and/or body parts procured through legal means for dissection, adherence to ethical norms during dissection, archival of human tissues mandating stringent regulation and dignified disposal of human remains. Existing loop holes were identified and future prospects regarding ethical standards in anatomy were highlighted based on rational judgment of existing trends.
The article concludes with defense on future prospects of ethics in anatomy based on documented arguments.
解剖学涉及人体组织的处理，因此，生物伦理原则的应用是解剖学实践的核心。在相当长的一段时间里，由于伦理观念是在 20 世纪后半叶发展起来的，所以解剖学在没有伦理规范的情况下进行。因此，对过去和现在的解剖学伦理标准之间的差异进行可能的观察被认为是一个有趣的研究主题。
从索引数据库（Medline 和 Pubmed、Scopus、Embase、CINAHL Plus、Web of Science 和 Google Scholar）进行了文献检索。根据研究设定的搜索标准，从最初的 752 篇文章中选择了 37 篇文章，从中提取了相关数据。
通过当今既定伦理规范的视角，分析了过去常见的解剖学实践，如解剖被处决的罪犯、活体解剖行为、非法获取人体遗骸、利用作为战争罪一部分获得的人体组织以及解剖人类胎儿及其存档。过去的观察结果与当今时代进行的伦理实践进行了对比，例如使用捐赠的尸体和/或通过合法手段获取的身体部位进行解剖、在解剖过程中遵守伦理规范、对人体组织进行严格监管和妥善处理遗骸。根据现有趋势的理性判断，确定了现有的漏洞，并强调了未来在解剖学伦理标准方面的前景。
本文根据有案可稽的论点，对未来解剖学伦理的前景进行了辩护。
