Environmental Hazard: Gross Anatomy

To the Editor: Medical-school courses in gross anatomy have been the subject of numerous discussions regarding their relevance, content, length, and format.^{1 2 3} Of perhaps more immediate importance is the physical environment in which such courses are conducted. In the gross-dissection laboratory, medical students and faculty are exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals — primarily formaldehyde and phenols. Concern over possible teratogenic and mutagenic effects has caused one medical school to bar a pregnant student from the dissecting laboratory (Benator R: personal communication). Human cadavers are preserved in a formalin solution with phenols added as a bleach and germicide.⁴ Formaldehyde has been.