Human Tissue Ethics in Anatomy, Past and Present

Emily Gustainis Center for the History of Medicine

The Center for the History of Medicine is pleased to announce that the recording of the April 4, 2019 symposium, Human Tissue Ethics in Anatomy, Past and Present: From Bodies to Tissues to Data, is now online. The symposium, which was co-sponsored by Harvard University’s Ackerman Program on Medicine and Culture, the Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library, Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and the Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, explored transparent and ethical anatomical body and tissue procurement as a cornerstone of medical ethics in research and education. Watch the Tissue Ethics symposium.

Symposium Contents

Panel 1: Human Tissue Ethics in Historical Contexts of Anatomy

Scott H. Podolsky, Harvard Medical School, Chair

  • Dominic W. Hall, Harvard Medical School: The Second Life of Specimens: Scientific and Historical Research in the Warren Anatomical Museum
  • Sabine Hildebrandt, Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital: Dealing with Legacies of Nazi Anatomy: the ‘Vienna Protocol’
  • Tinne Claes, Katholieke Universiteit: Why Is It So Difficult to Throw Away Fetuses? Anatomical Collections and the Meanings of Disposal

Sabine Hildebrandt speaking at a podium in front of a seated audience.
Speaker Sabine Hildebrandt presenting her talk, Dealing with Legacies of Nazi Anatomy: the ‘Vienna Protocol’

 

Panel 2: Human Tissue Ethics in Current Anatomical Education and Research

Dan Wikler, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Chair

  • Thomas Champney, University of Miami: The Business of Bodies: Human Tissue Ethics and Commercialization
  • Michel Anteby, Boston University: Nested Moralities: From National to Intimate Cadaver Trades

Thomas Champney speaking at a podium in front of a seated audience
Thomas Champney giving his talk, The Business of Bodies: Human Tissue Ethics and Commercialization

 

Panel 3: Human Tissue Ethics from Physical Specimens to Data

David S. Jones, Harvard University, Chair

  • Maria Olejaz Tellerup, University of Copenhagen: The Anatomy of Bioavailability: Exploring Body Donation in Denmark Then, Now and in the Future
  • Jon Cornwall, University of Otago: The Impact of Digital Technology on Body Donation

Maria Olejaz Tellerup speaking at a podium in front of a seated audience
Maria Olejaz Tellerup giving her talk, The Anatomy of Bioavailability: Exploring Body Donation in Denmark Then, Now and in the Future