RETENTION OF ORGANS,DEBONING, MACERATION & DEFATTING Flashcards
Retention of organs (Steps 1 & 2):
Post mortems have long since included the practice of archiving tissue and
organs for medical research and teaching purposes
The retention of blood, tissue or organs from the body of a deceased
person following a post-mortem examination is regarded by pathologists as
an integral part of the examination. Without the organ/tissue retention post
mortems will be severely compromised and incomplete
Retention of organs (steps 3 & 4):
Microscopic slides and tissue blocks are preserved. In addition to forming
part of the patient record this material is also available for further study
Storage of this material also allows objective evaluation and re-evaluation
of disease processes in an individual should any new knowledge or medical
insights arise years after death
Retention of organs in anatomy (Steps 1 - 3):
In anatomy laboratories organ retention plays a vital role in teaching and
research
Organs that can be removed intact from the cadaver provides an
opportunity to work with them in isolation and provides students study
material
Following preservation organs are dissected to show an area of interest and
are kept in storage containers to be used in teaching and research
Retention of organs in anatomy (steps 4 & 5):
Donors who have donated their bodies indefinitely, allow the anatomy
department to use and produce specimen which are used for teaching
and research. In addition the inspector of anatomy needs to grant
permission to the department to retain those organs
This conforms to the National Health Act. 61 of 2003
Retection of bones (Steps 1 & 2):
Upon completion of cadaver dissections it is prepared for collection of skeletal tissue
Clearly dissected sections of cadaver are removed and added to the
collection of specimens set aside for student teachings and examinations
Retection of bones (steps 3 - 5):
The following procedures are applied to produce skeletal material:
Deboning
Maceration
Defatting
Anatomy department with these facilities usually work in partnership with SAPS
forensics in investigations
Through out these processes bones must be labelled for identification
It is worth noting that producing skeletal material from an embalmed cadaver
will take long compared to a fresh body or un-embalmed body
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE RATE OF
DECALCIFICATION
Deboning description:
Is the manual removal of soft tissue from bones by using dissecting instruments.
Tissues attached to the bones are removed which may include muscles and tendons
Deboning precautions:
Care should be taken to ensure that as much as possible soft tissue is removed
Caution is exercised not to cut or damage bone surface. Which means when you remove the soft tissue you may leave some fascia and minimal tissue still attached
The removed soft tissue is disposed of as medical waste
DECALCIFYING PROCESS e.g. fibula
Maceration description:
Is the process involving “cooking of bones” to a stage where the soft tissue is easily removed from the bones and simply peels of easily using maceration machine or ‘pot’.
Stainless steel containers are used for boiling of bones
Maceration methods and precautions:
Skeletal tissue is macerated for about 3 – 4 days in hot water (70 - 100 degrees
Celsius). Adequate water should be added to ensure that bones are covered
completely at all times. Detergent is added to water.
Small children bones are boiled for a maximum of 6 hours
It is not necessary to separate bones beforehand as they will do so during boiling
process
Bones must be inspected regularly and must not become soft
DECALCIFYING MECHANISM OF ACTION
Defatting description:
Is the removal of fat from bones using a lipolytic solvent Trichloroethylene
Defatting procedures:
This process may take 2 – 4 days
To make the bones white, before there are ‘cooked’ in trichloroethylene, there are washed after maceration with a detergent, bleach and stripper and left to dry.
Bones are labelled and are ready for articulation
