Some people choose to have their bodies donated after their death for the advancement of medicine and education.
While such donations are declining in Hiroshima Prefecture, there is a growing need for cadavers for medical and dental students to practice anatomy skills, as well as for the training of doctors in surgical techniques as medicine becomes more advanced.
In late October, around 50 second-year students at Hiroshima University’s School of Dentistry came face to face with cadavers covered with plastic sheets. Professor Ryuji Terayama of the university's graduate school broke the ice with the students, who appeared nervous, saying, “The bodies before you are your first patients, and they are also your teachers who will tell you many things without saying a word.”
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