this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2025
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I mean... I'm not a scientist, but wouldn't that be a good thing? A scientifically uninteresting specimen, to me, means no abnormalities, no weird diseases, bog-standard "nothing interesting, they just died."
I think it's implying the opposite, that they abused their body so much during life that they no longer qualify to be donated. Weight is one of the major disqualifiers for whole-body donation.
The vast majority of bodies go to medical institutions for surgical training, with a smaller percent going to research
Why is weight a disqualifier?
There are a few reasons that I know of: Heavy bodies are more difficult to move, fat bodies take longer to dissect, and large bodies don't always fit on the (usually decades-old) tables.
I think that weight is a disqualification that's been changing in recent years, because even in Europe bodies are starting to trend larger. But it's still something to keep in mind if you live in like Mississippi and think the University of Mississippi will take your 350 pound grandpa when he passes on.
Wait what? I converted 200 lbs to kg and it should be equal 90 kg. This isn't severely obese. I weigh much more and do stuff like bouldering.
Anyways, doesn't even matter because it is important to also train on fat bodies. Because otherwise we face the same problems medicine has with ignoring female and black bodies. Most studies have just been on white, able-bodied male bodies. To actually treat all bodies with the best care, medical professionals should be trained on all types of bodies!
I agree with you, I was just sharing what I knew of the process. My grandpa was rejected in a different state, but they were kind enough to cremate him for us.
Thanks for sharing, otherwise I wouldn't even have thought of this. It's so infuriating :(
That implies to me that surgeons aren't training on heavier people though which seems bad
Oh, hadn't thought about it that way! And, fair point, different types of interest in science.
Also think the "for science" specifier set it so that the entire thing would be research oriented in my head:)) Were it for donation of organs, yeah... not much use for a nuked liver=)))
That one medical student who picks up your head and comically operates your jaw .....
"Hey look at me everyone, I'm a cadaver!"
I would pay extra to guarantee i was used as a comedy prop.
What about donating your finger bones to make dice for that one company
That's a good way to get kicked out of the wet lab. Most tutors are incredibly serious about treating bodies with respect, you can't take photos, or muck around with them.
Going Hamlet with them would be absolutely not on.
Mum used to tell me stories about how dad and a mate of his would "prank"* a third dude while practicing on bodies by casually having lunch over an open chest cavity, with the full salad on display. Frequently made the third guy lose his.
So far, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree, so... yeah:))) Most likely=))))
Education-wise it is best to have an "uninteresting" cadaver to start with. Otherwise one might spend half a lesson trying to figure out something beyond their scope. But after grasping the basics it is best to delve into such variations, otherwise one might learn them mid-surgery. For research it is best to have the test subject be as "normal" as possible (unless the research is about the variation), so the findings are not skewed.
Yep! Most definitely not a scientist!:))) Thank you so much for the details, this has brought me to the point where I'm starting to understand what I don't know about research in general!