Capital punishment and anatomy: History and ethics of an ongoing association

Hildebrandt, Sabine

doi:10.1002/ca.20571

Cited by 104 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The use of human cadavers has historically been and in many ways may remains controversial [19]. The right to a burial is a basic human right and some may consider the use of cadavers for teaching purposes as a deprivation of that right [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cadaveric simulation: a review of reviews

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Traditional surgical training, largely based on the Halstedian model Bsee one, do one, teach one^is not as effective in the era of working time restrictions and elaborate shiftpatterns. As a result, contemporary surgeons turned to educational methods outside the operating theatre such as simulation. Cadavers are high fidelity models but their use has ethical and cost implications and their availability may be limited. In this review, we explore the role of cadaveric simulation in modern surgical education. Methods All the Evidence-Based Medicine databases were searched for relevant reviews. The resulting studies were assessed for inclusion to this review, according to predetermined criteria. Data extraction was performed using a custom-made spreadsheet, and the quality of included reviews was assessed using a validated scoring system (AMSTAR). Results The literature review yielded 33 systematic reviews; five of which matched the inclusion criteria and were included in this review of reviews. Cadaveric simulation was found to have good face (subjective assessment of usefulness) and content validity (whether a specific element adds or retracts to the educational value) while trainees improved their surgical skills after practicing on cadavers. However, concerns have been raised about ethical issues, high cost and availability. Conclusion Cadavers are an effective medium for surgical teaching, and it may be appropriate for them to be used whenever surrounding conditions such cost and availability allow. Further research is required to provide evidence on whether there is equivalence between cadavers and other educational media which may not bear the same shortcomings.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cadaveric simulation: a review of reviews

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We live in a very different world, in which the bodies of executed prisoners are no longer a common source of anatomical cadavers but rather a controversial exception (Hildebrandt, 2008). We are now accustomed to body donation programs, which only began to be established in the 1960s and 1970s (Jones, 2000;Garment, 2007;Kleinke, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the anatomical institute, tissues and organs were removed, fixed and then prepared for histological examination (Pommer, 1967). Although Hildebrandt (2008) assumes that organs were harvested by the anatomy technician immediately on site, a practice followed by other German researchers at the time (Viebig, 1998), in Berlin, the cadavers were processed after transport to the anatomical institute. This is confirmed by the fact that prison administration correspondence (Bundesarchiv, 1942) does not mention any such activities on-site in Plötzensee, as well as by the postwar report of Charlotte Pommer, a resident who had assisted Stieve with the dissections, but resigned her position in December 1942 after being compelled to attend the dissection of an executed woman whom she had known personally (Pommer, 1967).…”

Section: Stieve's Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hermann Stieve's clinical‐anatomical research on executed women during the “Third Reich”

Winkelmann

Schagen

2009

Clinical Anatomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hermann Stieve (1886–1952) was Director of the Berlin Institute of Anatomy from 1935 to 1952. His research on the female reproductive system is controversial, as some of his scientific insights derived from histological investigations on the genital organs of executed women. These investigations were made possible by the sharp increase in executions during the “Third Reich.” Stieve's research was methodologically accurate and contributed significantly to contemporary scientific debates. Nevertheless, his use of the organs of execution victims, some of them resistance fighters, benefited from the Nazi justice system. He thus indirectly supported this system of injustice. The allegation, however, that Stieve “ordered” the death of prison inmates according to their menstrual cycle, appears to be incorrect. An appraisal of Stieve's research should avoid traditional black‐and‐white classifications of research during Nazi times. In our opinion, Stieve was neither a murderer nor a fervent Nazi. Nevertheless, his research results were flawed by their ethical and political context. Stieve will remain a somber footnote in the biographies of many execution victims. Clin. Anat. 22:163–171, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

show abstract

“…Historically, bodies of executed persons were the first legal source of human ''material'' for anatomists (Stukenbrock, 2001;Hildebrandt, 2008). With the rise of histological research in the 19th and 20th centuries, freshness of ''material'' was considered to be essential for dependable study results.…”

Section: Contemporary Anatomists' Attitude To Bodies Of the Executedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The women on stieve's list: Victims of national socialism whose bodies were used for anatomical research

Hildebrandt

2012

Clinical Anatomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research on the history of anatomy in the Third Reich has often concentrated on the influence of the National Socialist (NS) regime on anatomists and their consequent unethical activities. Only recently, the focus has shifted to NS victims whose bodies were used for anatomical purposes. As a first approach to learning more about the victims, this study investigated the persons whose names Hermann Stieve, chairman of the Anatomical Department at the University of Berlin, had listed after using their bodies for his research. The study draws a group portrait and recounts selected biographies of the 174 women and eight men on the list. Most women were of reproductive age, two-thirds were German and a majority was executed for political reasons. Among the executed were at least two pregnant women. The corrected names, biographical data, and nationalities of all persons on the list are published here. None of them volunteered to be dissected, nor were the anatomists at the time interested in the victims' personal background. Future work will have to focus on the investigation of further biographies so that numbers can be turned back into people. This history is a reminder to modern anatomy that ethical body procurement and the anatomists' caring about the body donor is of the utmost importance in a discipline that introduces students to professional ethics in the medical teaching curriculum. Clin. Anat. 26:3-21, 2013. V V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

show abstract

Capital punishment and anatomy: History and ethics of an ongoing association

Cited by 104 publications

References 21 publications

Cadaveric simulation: a review of reviews

Cadaveric simulation: a review of reviews

Hermann Stieve's clinical‐anatomical research on executed women during the “Third Reich”

The women on stieve's list: Victims of national socialism whose bodies were used for anatomical research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About