Students Participate in Cadaver Class

Eight Trinity students recently participated in a cadaver class, one of the College’s more unique educational offerings. The class, Biol 210 Cadaver Dissection, represents a rare chance for undergraduate students to work with cadavers, according to Dr. Robert Boomsma ’77, professor of biology and department chair. “It’s a great opportunity for students,” he said.

The class, which took place over two weeks in early May, involved dissecting the cadavers, along with discussions about the use of cadavers. To be considered for the class, students needed to have successfully completed two semesters of human anatomy and physiology or been a biology major at the junior or senior level by the end of the spring semester.

“It’s one thing to learn about anatomy in a textbook, but to really get hands-on experience is something else,” said Leah Ipema ’18, who participated in the class.

“This is something you don’t usually get to do during undergrad, and it’s a cool opportunity,” added Cara Horstman ’18.

With the opening of the Heritage Science Center in 2002, Trinity gained the capacity to offer the cadaver class, which is held every two years, Boomsma said. “There was no space in the old building.”

Boomsma said that students who have taken the course have gone on to medical school at the University of Iowa, to physicians assistant programs at Grand Valley State University and Midwestern University and the physical therapy program at Concordia University, among others.

Trinity works with the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois to procure and ultimately return the cadavers. The association manages the willed body donor program for the medical, research, and educational institutions of Illinois.