ENCOUNTERING THE DEAD BODY - EXPERIENCES OF MEDICAL-STUDENTS IN THEIRANATOMY AND PATHOLOGY TRAINING

With the aim to deepen the understanding of reactions to procedures in volving the dead body, medical students were interviewed after their a natomy and pathology training. The intensity of their reactions was es timated, and their attitudes toward having anatomic dissection, autops y, and organ taking performed on themselves were explored. In the qual itative analysis, the material was integrated into themes and interpre ted in terms of why the students reacted the way they did. Five themes emerged: 1) unlimited empathy, 2) the horrifying dead, 3) contra-inst inctivity, 4) the superstructure of reverence, 5) and philosophy of li fe. They emanate from socio-cultural, psychological, and biological co mponents, intertwined in an intricate interplay. Thus, the students' e ncounter with a cadaver became loaded because of these deeply rooted e motions. However, some of these reactions are of transient character, fading when more cognitively based processes start working. We must ex pect that the public's attitudes are influenced by the same components .