Living Through a Revolution: The Coming‐of‐Age of Ethical Anatomy

ABSTRACT

Ethical issues in anatomy have evolved over many years, driven by a medley of forces both internal and external to anatomy. Since the 1960s the focus of these developments has been on the centrality of informed consent of the donors and/or their families. This has made anatomists confront past unethical practices, even those that contributed in major ways to the establishment of anatomy as a research‐based discipline. In tracing the emergence of anatomy as an ethically aware discipline, the ethical context alongside the scientific contributions of Vesalius and others has to be addressed. Over the years a gradually increasing appreciation of ethical boundaries has emerged, with significant ethical shifts occurring from the 1960s onwards, and marked in the United Kingdom by legislation commencing in 1961. Succeeding changes were characterized by increasing emphasis on the perspectives of patients and next of kin marked initially by the phrase “lack of objection,” to be followed later by their fully informed consent. These developments were boosted by responses to the body parts scandals, leading to ethical values delineated in the 2004 Human Tissue Act. Ways of responding to varying perspectives of non‐Western cultures, and their responses to informed consent are outlined. Plastination has burgeoned both publicly and educationally since the 1990s, introducing a plethora of ethical challenges for anatomists, due to the hybrid nature of plastinated material. Although the history of anatomy has been marked by compromise and pragmatism, consent has increasingly emerged as the ethical lynch pin.