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	Vol.7, No 31, October 21, 1999
	Students learn about life from dead By Jason Kosareff Daily Forty-Niner Though dead people do not talk, they can still educate. Every year, Cal State Long Beach students enrolled in an advanced human anatomy class poke, prod and peer at cadavers to learn how the human body works. "We are the foundation for kinesiology, pre-nursing and pre-physical therapy," said Kenneth Gregory, CSULB professor of biological sciences. The Willed Body Program has provided CSULB with cadavers, which are about $850 each. "I enjoy working with the cadavers," said Peggy Moyer, CSULB professor of biological sciences. Students "learn a lot about themselves," Moyer added. Though CSULB has purchased a cadaver from UC Irvine, Gregory emphasizes that the cadavers are not linked to the UCI scandal, which involved the illegal sale of body parts. The last purchase of a cadaver from UCI was in 1997, Gregory said. The biological sciences department requested a new body from the Willed Body Program this year, but none were available, Gregory said. "We keep having to use the nine bodies we have," Gregory said. Bodies last from five to 10 years when they are preserved with embalming fluid, which stops all biological activity in the cadaver. "The bodies are not quite beef jerky yet, but there is no mold growing on them," Moyer said. The condition of the cadaver depends on the physical condition of the body before it died, Gregory said. "We have two male bodies with good muscle build despite 200 students [examining them] per semester," he said.  Students wear gloves to prevent the bodies from being damaged, Moyer said. Cadavers can carry 17 communicable diseases, but all the bodies in the program have been tested and confirmed to be free of disease, Moyer said. "Once in a very long while we might get a student that can't handle the cadavers," Gregory said. Most students have no problem examining cadavers, and all who take the course do so voluntarily, he said. "It depends on the maturity level of the student," Moyer said, though she admitted that most students don't like the smell. Students can also learn about the particular "pathologies" or abnormalities that led to the death of the body, but no other research is done on the bodies, Gregory said. The Willed Body Program is not popular, Gregory said. "Mostly old people donate their bodies to the program," he said. After the bodies have become unusable, they are transported back to the school from which they were acquired. The Willed Body Program then makes arrangements to cremate the bodies unless the families of the deceased wish to possess the remains. In that case, the program will return the ashes, Gregory said.		Study abroad fair hits CSULB   Students learn about life from dead   Spirits of past passengers haunt ship Scared stiff   Beer too costly   Money makes celebs unaccountable Faces of Halloween   The Flying Dutchman   Friendly ghost may haunt downtown furniture store   Halloween's origin not so frightening Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.