Navigating Objectification, Desensitization, and Personification: Medical Student Strategies for Engaging with Donor Bodies in the Anatomy Lab

Background: Human dissection remains a significant component of anatomy education in many medical schools, offering students an early and profound encounter with the realities of death. Beyond technical learning, students have to navigate the complex task of interacting with donor bodies in a respectful, professional, and emotionally sustainable way. Given the formative influence of human dissection on professional identity formation, it is critical to investigate the strategies students adopt in engaging with donor bodies, as well as the motivations guiding these choices. Methods : All medical students (M1–M4) at a single institution were invited to participate in this study, and 44 volunteered. Of these, 24 students took part in focus groups, while 20 participated in individual semi-structured interviews. All sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive coding approach. Results : Students adopted a range of strategies for engaging with donor bodies: (1) complete objectification of the donor as a non-living object; (2) active desensitization to facilitate dissection; (3) overwhelming personification that hindered both learning and technical performance; and (4) middle-ground approaches characterized by oscillation between desensitization and personification. These strategies were influenced by students’ personal values, cultural backgrounds, and moral frameworks. Conclusion : Students adopt diverse strategies for engaging with donor bodies in the dissection lab, shaped—consciously or unconsciously—by their personal values, cultural backgrounds, and moral beliefs. Recognizing and supporting these approaches is essential for fostering ethical, compassionate learning environments that contribute to professional identity formation and, ultimately, influence future patient care.