Ceremonies of gratitude following the dissection course: A report on procedures in departments of anatomy in German speaking countries.

The departments of anatomy in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland were sent comprehensive (18 items) questionnaires requesting details on memorial ceremonies held at the close of the dissection course in the medical curriculum, including objectives, organization, number of participants and the role of the medical students. The response rate was very high (95%). In more than 95% of instances a ceremony is held, initiated mainly after 1970. The titles of the ceremony range from commemoration ceremony (42%), service of mourning (19%) memorial service (19%) to ceremony of gratitude (7%). The number of participants exceeds 300 in 15% of these ceremonies. The invitation comes mostly from the student group organizing the ceremony (62%). The ceremony is offered mainly for the students of the course (23%), for student tutors (16%), relatives of the body donors (23%) and scientific staff (15%). The students actively participate with musical contributions (19%), gestures such as candles (17%) and flowers (12%), speeches (17%) and readings (12%). The relevance of the practical dissection course and body donation programs is also discussed. The results are compared to ceremonies in various countries with different religious backgrounds. This dissection course is unique among all courses in the medical curriculum as it obviously also has spiritual aspects.