Illustrated Dissector’s Manual

The opportunity and privilege to dissect in a cadaver lab is a profound educational experience that allows students to have extraordinary insights into the human body. This hands-on experience not only sharpens knowledge and technical skills, but also cultivates a deep respect for the donors whose generous contributions make medical education possible.

Though textbooks and anatomy atlases lay a strong foundation, they often fall short in guiding the dissector on how to best showcase anatomical structures. To enhance this learning process, the Illustrated Dissector’s Manual offers a comic strip-style guide on how to make the most effective cuts to highlight key features. Each illustration is drawn with direct reference to the donors, and cross-referenced with Complete Anatomy. We hope to eventually publish a comprehensive Illustrated Dissector’s Manual to further support medical education.

If you are affiliated with Boston University (valid BU email address required), simply click on the infographic’s title link to be directed to Open BU where you can download the full-size image.  If you are not affiliated with BU, please reach out to request access to full-size infographics.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You are free to share and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes, with appropriate credit given. 

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First rib cut, donor IBXFT

Second rib cut, donor IBXFT

Heart dissection, donor IBXFT

Patellofemoral joint dissection, donor IBXFT

Shoulder dissection, donor IBXFT