Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Spraying urea solution reduces formaldehyde levels during gross anatomy courses

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Anatomical Science International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Formaldehyde (FA) is frequently used to embalm human cadavers that are employed to teach gross anatomy to medical and dental students. However, exposure to FA is harmful to both students and educators. The aim of this study was to reduce the FA levels in the anatomy dissection hall by spraying an FA scavenger solution. We measured the changes in FA levels after administering FA scavenger solutions to liquid, wet paper towels, organs, and cadavers containing FA. Among l-cysteine, N-ethyl urea, and urea, the latter was found to have the strongest scavenging power towards the FA in the liquid. The molar concentration of urea that most efficiently reduced the levels of volatilized FA from the wet paper towels was the same as that of the FA. After spraying the urea solution, the volatilized FA levels immediately decreased, reaching their minimum at 60 min, and remained low even after 240 min. Spraying the urea solution onto the organs reduced the levels of FA volatilized from the surfaces of organs but not those from the insides of the organs. In the dissection hall used for the gross anatomy course at Tokyo Medical University, the FA levels were significantly decreased after spraying the urea solution onto the cadavers. Moreover, dissection could be performed without the cadavers putrefying during the 4-month course. These results indicate that various institutes could use urea solution spray to effectively reduce the FA levels in the dissection hall and thus ensure the safety of students and educators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3a–b
Fig. 4a–b
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akbar-Khanzadeh F, Vaquerano MU, Akbar-Khanzadeh M, Bisesi MS (1994) Formaldehyde exposure, acute pulmonary response, and exposure control options in a gross anatomy laboratory. Am J Ind Med 26:61–75

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Björkman N, Christensen KM (1982) Extraction of dilute ethanol of formaldehyde-fixed dissecting specimens. Acta Anat 112:1–8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair A, Stewart PA, Hoover RN, Fraumeni JF Jr, Walrath J, O’Berg M, Gaffey W (1987) Cancers of the nasopharynx and oropharynx and formaldehyde exposure. J Natl Cancer Inst 78:191–193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman R (1995) Reducing the levels of formaldehyde exposure in gross anatomy laboratories. Anat Rec 243:531–533

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fraenkel-Conrat H, Olcott HS (1948) The reaction of formaldehyde with proteins. v. Cross-linking between amino and primary amide or guanidyl groups. J Am Chem Soc 70:2673–2684

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans (2006) Formaldehyde, 2-butoxyethanol and 1-tert-butoxypropan-2-ol. IARC Monogr Eval Carcinog Risks Hum 88:1–478

  • Jada SS (1988) The structure of urea–formaldehyde resins. J Appl Polym Sci 35(6):1573–1592

  • Japan Society for Occupational Health (1988) Formaldehyde. Jpn J Ind Health 30:339–341 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawamata S (2003) An attempt to reduce formaldehyde in dissecting cadavers. Kaibogaku Zasshi 78:249 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawamata S, Kodera H (2004) Reduction of formaldehyde concentrations in the air and cadaveric tissues by ammonium carbonate. Anat Sci Int 79:152–157

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keil CB, Akbar-Khanzadeh F, Konecny KA (2001) Characterizing formaldehyde emission rates in a gross anatomy laboratory. Appl Occup Environ Hyg 16:967–972

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim H, Kim YD, Cho SH (1999) Formaldehyde exposure levels and serum antibodies to formaldehyde–human serum albumin of Korean medical students. Arch Environ Health 54:115–118

  • Martin WD, Nemitz JW, Hendley A, Fisk RM, Wells JP (1995) Three years of experience with a dissection table ventilation system. Clin Anat 8:297–302

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (2013) National Health and Nutrition, Survey. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2002/03/h0315-4.html

  • Mizuki M, Tsuda T (2001) Relationship between atopic factors and physical symptoms induced by gaseous formaldehyde exposure during an anatomy dissection course. Arerugi 50:21–28 (in Japanese)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ninh LN, Tangkawattana S, Sukon P, Takahashi N, Takehana K, Tangkawattana P (2018) Neutralizing formaldehyde in chicken cadaver with urea and urea fertilizer solution. J Vet Med Sci 80:606–610

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pabst R (1987) Exposure to formaldehyde in anatomy: an occupational health hazard? Anat Rec 219:109–112

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Skisak CM (1983) Formaldehyde vapor exposures in anatomy laboratories. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 44:948–950

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka K, Nishiyama K, Yaginuma H, Sasaki A, Maeda T, Kaneko SY, Onami T, Tanaka M (2003) Formaldehyde exposure levels and exposure control measures during an anatomy dissecting course. Kaibogaku Zasshi 78:43–51 (in Japanese)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van der Eerden WJ, van Nie CJ (1981) A method to eliminate free formalin from embalmed human bodies. Acta Morph Neerl Scand 19:307–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Wyk J, Rennie CO (2015) Learning anatomy through dissection: perceptions of a diverse medical student cohort. Int J Morphol 33:89–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei CN, Harada K, Ohmori S, Wei QJ, Minamoto K, Ueda A (2007) Subjective symptoms of medical students exposed to formaldehyde during a gross anatomy dissection course. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2:23–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (1989) Formaldehyde (Environmental Health Criteria EHC-89). Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc89.htm. Accessed 31 Jan 2018

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (no. 16K19178). In addition, the authors were granted a research grant from Tokyo Medical University in 2016. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest associated with this work. The authors wish to thank Ms. Miyuki Kuramasu, Ms. Yuka Kobayashi, Ms. Yuki Ogawa, and Mr. Hiroaki Muro for their excellent secretarial assistance. In addition, the authors wish to thank Dr. Shogo Hayashi and Ms. Qu Ning for their excellent technical assistance.

Funding

Grant sponsor: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; grant number: 16K19178.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Shinichi Kawata, Eizo Marutani, Shuichi Hirai, and Masahiro Itoh participated in the design of the present study. Shinichi Kawata, Shuichi Hirai, Kenta Nagahori, Takuya Omotehara, Hidenobu Miyaso, and Philipp Pieroh measured and recorded the FA levels volatilized from the cadavers. Eizo Marutani, Shuichi Hirai, and Zhonglian Li were in charge of data analysis. Shinichi Kawata, Shuichi Hirai, Naoyuki Hatayama, and Munekazu Naito prepared the first draft of the manuscript. Shinichi Kawata, Shuichi Hirai, and Masahiro Itoh composed the final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuichi Hirai.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kawata, S., Marutani, E., Hirai, S. et al. Spraying urea solution reduces formaldehyde levels during gross anatomy courses. Anat Sci Int 94, 209–215 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-018-00474-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-018-00474-y

Keywords

Navigation