Zane State Biology Class Has New Classmate

A biology class at Zane State College has a new classmate, but it’s not what you might think.

Zane State added a plastinated cadaver to the curriculum. Assistant Professor Steven Kish says adding a cadaver to the class allows studying anatomy at a different level.

“We have specimens we look at, we have drawings, but until you really see it, sometimes things get lost,” said Kish. “Now we have another addition, an anatomical gift for the students to utilize.”

Kish says they received the cadaver from the University of Michigan, where after the body was donated, it was plastinated.

“Technically, what they do is, after they dissect the cadaver, they will take silicone and get it into the cells,” he said. “They first immerse it in acetone which gets into the cells and gets inside. Then they take it out and put it in a warm silicone bath, where the silicone causes the acetone to evaporate.”

Kish says the cells are left of silicone, which gives the cadaver a hard plastic feel.

The cadaver was made possible with money made from the masquerade ball and the Taylor-McHenry Grant from Huntington National Bank.