A Cross-sectional and Descriptive Study to Assess the Awareness of the Cadaveric Oath and its Role in Influencing the Behaviour of First-year Undergraduate Medical Students toward Dissection

Abstract Background: Professionalism and ethics are fundamental to the practice of medicine. Since the dissection hall is where medical students first experience human mortality, it is the perfect place to emphasize ethical responsibility. As students transition from theoretical ideas to real-world anatomy, cadavers act as their first “silent teachers.” As the foundation for discipline learning, anatomy is one of the foundational subjects that 1 st -year medical students encounter when they enroll in medical school. The objectives of the study are to assess the awareness and understanding of the cadaveric oath among medical students and to analyze the role of the cadaveric oath on the ethical behavior of medical students during anatomical dissection. Materials and Methods: This study is a questionnaire-based and cross-sectional survey to assess the awareness and understanding of the cadaveric oath among medical students. The questionnaire (Google Forms) was distributed to all students through WhatsApp. Quantitative data were analyzed using statistics. Results: 60.68% reported that the cadaveric oath has enhanced respect for donors. Conclusion: Cadavers are the first teachers of medical students, which, apart from teaching them in-depth knowledge of human anatomy, also imbibe ethics, responsibility, empathy, and respect. Incorporating a cadaveric oath into the MBBS curriculum has improved future physicians’, especially surgeons’ professionalism and ethical behavior.