Beyond the blade: Unveiling the nexus of spirituality and human dissection among medical and allied health students in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated how human dissection affects students' spiritual beliefs, and how their existing spiritual beliefs influence their perceptions of human dissection. This cross-sectional study assessed 760 medical students with human dissection experience using an online questionnaire developed from interviews and the Spirituality Orientation Inventory, including questions on dissection experience, spirituality, spiritual perceptions about dissection, and the impact of dissection on spirituality. Descriptive analysis and Chi-squared tests were used to determine proportions and relationships between variables, with statistical significance at p < 0.05. Most students believe in an afterlife (75.1%), the concept of the soul (92.5%), and the human body as a vessel for the soul (91.3%). About half disagree that human dissection is disrespectful, and faith influences life choices for the majority (95.2%). Human dissection experience lowered students' belief in spirits' interaction with the physical world by 5%, increased their respect for the body (76.2%), and increased their self-reflection on mortality (84.4%). Despite the lack of profound mystical experiences (82.5%) resulting from the students' dissection experience, there were significant gender differences in the few reported experiences (p = 0.008). Also, there was a significant increase in students' belief in the human spirit following human dissection (p = 0.019). Dissection experience prompts students to reconsider their beliefs and their views of the human body. Despite retaining beliefs in the afterlife and the soul, students' belief in spirits' interaction with the physical world decreases marginally post-dissection. This study also shows that human dissection is not associated with mystical experiences.