title: Indiscriminate disposal of museum specimens--a case report.
abstract: The human body and its parts and organs are invariably used in medical teaching institutions for academic purposes. Legal provisions for the preservation of such specimens are made in anatomy Acts across the country. However, after they have been used, the specimens are not disposed of in a proper manner. This is a public menace and forces the authorities concerned to carry out unnecessary investigations. We report a case in which the bodies of two foetuses that were brought for medico-legal autopsy were later found to be formalin-preserved "museum specimens" that had been used for anatomical study. We wish to emphasise the need for guidelines for the proper disposal of anatomical museum specimens.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra India.
authors.forename: Mandar Ramchandra
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sane
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka India.
authors.forename: Naveen T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ananda
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009144:Museums; D013048:Specimen Handling