Stewart Holt and Janet Cope of the Department of Physical Therapy Education recently published an article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine wiht well-known epidemiologist Maria Mirabelli, assistant professor in epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
The article outlines the biological and chemical health hazards of formaldehyde exposure for instructors and students in anatomy laboratories. The article also presents methods by which instructors and students may protect themselves from irritation while working with embalmed human donors in the anatomy lab. This is just a part of Cope and Holt’s ongoing research to raise awareness of formaldehyde safety issues in anatomy laboratories as physical therapy student enrollment continues to rise nationwide. Also assisting in the project were first year physical therapy doctoral students Lisa Brindley, Janaye Bryant, Elaine Castle, Katie Reynolds and Erin Leonard and photographer Ryan Mason.
Citation:
Mirabelli MC, Holt SM, Cope JM. World at work: Anatomy laboratory instruction and occupational exposure to formaldehyde. Occup Environ Med; in press.