Description
Clinical History
The patient was a 51-year old woman who had a cerebrovascular accident resulting in a left hemiplegia 2 years prior to death. At necropsy, she had severe generalized atherosclerosis and an old left ventricular myocardial infarct with an overlying mural thrombus.
Pathology
A coronal section of the cerebral hemispheres shows irregular cystic cavities in the territory of distribution of the right middle cerebral artery. The cavities of the infarct have irregular, yellow walls and show partial collapse. There is compensatory dilatation of the left lateral ventricle. On the posterior aspect, the arteries below the mammillary bodies were moderately atheromatous, although this is difficult to visualize macroscopically.
Further Information
Because of the underlying history of myocardial disease with the presence of the mural thrombus, it is assumed that her cerebral infarct was probably caused by a thromboembolus.
Advantages
- Anatomically accurate and identical to real specimen
- No ethical issues - not real human body parts
- Reasonably priced
- Available within a short lead time
- Reproducible, several identical prints can be used as a classroom set
- Can be produced in different sizes to cater for the needs of the teacher
Human Cadavers
- Access to cadavers can be problematic. Many countries cannot access cadavers for cultural and religious reasons
- Cadavers cost a lot money
- High cost for establishing your own plastination suite
- Wet specimens cannot be used in uncertified labs
- Dissection of cadavers is a lot of staff time and that is a cost
- Storage of cadaver material needs special refrigeration etc. which has coast
- If you want another specimen you have to start all over again
Plastinates
- Costs
- Ethical issues
- Timeframe for plastination process
- Many countries do not allow their importation
- One of a kind
Superior 3D print results compared with conventional methods
- Vibrant color offering with 10 million colors
- UV-curable inkjet printing
- High quality 3D printing that can create products that are delicate, extremely precise and incredibly realistic
Clear Support Material
- To avoid breakage of fragile, thin, and delicate arteries, veins or vessels, a clear support material is printed on such spots. This makes the models robust and can be handled by students easily.
