The present study demonstrates a reproducible technique for plastinating genitourinary specimens obtained from both soft‑embalmed and fresh frozen donors following surgical skills sessions which were found to be comparable to the more traditional hard-embalmed plastinated specimens. By preserving these organs following surgical skills training, this approach maximizes the educational value of each donor and provides durable, high‑fidelity specimens for long term anatomical education.
Plastination, first developed in the late 1970s, has long been recognized as a means of permanently preserving human tissues and organs as dry, odorless, and durable specimens that retain gross anatomical detail for teaching and demonstration purposes (Riederer, 2014; Torres-Palsa et al., 2025). Studies in anatomy education have documented several benefits of plastinated specimens, including enhanced visualization of spatial relationships, ease of handling compared to wet specimens, and positive learner engagement (Riederer, 2014; Chytas et al., 2019). In qualitative comparisons, students perceived plastinated specimens to be authentic and valuable for understanding complex three‑dimensional anatomy (Goh et al., 2024). Despite these favorable perceptions, systematic reviews and meta‑analyses have highlighted that the evidence-based date is limited, with few controlled studies demonstrating clear preference of plastinates over traditional teaching methods (Chytas et al., 2019; Goh et al., 2024).
The current project highlights the potential of plastination techniques to bridge traditional anatomy teaching methods with surgical skills simulation and training sessions while maximizing the use of soft-embalmed and fresh frozen donors. This technique allows the donor to be used for multiple educational purposes; first for hands-on surgical skills practice and subsequently as a long‑term anatomical resource for a variety of learners such as highschool, undergraduate, and professional graduate students. The plastinated genitourinary specimens retained structural integrity and tactile realism similar to that of hard-embalmed plastinated specimens, enabling learners to appreciate complex anatomical relationships, complementing cadaveric dissection, digital tools, and other educational learning resources. This approach may be particularly valuable in programs with limited donor availability, as learning efficiency can be enhanced through repeated utilization of surgical skills donors.
Despite these strengths, several limitations should be acknowledged. The number of donors included in this project was limited, which may restrict the generalizability of our findings. While all three plastinated specimens had similar textural properties, the genitourinary organs obtained from cadaver were focally dark in colour compared to the soft-embalmed and hard-embalmed specimens, even after additional bleaching time. Furthermore, plastination requires specialized equipment, lab space, chemicals, and technical expertise, which may limit widespread implementation in some educational settings or institutions.
