So I know I was supposed to write about this a week or two ago but I got busy, and I still think it's an interesting topic. What do I want to do with my body when I pass? For the past few years, I have been toying with the idea of donating my bones for teaching use. My interest in skeletal anatomy rose upon taking a forensic anthropology class at Camosun, and was subsequently deepened after taking the osteology course at UVic. (I plan on taking the forensic osteology course at some point as well.)

Anyway, the reason why I want to donate my body to use as a tool is because real human bone is becoming a fewer and a more expensive resource for post-secondary institutions to acquire. There is a difference between learning skeletal anatomy using real human bone and casts. Casts do not show every foramina and fossae very well and since every human skeleton is different because of human variation, certain features on bones differ greatly from one individual to the next. I have become really grateful to the nameless individuals that I come into contact with on a regular basis (since now I'm TAing the forensics class at Camosun). Some people try to distance themselves from the human remains that they handle and the fact that they came from real individuals. I, however, seek to find the humanity within the skeletons: these people were alive and breathing at one time, they had eyes and muscle and tissue attached to these bones.

I know it may seem like an impersonal thing to do with my body, and I've talked to some people in our class that wouldn't even want their bones to be found by an archaeologist. I think that if I could help students learn about osteology the way that several nameless individuals helped me, then I think that is something worthwhile.