Thiel Embalming Pre-Frozen Cadavers: A Mouse Model

Thiel embalming has been gaining a great deal of worldwide attention. Its long-lasting life-like quality enables multiple applications in surgical training programs. The standard process of Thiel embalming, which involves perfusion of embalming fluid in fresh cadavers through cannulation of the arterial and venous systems could be difficult in some areas of the world where fresh body donation rates are low or banned. This study will assess the ability to Thiel embalm fresh frozen mice as an animal model as a solution for the lack of fresh cadavers. The ability of Thiel embalming frozen tissue would enable areas in the world where they do not have access to recently diseased donated cadavers. The study was ethically approved King Fahad Medical City Institutional Review Board. The 20 Mice cadavers were ethically gained from the university of Dundee animal house. They were euthanized ethically by carbon dioxide. They were handled by following the university9s ethical code. The mice were split into 4 groups with 5 mice for each group, where group 1 is fresh unfixed. Group 2 standard Theil embalmed. Group 3 defrosted one-week frozen mice then standard embalmed. group 4 perfused with Theil fluid, frozen, defrosted then set in the embalming tank. The embalming validation tests were made by visual gross and histological changes in the gastric, renal and muscular tissue. These tissues were chosen to test the penetration of the embalming solution. The results show similarity in all groups with difference of internal gross changes in the pre-frozen cadavers. Histological changes were similar in all embalmed groups meaning that the embalming method has been successful from a histological point of view.