Donate my Body to Science (REVISITED)

It's on my wish list for the disposition of remains. I want the organs to be recycled (as many as possible). Then, when everything has been removed, I want the bones to be kept and I want to be turned into a hanging, articulated skeleton.

Why is this such an obsession these days? I have avoided putting together a will or a disposition of remains notice. Most folks I know who don't want a burial opt for cremation. Some want to be scattered in specific places. Others want their remains interred in soil, just not in the form of a dressed cadaver. My goal would be to recycle as much as can be recyclable and to use the body as a skeleton (i.e., attached bones).

I've thought of being a cadaver, but a cadaver that is missing organs isn't really quite as useful as a fully equipped one. So what's the deal with me and the bones? It's like this. I've taken anatomy classes over the years and have never really been interested in any of it. It's like... way too much memorization of stuff that I don't want committed to being in my memory banks. Truth is, when you learn anatomy (short of looking at sheep hearts, goat kidneys, or dissected bullfrogs), you're pretty much observing plastic representations of things that have been drawn in a textbook. These may be photos, or drawings, or even cellophane overlays (shows you how old my books were!). Nothing can replace the genuine article.

So, why is it so important to see a real live bone? Everything about me will not conform to the textbook. The shapes will be off, there will be wear and tear, the weight will probably be different, there may be actual fractures, and maybe something might even be missing. The color will surely be different (bones are note white like a wedding dress).

Real Bones Vs. Plastic: Exploring Models in Integral Anatomy

The video might be a bit much, but it explains the differences of real versus manufactured. Maybe I wasn't much help while I was alive and talking, but it gives me some comfort to know that I might be looked at and appreciated for what I could offer in death to academia.