Neue Entwicklungen und Möglichkeiten auf dem Gebiet der Post-mortem-Medizin „Mortui vivos docent“

The body as a whole, along with individual organs and tissues, is the source for many examinations and measures relating to both teaching and research in medicine. There is no possibility of having an alternative model for the body in the near future. When it comes to organ and tissue donation activities, the human body gives other people another chance in life and indicates a better quality of life for many. Therefore, interventions on the deceased are carried out at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Hamburg (with the declaration of consent being taken from the person during lifetime or the relatives) for teaching, research, and clinical practices other than judicial autopsies. This includes scientific investigations in clinical research projects and surgical interventions within the framework of the Post-mortem Learning Centre and tissue donation, especially cornea transplantation in Germany and abroad. For clinical research projects, especially regarding quality assurance and innovation, post-mortem procedures on corpses are increasingly becoming the focus of attention.