My memories of studying medicine in Russia include heavy grey winter skies, warm pirozhki in the freezing cold, and the choking odour of formalin-bathed cadavers in anatomy practicals. I remember vividly one cadaver we studied belonged to a lady.
The calf of her leg was striking. Without the skin, the exposed fibers of her muscles were beautifully preserved. I imagined her dancing ballet, sitting cross-legged, and taking long walks. Without the skin, she could have been anyone, of any race. She was human.
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Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah
Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah is an honorary fellow at Macfarlane Burnet Institute (Melbourne, Australia) and an alum of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She is active in science communication and infectious disease biomedical research. She was the first female Asian champion of FameLab, the world’s longest running science communication competition, in 2018. The writer’s views are her own.
