Expert: John Thai, M.D. - 1/6/2010

Question
Dr. Thai,

Thank you in advance for your time and commitment here. I am kind of freaking out. I was in my medical schools cadaver lab today and while exposing muscles of the back, I cut through my glove and penetrated the skin of my finger. It wasn't a bad cut and after asking the professor what to do, I washed my hands with soap and continued lab. I was assured by two of my professors that I should not be worried about any blood borne pathogen..... but I am. They told me there was no risk.... that the formaldehyde took care of everything but I needed another opinion.... should I be worried for possible HIV/Hepatitis/Anything Else?

Answer
hi daniel,

all us medical schools are required to follow various protocols during the preservation of cadavers. most infectious agents become obsolete during the embalming process of cadavers. hiv and hepatitis b/c will not survive in such cadavers. as you are a medical student, it is a requirement that you are vaccinated for hepatitis b.