Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Department of ANATOMY
These guidelines are meant to ensure YOU are always safe when you are in or out of the laboratories.
Laboratory Safety Guidelines
you are expected to behave and
REQUIRED ITEMS AND ATTIRE conduct yourself in a manner that does not
1. Confirmation of vaccination for Hepatitis B.
compromise the safety of others.
2. A white lab coat (three-quarter length). It
must reach your knees or longer. 2. Any student that has a medical condition that
3. A pair of surgical scrubs, no fashionable they feel might be compromised by exposure
items. Scrubs must be worn for every to reagents and chemicals in the laboratory is
dissection session. Please don’t wear your encouraged to discuss the matter with the
everyday clothes for dissection. demonstrator, lecturer and technician.
4. Closed toe shoes that fully cover the foot and 3. No food or drinking items must enter the
don’t allow liquids to enter the shoe. Leather
shoe is advisable. Fabric shoes, sneakers, laboratory. No eating or drinking anywhere
sandals, shorts and hats are not allowed in the within the laboratories. Avoid placing any
laboratory. Please don’t wear your everyday object in your mouth such as pencils, pens,
shoes for dissection. fingers, etc.
5. Surgical face masks 4. Regard all materials used in this laboratory as
6. Latex or Nitrile Gloves potentially infectious and pathogenic to
7. Laboratory safety glasses: required for splash
humans.
protection when dissecting.
8. Dissection instrument set: which must include 5. Long hair must be tied back neatly and away
2 pairs of forceps (1 standard and 1 rat tooth); from shoulders. Make sure your hair does not
2 pairs of scissors (1 sharp-blunt and 1 sharp fly onto your face. Fingernails must be cut
sharp); 1 hemostat; 1 blunt probe and 1 short.
scalpel holder. 6. Wear gloves and Cover any open cuts on
hands and other exposed surfaces.
Equipment in the Histology Lab
7. When working with biological substances
 Biological microscopes are used to view
ensure that all work is carried out in the
microscope slides. They must be lifted and
moved with care. Do not take with you any part designated working area as instructed by the
of the microscope or cables. Ask for assistance demonstrator or technician. Do not place
and help when in doubt. books phones or any personal items on this
 Tissue processor contain series of ethanol area.
solutions, xylene and paraffin wax heated up to 8. Report immediately any form of incident
60°C. Please wear all required personal (minor or major, on equipment or on self) to
protective equipment when using the processor the technician or demonstrator.
and be careful to not burn yourself. 9. Remove gloves and Wash your hands
 Microtomes are used for cutting tissue sections.
thoroughly after each practical session.
The knives used are very sharp and must be
10. No slides or cultures are to be removed from
handled with extreme care by both staff and
students.
or brought into the laboratory without
 Embedding centres contain paraffin wax at up to authorization from technician.
80°C and a cold plate at -15°C. all required 11. ASK for help and supervision in operating any
personal protective equipment requirements must equipment in the laboratory. Failure to do so
be met when using the processor and be careful may result in you accounting for any damage
to not burn yourself. or loss.

ANATOMY LABORATORY RULES

HISTOLOGY LABORATORY RULES 1. No visitors are allowed. Access to the
1. You have a duty of care to other students and dissecting laboratory is restricted to
 designated students, technicians and
demonstrators. Only students involved in that When dissecting:
dissection session are allowed in the lab.  Only uncover the specific region of
Carry your id card always. dissection. This provides proper respect and
2. Absolutely no form of photography is
dignity to the donor as well as preventing the
allowed in the lab – no photos of models, the
whiteboard, skeletons or any other material. tissues from drying. When the body is
This respects the privacy of those who unattended, even for a short period of time, it
donated their bodies. Any photography has to is respectful to cover the donor with the cloth
be authorized in writing. or plastic wrap
3. Food or drink is not allowed and cannot be  Dissection equipment, books, atlases and
stored within the lab. No applying of other materials should not be placed on the
cosmetics, handling contact lenses, drinking
body. They should be placed on tables. This
coffee or gum chewing is allowed in the lab.
4. Cell phones must be placed on silent while in is the way how patients are treated in the
the laboratory. Students may use their cell operating room. Anatomical donors should
phones and electric devices to access receive the same level of dignity and respect.
information but may not send any information
of the lab out. No phone calls, no texting, no Equipment in the Anatomy Laboratory
social media during dissection sessions. You 1. Donor bodies are used for dissections. These are
must remove gloves, remove your lab coat human bodies that have been donated to the
and exit the lab before returning a call. laboratory for your learning and research and
5. The bodies are referred to as “donors” not must be treated with utmost respect. Always
“cadavers” or “corpses”. It is one more way cover the body when it’s not in use.
2. Dissection or surgical kits are used when
we can honour and respect the donors.
dissecting. Most of them are steel and sharp. Be
6. Any form of injury in the laboratory must be careful. Use the appropriate tool.
reported immediately to the laboratory 3. Mortuary trolleys/beds/trays are where you put
technicians bodies when in use in the laboratory. They have
7. Always keep scalpels in plain view; for wheels to move them around. Ensure that the
example, do not place them under the body or wheels are locked before you start dissecting.
within body cavities. Do not wave or point 4. Autoclave is used for sterilizing dissection
with scalpels or other sharp objects equipment. Be careful around the autoclave as it
8. Used scalpel blades / sharps must be placed in may contain hot water or hot pressure.
sharps containers. Sterilization is done by the technicians
9. All tissues or potentially infectious wastes 5. Plastic models may be used during teaching and
may be borrowed for personal study. However,
(e.g., soiled gloves coming in contact with the
the models that are in the dissection room may not
donor’s parts/ fluids) are to be placed in the be removed from the room. If you need a model
bins labelled gloves for proper disposal. The you will communicate with the technician and
body donors are to be respected and treated they will give you a model that has not been in
like your “first patient”; no comments to dissection room.
outsiders, no name calling, no joking. Always 6. Preserved human organs and bones are used in the
cover them when they are not in use. Only same manner as bodies and must never be taken
uncover those parts of the body that are to be out of the dissection room.
dissected.
10. Respectfully replace all of the parts in the Cleaning and Waste Disposal
correct anatomical position when you are 1. Sharps and Glass are to be placed in the SHARPS
containers located around the histology laboratory. Do not
finished. Respectfully replace all of the parts walk around with sharps. Take the container to the sharps.
in the correct anatomical position. Place all 2. Waste from biological substances should be
skin flaps back over their respective part of disposed by the technician. Do not dispose such.
the body 3. General waste may be disposed in the bin located
11. Keep all of the donor’s tissues in the bag with in the laboratory. General waste are non-contaminated
items such as paper towel used to dry hands after practical
the donor. This way when we bury or cremate session or paper covering of such equipment or materials.
the donors, we can feel comfortable that we 4. Any tools used must be returned to their
are returning as much of the donor as appropriate place If in doubt – ASK.
possible.