At The Heart of Anatomy
Cadaver anatomy is an integral part of health sciences at Concordia College-Moorhead and after 21 years, biology professor Dr. Ivan Johnson is still central to the program.
Johnson brought the first human cadaver to Concordia in 1984, after building important relationships with a few key medical school professors in the state. Dr. John Leppi of the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth mentored Johnson and sponsored the program. Cadaver anatomy was new to Johnson at the time, but he was quick to learn and determined to take advantage of the opportunity.
Since then, Concordia continues to purchase cadavers each year from the University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis - exchanging dissected ones at the end of each academic year for new ones in the fall. The program has expanded to four cadavers for the biology 411 and 412 classes covering advanced human anatomy and physiology.
Students frequently tell Johnson the cadaver program held great weight in their decision to attend Concordia. Once they take the class, students say they appreciate the hands-on work and opportunities to see differences and abnormalities they can't find in textbooks. Cadaver anatomy is part of the overall push for excellence in Concordia's premed and other healthcare programs.
"We've developed a program that gives lots of attention and energy to its students," Johnson says. "We've built a good reputation and provide our students with the strong backgrounds they need for graduate and professional schools."
