Breathing Life into the Cadaver: Introducing Air Dissection As a New Teaching and Dissecting Method for the Venous System

Air insufflation has been used for various surgical procedures such as during laparoscopy. We hypothesized that the use of pressurized air might enable cadaveric dissection to differentiate smaller veins better than traditional dissection techniques. In three fresh‐frozen cadavers, the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right or left femoral veins were exposed just distal to the inguinal ligament and a needle placed into one of them. Pressurized air was then placed into the cannulated femoral vein using an air compressor. In all specimens, the IVC and most of its tributaries, both left and right sides, were clearly insufflated. When the IVC was traced superiorly by resecting the diaphragm through the caval foramen, the right atrium and ventricle were also found to be dilated. Additionally, venous variants that would have not been obvious without dilatation of the IVC were identified. Air dissection of the venous system in fresh‐frozen cadavers aids in anatomical dissection. Such a model might also serve as a surgical training model and teaching tool as it better mimics life‐like anatomy and physiology. We term this technique “cadaveric air dissection.” Clin. Anat. 32:566–572, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.