“The disadvantages [of cadaver labs, ndr] are the costs, difficulty in procurement of cadavers, limits on repeated use of a cadaver, and the possibility of disease transmission.”
“Despite a general opinion that the more realistic the simulated experience, the better the trainees’ ultimate performance will be, no studies to date have demonstrated the superiority of haptic simulators over non haptic ones.”
Kivanc Atesok et. al, “Surgical Simulation in Orthopaedic Skills Training”, Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2012
“Most surgical training programs make use of a variety of models, including inanimate models, virtual reality, live animals, and human cadavers, to simulate living human tissue and anatomy, as well as high-performance patient simulators for critical-incident and team training. Although hu- man cadavers most closely approximate reality, their cost and limited availability, as well as the poor compliance of cadaveric tissue, limit their use. The use of live animals is also problematic because of ethical concerns, high costs, and the need for specialized facilities. In contrast, inani- mate models are safe, reproducible, portable, read- ily available, and generally more cost-effective than animals or cadavers.”
Richard K Reznik et al., “Teaching Surgical Skills – Changes in the wind”, the new England Journal of medicine, 2006