Dissecting the dissection laboratory: Elements for designing a human anatomy laboratory

The human anatomy dissection laboratory is a critical component of anatomical and medical education. Development, maintenance, and stocking of these laboratory spaces have unique demands, with all of the challenges in running a laboratory with Biosafety Laboratory Level 2 (BSL‐2) classification, housing a large volume of tissues saturated with volatile chemicals, and safeguarding human beings all within the same space. At times, educators or laboratory managers may be tasked with helping to design a new anatomy laboratory from scratch, to give input on the renovation of an existing laboratory space (which may or may not have been used with human anatomy donors previously), or may inherit a human anatomy laboratory space as their own to manage. This Guide was written by members of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) Anatomical Donor Stewardship (ADS) Lab Resources Subcommittee to guide those developing new anatomy dissection laboratories or working in existing ones.