[Are dissections still needed in the faculty of medicine ?]

The relevance of anatomical dissection is questioned in France by some authors who think that it is an archaic method in the time of virtual-anatomy softwares. In our opinion, anatomic dissection keeps a unique interest in medical students learning both in the first years of medicine and in the surgery learning and the techniques used in medical specialities. The research of new surgical techniques, anatomical variations as for example of peripheric nerves, also has a strong need of dissections.