By Sonny Iroche
I. A Memory From the 1970s That Still Haunts Me
Long before I became immersed in the world of banking, finance and now artificial intelligence, long before boardrooms, policy discussions, and the global conversations about AI’s potential in transforming Africa, I was a young undergraduate studying Zoology at the University of Nigeria, Calabar campus in the early to mid-1970s.
Those were years when biology, medicine and anatomy were taught the traditional way: through live specimens caught in the fields, anesthetized, killed, preserved in chemicals, and dissected with trembling hands. There were no virtual simulations, no holographic organs, no augmented reality. Instead, the tools of learning were simple: a scalpel, a tray, a bottle of formalin, and a classroom full of students with varying degrees of discomfort.
I still remember my classmates and I walking through the bushes behind the science faculty in search of toads and lizards, knowing what fate awaited them once they were captured. After they were submerged in chemicals and stiffened for dissection, we were required to cut open their tiny bodies, carefully exposing the brain, tracing the nervous pathways, examining circulation systems, mapping fragile anatomical features that seemed to resist both intrusion and understanding.
It was not the science I loathed; it was the emotional and ethical discomfort of it all. My first complete dissection of a lizard left me shaken. The smell of formalin mixed with the lingering memory of movement in the now-still creature created a visceral reaction I could not overcome. I found myself recoiling from the next lab session and the one after that. Eventually, I stopped attending altogether. Inside me was a quiet but persistent question: Why must learning come at this cost?
For many zoology and medical students the trauma was and still real, though rarely acknowledged. We accepted it because we believed there was no alternative. But time, technology, and humanity have evolved.
Today, when I witness the rise of AI-powered digital twins, virtual organisms built from real-world data and capable of demonstrating biological functions with astonishing accuracy, I cannot help but think how different my early academic life might have been.
How I wish digital twins had existed then: a humane alternative that could have spared many of us the emotional burden of dissection while providing an even deeper understanding of biological systems.
This memory, old yet alive, resurfaced powerfully during a visit to a modern laboratory thousands of miles away.
II. The New Age of Anatomy Begins in Silence
It is often said that every generation of physicians remembers their first encounter with the cadaver, the cold table, the muted fluorescent lights, the smell of formalin, the trembling hands of students as they confront both death and the sacred responsibility of healing.
For over a century, that moment has been considered a rite of passage: the point at which theory gives way to the mysteries and realities of the human body.
But on a warm afternoon in Kigali in April this year, I witnessed a scene that could redefine that rite of passage. Inside the gleaming simulation suite of a medical training center, a group of students stood in a semicircle wearing augmented reality headsets. Before them floated a life-size, pulsating, three-dimensional image of a human body, muscles contracting, neurons firing, blood flowing through arteries with a pulse rate of 74 beats per minute.
With a simple voice command, the students peeled back bones, rotated organs, slowed electrical signals in the heart, and simulated a rupturing aneurysm in the brain.
No smell.
No scalpel.
No fear.
Yet, the learning was powerful and precise.
This was an AI-powered digital twin, not a corpse, but a living, dynamic, data-driven replica of the human body powered by imaging technologies, biomechanics, and computational physiology.
Watching those students explore anatomy in ways my generation could not have imagined, I found myself asking the question now being debated across medical institutions worldwide:
Can AI digital twins replace cadavers in the teaching of human anatomy?
It is a question loaded with emotion, technology, ethics, and the future of medical training, especially for Africa, where cadaver shortages, cultural taboos around body donation, and limited infrastructure have undermined anatomy instruction for decades.
III. From Static Cadavers to Living Models
Cadaver dissection has long been regarded as the “gold standard” of anatomical education. It teaches not only spatial understanding but also humility, discipline, and a certain reverence for the human body.
Yet cadavers come with inherent limitations:
• They cannot demonstrate physiology.
• They decay, even with embalming.
• They provide only one anatomical variation.
• Their procurement and maintenance are costly.
• Many cultures resist body donation.
Digital twins address these gaps with unprecedented precision. Built from CT scans, MRI data, ultrasounds, genomic profiles, and advanced simulations, digital twins can:
• Display dynamic physiology, beating hearts, breathing lungs, communicating nerve impulses.
• Present multiple anatomical variations: age, sex, race, genetic markers, and pathology.
• Allow unlimited repetition of dissections and reconstructions.
• Simulate disease progression and intervention outcomes.
• Overlay holographically onto real patients during clinical instruction.
Institutions like Stanford University, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Imperial College London, and King’s College London already use digital twins in training. China has gone a step further, creating national AI-powered anatomical libraries for medical schools.
The implications are global.
IV. Why the Debate Matters: Especially for Africa
Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and many other African nations face extreme shortages of cadavers for medical teaching. In some universities, one cadaver may serve 100 or more students. In others, dissection is skipped entirely due to lack of facilities.
Cultural norms, religious beliefs, and financial constraints make body donation rare. Mortuary infrastructure is limited, and formalin, once taken for granted, has become expensive or restricted.
AI digital twins, however, offer a way to democratize anatomy education:
• They require no maintenance
• They can be replicated infinitely
• They can be used safely in any classroom
• They eliminate ethical concerns around body sourcing
• They allow students to study anatomy earlier and more deeply
A wealthy university in Lagos and a rural medical school in Harare or Soweto can both access the same high-end virtual anatomy models. This is transformative.
V. The Case for Replacement: What Digital Twins Do Better
1. Real-time physiology
Cadavers cannot show:
• Blood flow
• Brain activity
• Muscle contraction
• Organ movement
Digital twins do all these, in real time.
2. Infinite variation
A single virtual platform can present:
• A newborn’s anatomy
• An elite athlete’s musculature
• An elderly patient with osteoporosis
• A diseased organ system
• Congenital malformations
Cadavers offer only one version of reality.
3. Unlimited repetition
A cadaver can be dissected once.
A digital twin can be dissected endlessly.
4. Integration of anatomy and physiology
Students can simulate:
• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Liver failure
• Pulmonary embolism
• Hemorrhagic shock
• Surgical complications
This is impossible with cadavers.
5. Enhanced surgical training
Virtual surgeries allow students to practice:
• Minimally invasive procedures
• Laparoscopy
• Orthopedic reconstruction
• Neurosurgical mapping
• Vascular interventions
Without risk to patients.
VI. What Digital Twins Cannot Yet Replace
Despite their strengths, digital twins fall short in key areas.
1. Tactile feedback
No simulation currently matches:
• The texture of fascial
• The density of bone
• The fragility of nerves
• The unpredictability of real tissue
Surgeons talk about “feel”, the subtle feedback that distinguishes experience. Digital twins cannot yet reproduce this.
2. Emotional maturity and professionalism
The first encounter with a cadaver teaches:
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Emotional control
• The weight of mortality
A hologram cannot replicate these lessons.
3. Pathology in its raw, unpredictable form
Cadavers often reveal:
• Rare diseases
• Surgical scars
• Tumors
• Unexpected anomalies
Digital twins simulate these, but rarely with the chaotic realism of a real body.
4. The unpredictability of real anatomy
No two human bodies are the same.
Digital models, while varied, remain idealized.
VII. The Global Shift: Not Replacement, but Hybridization
Leading global institutions now advocate a hybrid approach in which digital twins complement, not replace, cadaveric learning.
Digital twins will dominate:
• Introductory anatomy
• Physiology
• Functional anatomy
• Radiology integration
• Pre-surgical planning
• Large-scale medical training
Cadavers will remain essential for:
• Tactile dissection
• Surgical training
• Clinical empathy
• Understanding pathological anatomy
This hybrid model is projected to define medical education by 2035.
VIII. The African Imperative: Leapfrogging Instead of Catching Up
Africa revolutionized mobile payments through technological leapfrogging. It can do the same in medical education.
Countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa are already adopting digital anatomy systems such as Anatomage tables and 3D visualization labs.
Nigeria, with its National AI Strategy and growing EdTech sector, can lead West Africa by:
• Building national digital twin repositories
• Establishing virtual anatomy centers in universities
• Training lecturers in AI-assisted pedagogy
• Incorporating simulations into early science education
• Developing local AI medical content
Imagine a Nigeria where every medical student, from Sokoto to Abia, Ibadan to Maiduguri, learns from world-class digital twin systems.
We can make this real.
IX. Is Full Replacement Possible? The Honest Answer
The truth is nuanced.
Short term:
Digital twins cannot fully replace cadavers.
Medium term (10–20 years):
Digital twins will replace 70–90% of cognitive and visual anatomy training.
Long term (20–30 years):
Some medical schools, especially in Asia and Europe, may eliminate cadaver use entirely.
But surgical and tactile disciplines will likely retain cadaver training.
The future is integrated, not binary.
X. A Cautionary Note: Technology Cannot Replace Humanity
As someone deeply involved in AI governance and strategy, I must emphasize:
AI is a tool.
Medicine is a human calling.
Digital twins can replicate anatomy.
They cannot replicate compassion.
They can model physiology.
They cannot model empathy.
They can teach surgical pathways.
They cannot teach the ethical weight of life and death.
Cadavers teach humility.
AI teaches precision.
Both are essential.
XI. The Way Forward for Nigeria and Africa
To modernize medical education, African nations must adopt a three-pillar roadmap:
1. National Digital Anatomy Libraries
To ensure sovereignty over:
• Anatomical datasets
• Local physiological models
• Training curriculum
• Research innovation
2. Hybrid Anatomy Centers
Every medical school needs:
• A dedicated virtual anatomy lab
• A scaled-down cadaveric lab
• AR/VR learning pods
• Simulation-based surgical training
3. AI Ethics and Governance Integration
Students must learn not only how to use AI but also how to govern it, ensuring privacy, safety, and responsibility.
XII. In summary: Between the Living and the Silent
Standing in that Kigali laboratory, watching a holographic heart beat with lifelike intensity, I felt the same awe I once struggled to feel during my dissection classes in the 1970s. Back then, the tools of learning were the toads and lizards we sacrificed in the name of science. Today, the tools are intelligent, responsive, humane, and infinitely replicable.
The future of anatomy lies not in choosing between cadavers and digital twins, but in merging the wisdom of the past with the innovation of the future.
Cadavers will always teach the solemnity of medicine.
Digital twins will teach its dynamism.
Humanity needs both.
Africa needs both.
The world needs both.
And as artificial intelligence reshapes education, healthcare, and the human experience, the question is no longer whether digital twins can replace cadavers, but whether we have the courage, vision, and investment to transform medical education for the generations to come.
That is the future worth building.
Note:
Sonny Iroche is a graduate of Zoology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he studied from 1974 to 1978. He also earned a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Finance. Currently, he serves as the CEO of GenAI Learning Concepts Ltd in Nigeria, specializing in artificial intelligence research and application. Iroche is a postgraduate alumnus of the University of Oxford’s Artificial Intelligence for Business program. He was a Senior Academic Fellow at the African Studies Center of the University of Oxford for the 2022-23 academic year. Additionally, he is a member of both the Technical Working Group for UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology and the Nigeria National AI Strategy Committee.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonnyiroche
