At Burrell College’s donor appreciation ceremony, an original piece by Dr. Mir Saleem, chair of the Anatomy department, offered a visual reflection on the enduring role body donors play in shaping medical education.
Dr. Saleem said the piece reflects a deeper, more reflective approach to understanding anatomy and the human experience.
“I’ve always felt that some things just can’t be put into words — they need to be felt, or sat with, or expressed through something else entirely,” Dr. Saleem said. “To me, anatomy has never just been about structure. It carries meaning, history, and the trace of a life that once moved, breathed, and felt things.”
The artwork includes symbolic elements such as a book, a candle and rising smoke, representing what Dr. Saleem described as a connection between past, present and what continues forward.
“I didn’t want to make something pretty to look at — I wanted to make something true,” Dr. Saleem said. “Something that honors the fact that what we receive in the lab isn’t just material for learning. It’s a continuation of someone’s life in a different form.”
Dr. Saleem emphasized that honoring donors is essential in medical education, helping students remain grounded in the human side of medicine.
“If we don’t, we risk forgetting what this really is,” Dr. Saleem said. “Behind all of this is a person who made a conscious choice to give themselves something they’d never see the results of. That deserves more than acknowledgment — it deserves real reflection.”
He said donors also have a lasting impact on students, shaping how they approach patient care.
“They change you in a way that’s hard to explain and almost impossible to replicate,” Dr. Saleem said. “They’re not just teaching anatomy — they’re shaping the kind of physicians we’re going to become.”
The donor appreciation ceremony highlighted the lasting role donors play in training future physicians and the responsibility that comes with that gift.
