Global Trends in Cadaver Donation and Medical Education Research: Bibliometric Analysis Based on VOSviewer and CiteSpace

Abstract

Background: The cadaver serves as a crucial resource in medical education, research, and clinical practice, as well as a vital foundation for fundamental medical experimental teaching.

Objective: This study aims to use bibliometric analysis to create a knowledge map of cadaver donation in medical education, identify global trends, anticipate future research directions, and offer a foundation for upcoming investigations.

Methods: Articles and review papers concerning cadaver donation and medical education, with a final search cutoff of January 10, 2025, were systematically retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Two reviewers carefully examined the initial set of articles based on titles and abstracts to exclude irrelevant ones. A quadratic regression model was used to examine the annual publication data. The model's goodness of fit was assessed using the R2 value, and the statistical significance of the findings was determined through the P valu. The selected publications were then analyzed and visualized for country, institution, author, reference, journal, and keywords using CiteSpace 6.3R3, VOSviewer 1.6.19, and the Online Analysis Platform of the Literature Metrology Database.

Results: The quadratic regression model yielded the equation Y=0.1586X²-633.9X+633395, indicating a substantial increase in the number of publications over time (R2=0.9575, P<.05). The model forecasts that the publication count will reach 107 by 202. This upward trend is statistically significant, highlighting a notable rise in research interest and activity within this field over time. The United States was a major contributor, accounting for 21.2% (303/1114) of all publications. In terms of continents and faiths, Europe and Christianity contributed the most, while McGill University and The University of Sydney were the leading institutions. Prominent authors in this field included De Caro Raffaele, Macchi Veronica, Porzionato Andrea, Stecco Carla, and Dhanani Sonny. The most frequently cocited reference was "Bodies for Anatomy Education in Medical Schools: An Overview of the Sources of Cadavers Worldwide." The journal Anatomical Sciences Education published the most articles in this area and received the highest citation count. Cluster analysis of keywords revealed that "kidney transplantation," "gross anatomy education," and "brain death" were key research topics, while burst analysis of keywords identified "public perception" and "anatomical science" as emerging areas of investigation.

Conclusions: This research presents a distinctive bibliometric approach to cadaver donation within medical education, setting it apart from previous studies by delivering an extensive global overview of trends and influential contributors in this domain. The results emphasize the increasing global interest and collaborative efforts surrounding cadaver donation, while also offering fresh perspectives on emerging topics like public perception and anatomical sciences. This paper serves as an important reference for researchers, policymakers, and educators, supporting the development of future strategies to enhance cadaver donation programs and further medical education.

Keywords: VOSviewer; bibliometric analysis; cadaver donation; citespace; medical education; medical knowledge; medical student; medical training.

Figure 1.. Flowchart for the analysis of cadaver donation and medical education.

Figure 2.. (A) Number of annual publications on cadaver donation and medical education; (B) Number of annual publications and growth trends of the top 10 countries/regions.

Figure 3.. (A) Distribution of countries engaged in cadaver donation and medical education research; (B) The network of co-country co-occurrence; (C) The network map of cooperation between countries or regions.

Figure 4.. The network of coinstitutions co-occurrence.

Figure 5.. The overlay map of coauthors in cadaver donation and medical education.

Figure 6.. The network of co-cited references in cadaver donation and medical education research.

Figure 7.. The top 25 references with the strongest citation bursts (sorted by the beginning year of burst) [13-37].

Figure 8.. The dual-map overlay of journals related to cadaver donation and medical education research. The citing journals were at left, the cited journals were on the right, and the colored curve represents the reference path.

Figure 9.. The network of keywords co-occurrence.

Figure 10.. Keywords are clustered on the time scale and output as map.

Figure 11.. Burst keywords involved cadaver donation research in relation to medical education. (A) Ranking by beginning. (B) Ranking by strengths. (C) Ranking by durations.

Figure 12.. The keywords of cadaver donation and medical education were shown in the keywords timeline view.