Monica Aissa Martinez

University of Arizona medical students present their art from the Art and Anatomy Workshop.

Medical school can be a pretty sterile place, where it’s easy to forget humanity. And that's especially the case when it involves that first-year cadaver.

But the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine in Phoenix takes a unique approach. There, students actually attend a celebration of appreciation for their cadaver. And before that, they get creative with the school’s Art in Medicine program.

Students can choose dance, music or visual art as a way to make an homage to the life of the body they’ve studied.

Gillian Reynoso chose art, and recently attended a workshop with local artist Monica Aissa Martinez.

Martinez’s work focuses on medicine and science, and she takes her own artistic approach to pulling bodies apart for inspection and introspection.

The Show spoke with Reynoso and Martinez to learn more about the experience — and what it’s like as a first-year medical student.

Monica Aissa Martinez

Monica Aissa Martinez.

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