At UB, we are integrating modern digital models of human cadavers into a traditional dissection-based gross anatomy course to provide students with a state-of-the-art education in human form and function.
Cadaveric Gross Anatomy Education
Human dissection has been the gold standard for learning human anatomy for over a thousand years. At the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, our exceptional human gifts program allows our students to get a hands-on kinesthetic education in the human form, including the systemic and interconnected nature of structural anatomy. Students are encouraged to use imaging, models, cross sections, bones, and mounted skeletons in conjunction with their dissection throughout the course.
Difficulties in Cadaveric Dissection
Unfortunately, access to human gifts is not possible for many medical schools because of the considerable difficulties in running such a dissection program.
Cadaver dissection programs include high costs and logistical difficulties in obtaining, preparing, storing, and disposing of human gifts, need for a dedicated, secured laboratory facility, and dedicated personnel responsible for the transport, embalming, and oversight of the body donations. This has led some institutions to experiment with eliminating dissections in favor of alternative teaching methods. In particular, digital education tools including life-sized digital dissection tables and digital apps have enabled students to segment and reconstruct different body regions, as well as focus on different systems in isolation.
Digital Tools for Gross Anatomy
A promising learning technology that has emerged in recent years involves the use of computed tomography (CT) imaging of body donations to compliment cadaver dissection. The technology is identical to that used in the field of medical diagnosis. Following a whole-body CT scan of the cadaver, the individual axial slices are compiled into a DICOM (Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine) stack that can then be utilized by the students performing the dissection using specialized DICOM viewing software. Students are able to scroll through sagittal, coronal, and axial slice stacks to identify anatomical structures. Moreover, most DICOM viewers are also equipped with 3D volume rendering capabilities.
Can We Eliminate Cadavers?
Enthusiasm for these digital tools and concerns over the high resource cost of a cadaveric dissection approach have prompted some institutions to experiment with eliminating the use of cadavers in favor of an entirely “virtual” environment. However, the literature is mixed on whether these digital tools can replace a kinesthetic learning environment, or what the proper integration approach should be. Student surveys have shown enthusiasm for both kinesthetic learning and for multimedia / virtual models, but studies on the actual efficacy of virtual vs. kinesthetic learning have been mixed.
The overall consensus is that while these tools may provide some value, it is crucial to carefully develop a pedagogical approach to proper integration of digital tools with traditional anatomical learning.
Hybrid Learning May Be the Best of Both Worlds
At UB, we are developing a hybrid approach to teaching gross anatomy. This hybrid curriculum intends to use virtual data to improve (rather than replace) the kinesthetic experience of actual cadaver dissection.
In this approach, each cadaver used in our gross anatomy course is CT scanned prior to dissection and provided to students, who are able to reconstruct organ systems in 3D for review and analysis before, during, and after the dissection in the anatomy lab. By combining radiology of the cadaver with the physically-dissected specimen, students can learn with the benefits of virtual models (ease of interpretation, clear representation of structures and relationships) as well as those of kinesthetic learning (tactile, real-world understanding of physical anatomy).
Translating Learning to Research
This training approach will reinforce structural and radiological concepts in later courses and provide advanced experience in interpreting radiological data, as well as provide experience in software and data analysis tools similar to those used by physicians in the professional setting. Students can also use the radiological data in advance of cadaver dissection to identify anatomical variants and pathologies in advance of the cadaver dissection. In instances where a particularly interesting case is identified, the dissection approach can be modified to better preserve the structures of interest, which might otherwise be damaged through blind dissection. The combination of gross morphological, histopathological, and radiological data can be include in case reports that students generate under faculty guidance, leading to poster presentations and case study publications that could further the student’s professional development.
Finally, we can use the quantitative models developed in the course of this project to derive mathematical models of interesting anatomical structures (organs and organ systems) which can aid in developing a more accurate picture of human anatomy across a population of individuals.
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