Anatomical Sciences Education最新文献

With many resources available, students may be unsure about which are most beneficial to aid learning of the anatomical sciences. The purpose of this study was to identify which learning resources medical students found most helpful and to examine the association between students' examination performance and their preferred study resources. In an IRB-approved study, students enrolled in an integrated Human Structure course from 2016 to 2022 were asked to list their preferred learning resources prior to the first examination. Resources identified as most helpful were extracted and similar resources were grouped into categories. Students were sorted into three groups based on examination performance. Chi-square tests of homogeneity were used to examine the association between students' examination performance and resource usage. The analysis included 2473 students: 393 high, 1701 average, and 379 low performers. Students identified eight categories of resources; self-assessment resources were most popular (59.5%) followed by lecture materials (53.3%). There was a steady increase in the use of self-assessment resources from year to year, and overall, fewer low performers (50.7%) used self-assessment resources than average (60.7%) and high performers (63.1%; p < 0.001). This suggests that low performers may be missing out on the feedback that self-assessment provides to identify gaps in their knowledge and to monitor their learning; without such feedback, struggling students may be unaware that their study strategies are ineffective for promoting deeper understanding and long-term retention.

Three-dimensional visualization technologies (3DVTs) in anatomy education are popular as they offer a cost-effective and accessible alternative to cadaveric specimens. However, the literature presents conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of 3DVTs in facilitating learning compared with traditional models. This study explores whether displaying 3D models using a virtual reality (VR) headset induces a stereoscopic experience comparable to that of physical models, by examining the quality of learners' depth perception as they reference different modalities to complete a series of illustrations. Using a crossover design, biomedical illustration trainers were randomly assigned to two groups and completed three illustrations using different reference modalities (2D, prosection, VR model). Illustrations were scored by subject matter experts using a validated scoring rubric and the mean scores for each modality were compared. Following their VR experience, participants completed a cybersickness and user experience survey. Participants (n = 17) were confirmed to have stereovision and average visuospatial ability. A two-way repeated measure ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of modality, where illustrations produced while referencing the 2D cadaveric image and prosection scored higher than those created using the VR model. Notably, participants demonstrated reduced ability in depicting depth of anatomical layers when referencing the VR model. Contrary to our hypothesis, the VR models did not provide similar quality of depth perception as prosection. Qualitative data suggest this may be a result of methodological challenges that increase cognitive processing demands on learners, potentially hindering learners' ability to interpret visuospatial cues.

YouTube is increasingly used by medical and health science students as a supplementary learning tool. However, the quality and educational value of surface anatomy videos on YouTube remain underexplored. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the quality, reliability, and educational usefulness of YouTube videos focusing on human surface anatomy. A structured YouTube search was conducted (December 2024-January 2025), targeting the seven primary body regions with specific keywords (e.g., "surface anatomy," "bone landmarks," and "dermatomes"). The top 30 videos per search term were selected. Two anatomists independently assessed each video using the Anatomy Content Score (ACS), Global Quality Scale (GQS), modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated via Kappa coefficient. Associations between video quality scores and YouTube metrics (view count, like ratio, interaction index) were examined using nonparametric tests. Among 1050 retrieved videos, 85 (8%) met inclusion criteria; 48 (56.5%) were classified as "useful" (ACS ≥ 13, GQS ≥ 4). Longer video duration was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with higher usefulness, whereas view count, like ratio, and interaction index did not correlate with usefulness. ACS strongly correlated with GQS (r_s = 0.754) and both correlated moderately with mDISCERN. No significant differences in video quality were observed across body regions, search rankings, presented material type, or upload period (pre- vs. post-COVID-19). YouTube offers a moderate-quality resource for learning surface anatomy, with approximately 60% of evaluated videos deemed useful. Popularity metrics are unreliable indicators of video educational quality, underscoring the need for peer-reviewed, high-quality digital resources.

The last thirty years have seen an increased presence of plastination companies within the anatomy profession and in the public domain. Engagement with the dissected human body, once almost exclusively accessible to healthcare professionals, has been commodified through public displays. As a result, plastination companies and their products have become a de facto "public face of anatomy," including commercial enterprises that manufacture and sell plastinated human tissues for educational purposes. The ongoing cultural normalization accompanying both the public engagement and commercial activities of plastination companies is ethically problematic. To counteract this normalization, this article provides detailed information on the history of plastination and its contested practices and analyzes the ethical concerns associated with the public display of human remains, including reflections on edutainment versus education. Also addressed is the commodification and commercialization of the deceased encouraged by these exhibits. Whereas for-profit plastination companies anonymize, objectify, and commodify the human body, the new ethos of anatomy education is focused on the shared humanity of body donors, learners, and educators and promotes humanistic educational concepts and practices, including in the use of ethically sourced human plastinates. Based on this history-informed ethical analysis, suggestions are provided for anatomists to help reverse this normalization around the commodification of the human body and instead make visible the public face of anatomy as a discipline based on robust ethical standards and respect for the dead. This will help ensure the practice of anatomy remains congruent with societal expectations and maintains its central role in healthcare education.

The public has limited knowledge of key organs and anatomical structures. The lack of anatomical knowledge and understanding can hinder time to access healthcare, quality of care, and treatment outcomes. The current study investigated the anatomical knowledge among Namibian children by comparing 8 school grades-4 to 12, which covers children from the ages of 9 to 18 years old, with a total of 481 participants from 5 schools located across various areas of Namibia. All structures showed an increase in the correct responses with an increase of age except for the stomach. Structures within the abdomen were most poorly answered, with the spleen (8.8%), adrenals (9.8%), gallbladder (11.9%), and pancreas (12.1%). Structures were then grouped into functional systems and a multiple logistic regression model was used to ascertain knowledge level compared with grade 4 (the earliest year of education) and girls as reference. Knowledge improved significantly across multiple increasing school grades. Students demonstrated the best increase in performance in muscular, endocrine, respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems, respectively-with 2 schools outperforming the rest. Analysis of the percentage of structures correctly located by boys and girls showed that girls outscored boys on average, in 15 of the structures. This is the first study to look specifically at the anatomical knowledge of children in both a primary and secondary educational setting, and the first that considers learners in Africa. The study provides evidence into the need for improved health education and promotion and its benefits in school children and their anatomical knowledge.

Clinical scenario-based learning (CSBL) has demonstrated benefits in clinical education, but its implementation in preclinical undergraduate anatomy programs remains limited. This study explored the effects of integrating clinical scenarios into a third-year undergraduate human anatomy subject within a small pre-medicine cohort. A three-year exploratory study (2017-2019) was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data were collected via Likert scale questions from anonymous student questionnaires (n = 53; response rate: 88%-89%), and qualitative data were derived from open-ended responses analyzed thematically. Students had previously completed a traditionally delivered anatomy subject and were then exposed to scenario-based discussions in lectures. Most students agreed that clinical scenarios enhanced peer learning (89.1%), anatomical knowledge acquisition (91.5%), and engagement with content (87.2%). Additionally, 88.7% reported increased interest in pursuing a medical career. Thematic analysis identified five key benefits: collaborative learning environment, knowledge consolidation, contextual application of knowledge, heightened engagement, and career inspiration. CSBL in undergraduate anatomy fosters high student engagement, deepens understanding, and supports medical career aspirations. These findings support wider adoption of structured, contextual, and team-based learning activities in preclinical programs.

The development of anatomy has been marked by ethically questionable practices. This has been because the dissection of human bodies has always existed on the periphery of conventional society, necessitating a range of dubious ways of obtaining dead bodies for educational and research purposes. Chief among these has been the use of unclaimed bodies, those obtained without the consent, and on occasion, knowledge of living relatives. This raises the question of the moral status of dead bodies and the place of informed consent in the practice of anatomy. While informed consent has become mandatory in the legislations of many countries, some argue that it is a Westernized concept. The argument here is that informed consent is a crucial ethical requirement for anatomists. By the 1960s legislation in the United Kingdom and similar countries, plus increasing awareness of ethical issues, brought to the fore informed consent and the necessity of using only body donations. This trajectory was strengthened by inquiries into organ retention scandals following postmortems that highlighted the basic ethical values for dealing with the remains of the dead. Nevertheless, there has been continued use of unclaimed bodies internationally, ushering in continued efforts to understand why this is the case and reasons why some indigenous groups reject body donation. It is concluded that except where there are mitigating circumstances, anatomists continuing to rely upon a supply of unclaimed bodies are neglecting the trajectory of ethical debate over the past 40 years.