Educational Innovation

The instruction of human anatomy has remained largely unchanged for more than a century, despite the rising prevalence of computer-based media in nearly every other aspect of life.

For the most part, students, working in teams, conduct carefully planned tissue dissections under the watchful eye of anatomy faculty. Structures and their functions are identified, labeled, memorized and recited.

But UofL officials have begun laying the groundwork for a new $3 million gross anatomy lab that will retain the best of the old-school approach while adding state-of-the-art computer technology that empowers students to explore and learn as never before.

The plan calls for placing a computer screen at every dissection table, so that students can view correlative CTs, MRIs, PET scans and 3-D imaging as they perform dissections, says Edward Halperin, M.D, M.A., dean of the School of Medicine.

“The modern medical student needs to know how to correlate anatomic dissection with diagnostic imaging,” Halperin notes.

“The student also will be able to do 3-D rotation of structures and test themselves by using computer imaging software,” he says. “And if a student comes upon a topic that piques his or her interest, the computer will allow ready access to the medical literature through the computerized database at the National Library of Medicine.

“It is, in my view, essential that we incorporate these concepts into anatomical education, which I regard as the essential, formative experience of the physician in training,” Halperin adds.

The lab also will feature a “sky camera” that can be positioned over any anatomical structure, says Fred Roisen, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Anatomical Science and Neurobiology at UofL.

“If a student finds something unique, we will be able to share their findings with every screen in the room,” Roisen says. 

“Instead of having 160 students file past a table to see something, the instructor can simply distribute that image electronically.”

The new displays also will be used to play instructional videos that build on the anatomy department’s existing course materials, which Roisen calls “superb.”

“Instead of having our traditional printed course material, we now will have video vignettes, showing step-by-step guidance on each procedure,” Roisen says. “The material will be software-driven, with both text and video sequences that students can pause, rewind and watch as many times as they want.”

Some medical schools have suggested the complete elimination of cadaveric dissection as a primary means of instruction, replacing it instead with computer simulations, Halperin notes.

He characterizes that approach as “a serious error,” and says that UofL will retain its focus on dissection.

“There is no computer simulation that can convey the difference in texture between an artery and a vein,” he says. “And there is no computer simulation that can teach you about your own and your fellow human’s mortality, the concept of group learning and of teamwork.”

UofL’s plan will require the total renovation of its current gross anatomy lab, replacing it with a 7,754 square-foot layout that calls for a more efficient use of space and adds eight dissections tables, bringing the total to 48. New ventilation systems also will be installed.

Construction is slated to begin this summer and will be carried out in two phases, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2009.

The work will no doubt be an inconvenience to the hundreds of medical and dental students and other health-care professionals who use the lab year round, Roisen says, but the results will be worth it.

“The real goal here is to prepare the students for their future careers in the best way possible,” Roisen says.

“Those careers will, in part, utilize the Internet and computer-based imaging modalities, so this new lab concept is an excellent way to offer our students an exciting and relevant educational opportunity while still valuing the hands-on experience and the opportunities that it provides to our students.

“Most people will remember their dissection partners for the rest of their lives,” Roisen adds. “More than the white coat ceremony, the gross anatomy lab symbolizes medical school.

“I think this leading-edge facility will continue to help us attract the brightest students available because it shows a commitment from the university that makes a statement to all: While we are very focused in many respects on research, we will continue to be innovative leaders in medical education.”