Abstract
Introduction. Cadaveric dissections and prosections have traditionally been part of undergraduate medical teaching. Materials and Methods. Hundred and fifty-nine first-year students in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, were invited to participate in the above study. Students were randomly allocated to two age and gender matched groups. Both groups were exposed to identical series of lectures regarding anatomy of the abdomen and conventional cadaveric prosections of the abdomen. The test group (n = 77, 48.4%) was also exposed to cadaveric cross-sectional slices of the abdomen to which the control group (n = 82, 51.6%) was blinded. At the end of the teaching session both groups were assessed by using their performance in a timed multiple choice question paper as well as ability to identify structures in abdominal CT films. Results. Scores for spatial and radiological anatomy were significantly higher among the test group when compared with the control group (P < 0.05, CI 95%). Majority of the students in both control and test groups agreed that cadaveric cross section may be useful for them to understand spatial and radiological anatomy. Conclusion. Introduction of cadaveric cross-sectional prosections may help students to understand spatial and radiological anatomy better.
Highlights
Cadaveric dissections and prosections have traditionally been part of undergraduate medical teaching
Scores for spatial anatomy (SA) and radiological anatomy (RA) as well as the cumulative scores (CS) were higher among the test group when compared with the control group
Some medical schools have taken this approach to the extreme with completely doing away with cadaveric dissection/prosections from the curricula, exclusively relying on medical imaging [14], many would argue against such a radical shift from the established teaching practices [15]
Summary
Cadaveric dissections and prosections have traditionally been part of undergraduate medical teaching. Students were randomly allocated to two age and gender matched groups Both groups were exposed to identical series of lectures regarding anatomy of the abdomen and conventional cadaveric prosections of the abdomen. Majority of the students in both control and test groups agreed that cadaveric cross section may be useful for them to understand spatial and radiological anatomy. Introduction of cadaveric cross-sectional prosections may help students to understand spatial and radiological anatomy better. Cadaveric prosections have been fundamental to understanding the complexities of the human body structure and have played a pivotal role in gross anatomy teaching in medical education [1]. In the absence of cadaveric dissection, prosected specimens have increasingly been used in teaching anatomy to medical undergraduates [7]. Introduction of ultrasound in anatomy teaching session has been received with much enthusiasm [9]
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