Learning anatomy through dissection: emotional influence on the first-year medical student: a systematic review

Abstract

The traditional study of anatomy is based on cadaveric dissection. However, in recent years new teaching methodologies have been introduced with the aim of increasing the ability of students to learn about the structures of the human body using computerized representations. Despite the increasing implementation of these new methodologies, universities around the world continue to base the practical teaching of anatomy on dissections. However, biomedical students begin to study dissections without having been exposed to a corpse previously, which poses a risk of generating stress. Using a systematic review process, we have observed that a large majority of students feel psychologically affected by this experience, leading to physiological consequences derived from anxiety and fear, although these decrease throughout the year due to a process of habituation. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the amount of stress factors that can be found in the anatomy laboratory to increase the transfer of knowledge between professor and student.