Perception of value and effectiveness of cadaveric dissection in human anatomy teaching among undergraduate and surgical post-graduate students in the university of Nairobi

Abstract

Background: Over the years medical educational approach to the teaching of anatomy has been centered on the use of cadaveric dissection or prosected specimen. However, there is currently a worldwide debate on the value and duration of dissection as a teaching tool in Human Anatomy. Therefore, it was important to determine what the students felt about cadaveric dissection and evaluate its value as a teaching method in learning anatomy. Objective: To investigate the perception of undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental students towards the value and effectiveness of cadaveric dissection in the teaching of Human Anatomy at the University of Nairobi. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed among undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental practitioners in the University of Nairobi. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS (Statistics Package for Social Sciences) and presented in tables and graphs Results: Out of the 107 students sampled, 73.33% were against a reduction in cadaveric dissection because it provides 3D perception of the human body (76.36%) and it assists in relating pathology to the relevant anatomy (70.91%). The students who preferred a reduction in cadaveric reported that it was too time consuming (90%) and felt that the time should be allocated to the clinical sciences (45%). Majority of the post-graduate students sampled thought that learning anatomy was relevant to their current profession (70.67). Conclusion: The results demonstrate that students perceive cadaveric dissection to be a valuable tool that should remain at the core of learning anatomy.