A Novel Approach to Gross Dissection of the Human Pelvis and Perineum

Progressive curricular changes in medical education over the past two decades have resulted in the diaspora of gross anatomy content into integrated curricula while significantly reducing total contact hours. Despite the development of a wide range of alternative teaching modalities, gross dissection remains a critical component of medical education. The challenge posed to modern anatomists is how to maximize and integrate the time spent dissecting under the current curricular changes. In this study, an alternative approach to the dissection of the pelvis and perineum is presented in an effort to improve content delivery and student satisfaction. The approach involves removal of the perineum en bloc from the cadaver followed by excision of the pubic symphysis, removal and examination of the bladder and associated structures, examination and bisection of the midline pelvic organs in situ, and midsagittal hemisection of the pelvis for identification of the neurovasculature. Results indicate that this novel dissecting approach increases the number of structures identified by 46% ± 14% over current dissecting methods. Survey results indicate that students were better able to integrate lecture and laboratory concepts, understand the concepts, and successfully identify more structures using the new approach (P < 0.05). The concept of anatomic efficiency is introduced and proposed as a standard quantitative measure of gross dissection proficiency across programs and institutions. These findings provide evidence that innovative solutions to anatomy education can be found that help to maintain critical content and student satisfaction in a modern medical curriculum.