Is exam performance in anatomy influenced by teaching with prosected cadavers? An evidence-based study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy Instruction

Background:

• Limited evidence supports the necessity of cadavers for effective anatomy teaching.
• This study examines anatomy exam performance over 12 years, analyzing changes in curriculum and cadaver use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of anatomy laboratory attendance and cadaver use on student exam performance.
• To evaluate changes in anatomy instruction effectiveness before and after a curricular reform.

Main Methods:

• Collected anatomy exam performance data from 782 medical students over 12 academic years (2006-2019).
• Compared student performance across three groups: old curriculum with prosected specimens, new curriculum with prosected specimens, and new curriculum without prosected specimens.
• Recorded laboratory attendance for a subset of students in the 2018-2019 academic year.

Main Results:

• The discontinuation of prosected specimens did not significantly affect anatomy instruction quality.
• Student performance showed slight but statistically significant differences between old and new curricula, and with or without cadavers.
• No association was found between student performance and the number of missed laboratory sessions.

Conclusions:

• Consistent anatomy exam performance is achievable with various teaching and learning methodologies.
• Medical schools should provide a range of quality resources and empower students to select methods that best suit their individual learning styles, fostering self-directed learning.
• Modern students' preference for readily accessible digital resources suggests a need to adapt anatomy education.