Evaluating the quality and educational utility of YouTube videos in teaching human surface anatomy

YouTube is increasingly used by medical and health science students as a supplementary learning tool. However, the quality and educational value of surface anatomy videos on YouTube remain underexplored. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the quality, reliability, and educational usefulness of YouTube videos focusing on human surface anatomy. A structured YouTube search was conducted (December 2024-January 2025), targeting the seven primary body regions with specific keywords (e.g., "surface anatomy," "bone landmarks," and "dermatomes"). The top 30 videos per search term were selected. Two anatomists independently assessed each video using the Anatomy Content Score (ACS), Global Quality Scale (GQS), modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated via Kappa coefficient. Associations between video quality scores and YouTube metrics (view count, like ratio, interaction index) were examined using nonparametric tests. Among 1050 retrieved videos, 85 (8%) met inclusion criteria; 48 (56.5%) were classified as "useful" (ACS ≥ 13, GQS ≥ 4). Longer video duration was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with higher usefulness, whereas view count, like ratio, and interaction index did not correlate with usefulness. ACS strongly correlated with GQS (r_s = 0.754) and both correlated moderately with mDISCERN. No significant differences in video quality were observed across body regions, search rankings, presented material type, or upload period (pre- vs. post-COVID-19). YouTube offers a moderate-quality resource for learning surface anatomy, with approximately 60% of evaluated videos deemed useful. Popularity metrics are unreliable indicators of video educational quality, underscoring the need for peer-reviewed, high-quality digital resources.