The morphome and EDI in anatomy education: A systematic scoping review and expert recommendations

Traditional anatomical education has predominantly depicted the young, healthy, white, male body; a narrow standard that fails to represent human diversity. Current Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives emphasize the need to broaden anatomical representations in education and healthcare. The emerging positivist concept of the morphome offers a promising framework to document and teach morphological variability, especially through advanced imaging and 3D technologies.

A systematic scoping review was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science (June 2025) using keywords related to morphome/morphomics, phenome/phenomics, and anatomy. Articles published in English, French, and Italian were screened following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Definitions of morphome and phenome were extracted and analyzed. Expert consensus was sought to generate recommendations. The pedagogical applications of the morphome via virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 3D printing in anatomy education were reported.

Forty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 15 (31%) explicitly defined morphome/morphomics, 29 (60%) focused on phenome/phenomics, and 4 (8%) discussed both. The morphome first appeared in 2000, whereas phenome-related publications emerged in the 1990s and expanded markedly after 2010. The morphome was consistently characterised as the complete set of 3D morphological features, while the phenome encompassed all observable traits resulting from genome-environment interactions. Expert recommendations included: (1) developing inclusive morphomic databases and open-access repositories, (2) promoting critical reflection and faculty development in morphomic pedagogy, and (3) implementing diverse morphomes through immersive and assessment-based technologies.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic scoping review to elucidate the definitions of the morphome and the phenome, and to explore the implications of the morphome for EDI in anatomy education. Integrating the morphome, particularly through VR/AR and 3D printing, may provide a rigorous, positivist framework for capturing and teaching anatomical diversity, and for advancing EDI principles in anatomy education.