Real vs virtual dissection: a region-based comparison of medical students' perceptions in a French faculty

To assess the perception of French medical students regarding the use and place of real (traditional) and virtual dissections in learning Anatomy.

A questionnaire was offered to all students in an optional course semester that combined real and virtual dissection. The questionnaire was also offered to near-peer tutor students (tutors). The questionnaire included closed (quantifiable) questions and open-ended questions, attempting to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of both methods according to anatomical regions.

Twenty students and 6 tutors filled the questionnaire. All students agreed that the virtual dissection table is useful for learning anatomy, though most (10/20 strongly) disagreed that it could replace traditional cadaveric dissection. Real dissection was considered significantly superior to virtual dissection for cardiac, thoracic, lung, and abdominal anatomy and myology (p < 0.05). A preference trend toward the virtual dissection table was observed for central neuroanatomy, peripheral neuroanatomy, and angiology, although this did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). A positive correlation was found between the ease of tool appropriation and its perceived pedagogical benefit.

Real and virtual dissections are complementary rather than competitive. This study advocates for a tailored pedagogical model where the choice of modality is guided by the specific anatomical region and its inherent technical constraints.