Adaptation of museum specimens for use in anatomical teaching aids

Colour transparencies are prepared of a re-colourized anatomical specimen after placing labels temporarily in position to indicate specific structures. The specimen is also radiographed to show skeletal and soft tissue structures and radio-opaque materials and letters may used to indicate certain parts. Having mounted the specimen it can then be placed in a teaching carrel together with the radiographs and a back-slide projector for viewing the colour transparencies. The student is guided through an examination of the specimen using a script or soundtape. Frequent cross-reference is made between the actual specimen, the colour transparencies on which certain parts of the specimen have been labelled, and also the radiographs. The examination is followed by self-assessment questions relevant to the specimen and these may include identification of structures on a photograph of the specimen and on duplicate radiographs. In the final section of the aid, the answers of the self-assessment questions are given.