Abstract:

Human anatomy is a fundamental knowledge for doctors, surgeons and other health related professions. Normally, many human anatomy students work with cadaveric material in the dissection room, but nowadays, technological advances, mainly in the domain of computer applications, offer a wide variety of tools to the human anatomy teacher. Should dissection of human cadavers be complemented or maybe substituted by other methodologies? In this paper the advantages and disadvantages of the use of cadaver dissection in learning human anatomy are described. Also, other alternative methodologies are explained, including e-textiles, problem based learning, video projections and computer applications, such as those based on the Visible human Project. Finally, a good practice in the human anatomy laboratory based on active learning is described: morphological laboratories, like in the case of human anatomy, are sometimes perceived by students as monotonous, but active learning methodologies like the preparation of a practical exam by the students, can help improving their attitude and the learning outcomes.

Keywords:

Human anatomy, dissection, didactics.