Comparison between synthetic models and human viscera in anatomy teaching

Abstract

Anatomical knowledge is essential in medical education and its transmission mode has undergone changes throughout these recent years. The use of synthetic anatomical models proved to be a common resource, even with the scarce supply of cadaveric material in some laboratories. It is noted, however, that there is a lack of summative empirical evidence in the literature about the best instrument used when teaching anatomy. The purpose of this work was to compare two pedagogical instruments most commonly used when teaching anatomy: synthetic anatomical models and human viscera, concerning the performance of students during evaluations. This was a randomized experimental study in which all first-year students from Medical and Nursing classes were invited to participate from 2019 to 2020. The modules selected from the anatomical curriculum to be used in the dynamic of the classes and evaluations were about the anatomy of the thorax and abdomen. The dynamics included the use of synthetic models and cadaveric specimens. In order to compare the results between participants who performed the practical lessons with synthetic models and those who performed it with cadaveric specimens, non-parametric tests were used, with the outcome being the number of correct answers in each assessment applied after the lessons. After excluding ineligible participants, from 185 individuals, were included in the research 122 students from the medical (n=69) and nursing (n=53) areas. For the two modules evaluated, in general terms, no differences were noted between the use of synthetical models and human viscera regarding the performance of participants in the assessments. We conclude that the use of synthetical models might be a suitable alternative to conventional training with cadaveric specimens for teaching anatomy. However, more studies should be conducted to support this evidence.