Abstract Anatomical technologies that enhance opportunities for teaching, research, and public engagement are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. This narrative review critically examines the ethical dimensions of these emerging anatomical technologies for use in anatomical outreach activities, from a UK legal and cultural perspective. While innovations such as 3D printing, imaging, virtual and augmented reality, and “synthetic donors” expand opportunities for anatomical teaching, and by extension anatomical outreach, they also complicate established ethical standards that the anatomy community has classically upheld. Drawing on ethical theory, donor and prospective donor perspectives, and UK regulatory frameworks, we argue that digital and synthetic reproductions do not circumvent ethical obligations but instead introduce parallel and often under‐examined responsibilities. We highlight risks associated with commodification, misrepresentation, and unregulated dissemination, particularly in digital and public‐facing contexts. We contend that ethically robust anatomical engagement must be transparent, culturally sensitive, and grounded in meaningful consent, equitable collaboration, and ongoing critical reflection. When approached in this way, public engagement can honor donor intentions while enriching public understanding without compromising ethical standards. image
Abstract Anatomical dissection is a fundamental component of medical education but is often associated with significant student anxiety that is hence important to consider. This randomized controlled trial aimed to assess whether immersive preparation using a 360° virtual reality (VR) video could reduce anxiety and stress in medical students prior to their first dissection experience. Second‐year medical students at a single medical school in France, with no prior exposure to the dissection room, were randomized to either (1) an intervention group that received a VR‐based immersive tour of the dissection environment, or (2) a control group that received a conventional introduction with photos and videos. The primary outcome was change in state anxiety, measured by the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐State) before and after the intervention. Secondary outcomes included physiological stress measured by heart rate and overall satisfaction with the educational experience. A total of 233 students were analyzed (intervention group: n = 87; control group: n = 146), with comparable baseline demographic and psychological characteristics. Following the intervention, the intervention group showed a slight decrease in STAI‐State score (from 46.7 to 46.5), whereas the control group experienced an increase (from 45.6 to 46.2), resulting in a statistically significant between‐group difference ( p = 0.048). Changes in heart rate during dissection did not differ significantly between groups ( p = 0.317). Among students exposed to VR, the overall satisfaction with practical sessions was rated 7.6/10 (SD 1.2). Taken together, the present findings showed that immersive VR preparation modestly but significantly reduced pre‐dissection anxiety, with high acceptability among medical students.
Abstract The integration of ultrasound imaging into preclinical anatomy teaching is often questioned with respect to its objective impact on anatomical knowledge. This study aimed to (i) evaluate short‐term knowledge gain following ultrasound‐integrated anatomy teaching, (ii) characterize students' perceptions of the learning experience, and (iii) assess the feasibility of delivery across rural, metropolitan, and international settings. Integrated ultrasound sessions were delivered to preclinical medical students in four settings (rural Australian graduate‐entry, metropolitan Australian direct‐entry, and metropolitan and rural Malaysian direct‐entry). Short‐term knowledge gain was assessed in the Australian rural cohort using a pretest‐posttest design with counterbalanced parallel forms, analyzed with linear mixed‐effects models. Student feedback underwent content analysis and feasibility was summarized using key implementation descriptors. In the short‐term knowledge gain study (103 students; 193 observed assessments), posttest performance was significantly higher than pretest performance ( adjusted mean difference 0.66 correct answers, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23–1.08; p = 0.003). Students reported benefits for in situ visualization, spatial understanding, and clinical relevance. Delivery was feasible at all four sites, including by videoconference where no local ultrasound unit was available. In conclusion, integrated ultrasound was feasible across diverse settings and, in the Australian rural cohort, was associated with higher assessment performance immediately after teaching. As the design had no parallel comparator, this finding indicates short‐term knowledge gain rather than a causal effect or long‐term retention. Together, these findings support ultrasound as a complementary preclinical tool, rather than being reserved solely for post‐curricular clinical skill acquisition.
Abstract Team‐based learning (TBL) is widely used in health professions education; however, its role within integrated curriculum redesigns serving increasingly heterogeneous student populations remains less well understood. Grounded in a conceptual framework emphasizing preparation, individual accountability, collaborative knowledge construction, immediate feedback, and application, this study evaluated TBL within a redesigned graduate‐level gross anatomy course. Four cohorts (2022–2025) were analyzed: Two completed the original lecture‐based curriculum and two completed a redesigned curriculum incorporating TBL, required human donor dissection laboratories, formative assessments, and team‐based examinations. A standardized Individual Performance Score (IPS) enabled comparison across cohorts. Grade distributions, item‐level psychometric indices, early assessment predictive value, and student perceptions were also evaluated. Overall IPS differences were not significant ( H = 6.50, p = 0.089); however, the redesigned curriculum was associated with a higher proportion of A grades (+11.7%, p = 0.012) and differences in performance distribution ( U = 16,143.5, p = 0.043). TBL‐aligned items demonstrated stronger discrimination and point‐biserial correlations, while early practical performance strongly predicted overall outcomes. Student perceptions were favorable, with 90.8% endorsing TBL activities and 94.1% reporting that team‐based examinations supported understanding. Embedding TBL within an integrated graduate anatomy curriculum may support high achievement, assessment quality, and collaborative learning. However, the historical cohort design, concurrent admissions changes, and multifaceted curricular redesign limit causal attribution to TBL alone. These findings support positioning TBL as one component of a broader curricular framework rather than an isolated intervention.
Abstract Anatomy education traditionally emphasizes structural knowledge acquisition, with the implicit assumption that clinical reasoning capabilities will naturally follow. However, the cognitive pathway from anatomical understanding to clinical application is rarely linear or uniform. This article proposes a conceptual framework in which semantic distance—the conceptual separation between anatomical knowledge and clinical endpoints—operates at three analytically distinct levels: (1) the learner's internal cognitive network, shaped by prior experience and schema formation; (2) the structural distance within curriculum maps, ontologies, or knowledge graphs; and (3) the distributional proximity within large language model (LLM) embedding spaces, which may serve as a scalable computational proxy indicator for the first two levels. These three levels must be explicitly distinguished if semantic distance is to function as a useful construct in anatomy education. To illustrate the framework's utility, three worked examples are developed—the femoral nerve, coronary circulation, and spinal cord anatomy—accompanied by a preliminary computational illustration of embedding distances rather than an empirically validated diagnostic instrument. A practical educator workflow is proposed through which computational signals may be translated into targeted curriculum decisions. The article positions semantic distance metrics as complementary to curriculum network analytics and highlights how cross‐domain transitions (from anatomy through physiology and pathology to clinical presentation) represent qualitatively different educational problems requiring different interventions. Prospective validation studies, multimodal computational approaches, and longitudinal curriculum outcome analyses are needed before this framework can be applied systematically. image
