Learning Anatomy: Can Dissection and Peer-Mediated Teaching Offer Added Benefits over Prosection Alone?

Purpose. To evaluate the impact of an optional thoracic dissection elective upon anatomy subject acquisition and determine whether peer-mediated teaching has a beneficial effect. Methodology. First year medical students’ results on thoracic anatomy laboratory examinations over a five-year period were obtained. All students were taught in the laboratory using prosected specimens as part of a standard curriculum. A subset of students from each class volunteered to participate in an optional thoracic dissection. A comparison of exam performance between the two groups was made, and the results were analyzed to see if incorporating peer teaching into the elective had an impact on the students’ performance on anatomy examinations. Results. With the exception of one year’s results, no significant statistical difference was found in student performance on anatomy examinations between the two groups. The addition of peer teaching did not result in superior performance. Conclusion. It is believed that prosected specimens are suitable for anatomy laboratory teaching in an undergraduate medical curriculum. Our study did not reveal that an opportunity for dissection offered any added benefit in terms of exam performance. In addition, peer teaching did not affect exam performance. This study strictly compared student exam results. It did not assess the possible impact of the dissection process to influence student attitudes towards death or the development of clinically relevant visuospatial abilities and procedural skills. 1. Introduction With more schools utilizing prosected cadaveric specimens in the anatomy laboratory, is there still a role for dissection? Historically, dissection has been utilized as the best means for teaching anatomy to medical students [1]. Nevertheless, a systematic literature review found little objective data that actually supports this notion [2]. More recently, the superiority of dissection over prosection has been debated [3], and the use of prosection as an adequate tool for learning anatomy is becoming increasingly common in medical schools. A further understanding of the usefulness of both the aforementioned techniques is important as we look to the future and attempt to optimize gross anatomy education. Prior to commencing this study, our hypothesis was that first-year medical students who participate in an extracurricular thoracic dissection elective would perform better on thoracic-related anatomy examinations than those who did not. A secondary hypothesis was that the use of peer-mediated teaching would offer an added benefit to