Knowledge of Anatomy: Where Do we Stand?

Abstract

Objectives: Anatomy education has undergone enormous transformation in the last decade.Traditional topographic anatomy taught by didactic lectures and complete dissection of the bodyhas been replaced by a wide range of special study modules, learning strategies and teaching tools.The present study was designed to provide a snapshot of the working knowledge of anatomyprevalent among Pakistani medical students and residents in this changing scenario.Study Design: A cross-sectional study conducted through a mini-test questionnaire completed by325 medical students &junior doctors randomly selected from four different medical institutionsof Pakistan. Results: Among 325 medical students and junior doctors, only 10% were able to identify allanatomical structures correctly, whereas 24% candidates identified =70% anatomical landmarks.Thirty nine percent of the junior doctors and medical students were able to identify =50% anatomicalstructures. The best anatomical knowledge was reflected by first year medical students whereasthe worst performance was shown by residents. There was insignificant variation in the performanceof candidates from different private medical schools; however the results of candidates from publicsector institution were astounding. Conclusion: The decay in anatomical knowledge over time portrays that residents would try tofill their anatomy deficiency during surgical residency rather learning surgical skills. The medicaleducationists should find-out the root cause of this deterioration. We propose a randomized trialusing problem solving test items to identify the exact intensity of the problem prevalent amongPakistani medical students and residents.

Keywords

• prosections
• topographic anatomy
• dissection
• cadovers
• anatomy teaching