Dissection Versus Prosection: a Comparison of Laboratory Practical Examinations

doi:10.1007/s40670-019-00839-6

. 2019 Oct 23;30(1):47-51.

doi: 10.1007/s40670-019-00839-6. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Dissection Versus Prosection: a Comparison of Laboratory Practical Examinations

Mehak Aziz¹, Edward T Kernick², Gary L Beck Dallaghan³, Kurt O Gilliland³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN USA.
² Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC USA.
³ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, 108 Taylor Hall, CB 7321, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA.

PMID: 34457635
PMCID: PMC8368320
DOI: 10.1007/s40670-019-00839-6

Dissection Versus Prosection: a Comparison of Laboratory Practical Examinations

Mehak Aziz et al. Med Sci Educ. 2019.

. 2019 Oct 23;30(1):47-51.

doi: 10.1007/s40670-019-00839-6. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Authors

Mehak Aziz¹, Edward T Kernick², Gary L Beck Dallaghan³, Kurt O Gilliland³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN USA.
² Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC USA.
³ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, 108 Taylor Hall, CB 7321, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA.

PMID: 34457635
PMCID: PMC8368320
DOI: 10.1007/s40670-019-00839-6

Abstract

There is insufficient evidence supporting complete dissection as essential for medical student education. Due to physical constraints, we employed a hybrid teaching method. Gross anatomy practical examinations from two medical student classes were analyzed to determine performance on dissected versus student-prosected material. Overall, student performance on questions pertaining to personally dissected material was similar to performance on questions learned by studying student-prosected material. We found dissection time can be reduced without impacting medical student examination performance.

Keywords: Anatomy; Dissection; Medical students; Prosection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Cited by

Discovering Pathologies in the Anatomy Lab: The Case of Brachial Plexopathy Mimicking Neurological Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Mancine R, Kowalski P, McMillan W, Geske N, Kujjo L. Mancine R, et al. Spartan Med Res J. 2020 Oct 30;5(2):14179. doi: 10.51894/001c.14179. Spartan Med Res J. 2020. PMID: 33655186 Free PMC article.
The Effectiveness of a Virtual Anatomy Curriculum Versus Traditional Cadaveric Dissection in UNC SOM's First-Year Class.
Fox AL, Dallaghan GLB, Gilliland KO. Fox AL, et al. Med Sci Educ. 2022 Sep 28;32(6):1319-1321. doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01646-2. eCollection 2022 Dec. Med Sci Educ. 2022. PMID: 36193110 Free PMC article.
Prosections in Anatomy Education: Establishing a Definition and Describing Preparation, Use, and Educator Perceptions.
Curran SN, Schaefer AF. Curran SN, et al. Med Sci Educ. 2023 Feb 18;33(2):385-393. doi: 10.1007/s40670-023-01745-8. eCollection 2023 Apr. Med Sci Educ. 2023. PMID: 37261024 Free PMC article.
Illustrator-anatomist-clinician triad based pedagogical model in anatomy education: An auxiliary resource amidst lack of hands-on human dissection.
Creze M, Ghosh SK. Creze M, et al. Anat Sci Educ. 2025 Apr;18(4):386-405. doi: 10.1002/ase.70018. Epub 2025 Mar 12. Anat Sci Educ. 2025. PMID: 40077959 Free PMC article. Review.

References

1. Elizondo-Omaña RE, Guzmán-López S, De Los Angeles García-Rodríguez M. Dissection as a teaching tool: past, present, and future. Anat Rec B New Anat. 2005;285B:11–15. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20070. - DOI - PubMed
1. Böckers A, Jerg-Bretzke L, Lamp C, Brinkmann A, Traue HC, Böckers TM. The gross anatomy course: an analysis of its importance. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:3–11. - PubMed
1. Rizzolo LJ, Stewart WB. Should we continue teaching anatomy by dissection when … ? Anat Rec B New Anat. 2006;289B:215–218. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20117. - DOI - PubMed
1. Sugand K, Abrahams P, Khurana A. The anatomy of anatomy: a review for its modernization. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:83–93. - PubMed
1. Wilson AB, Miller CH, Klein BA, Taylor MA, Goodwin M, Boyle EK, et al. A meta-analysis of anatomy laboratory pedagogies. Clin Anat. 2018;31:122–133. doi: 10.1002/ca.22934. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- Europe PubMed Central
- PubMed Central

[1] Elizondo-Omaña RE, Guzmán-López S, De Los Angeles García-Rodríguez M. Dissection as a teaching tool: past, present, and future. Anat Rec B New Anat. 2005;285B:11–15. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20070. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Elizondo-Omaña RE, Guzmán-López S, De Los Angeles García-Rodríguez M. Dissection as a teaching tool: past, present, and future. Anat Rec B New Anat. 2005;285B:11–15. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20070. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Böckers A, Jerg-Bretzke L, Lamp C, Brinkmann A, Traue HC, Böckers TM. The gross anatomy course: an analysis of its importance. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:3–11. - PubMed

[4] Böckers A, Jerg-Bretzke L, Lamp C, Brinkmann A, Traue HC, Böckers TM. The gross anatomy course: an analysis of its importance. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:3–11. - PubMed

[5] Rizzolo LJ, Stewart WB. Should we continue teaching anatomy by dissection when … ? Anat Rec B New Anat. 2006;289B:215–218. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20117. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Rizzolo LJ, Stewart WB. Should we continue teaching anatomy by dissection when … ? Anat Rec B New Anat. 2006;289B:215–218. doi: 10.1002/ar.b.20117. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Sugand K, Abrahams P, Khurana A. The anatomy of anatomy: a review for its modernization. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:83–93. - PubMed

[8] Sugand K, Abrahams P, Khurana A. The anatomy of anatomy: a review for its modernization. Anat Sci Educ. 2010;3:83–93. - PubMed

[9] Wilson AB, Miller CH, Klein BA, Taylor MA, Goodwin M, Boyle EK, et al. A meta-analysis of anatomy laboratory pedagogies. Clin Anat. 2018;31:122–133. doi: 10.1002/ca.22934. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Wilson AB, Miller CH, Klein BA, Taylor MA, Goodwin M, Boyle EK, et al. A meta-analysis of anatomy laboratory pedagogies. Clin Anat. 2018;31:122–133. doi: 10.1002/ca.22934. - DOI - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Dissection Versus Prosection: a Comparison of Laboratory Practical Examinations

Affiliations

Dissection Versus Prosection: a Comparison of Laboratory Practical Examinations

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Similar articles

Cited by

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources