Enhancing medical anatomy education with the integration of virtual reality into traditional lab settings

Abstract

In medical education, traditional anatomy labs have relied heavily on the hands-on dissection of cadavers to teach the complex spatial relationships within the human body. However, the advent of virtual reality (VR) technology offers the potential for significantly enhancing this traditional approach by providing immersive, interactive 3D visualizations that can overcome some of the limitations of physical specimens. This study explores the integration of VR into a traditional gross anatomy lab to enrich the learning experience for medical students. Methods included the deployment of a VR application developed to complement the dissection process, featuring detailed 3D models of human anatomy that students could manipulate and explore digitally. Approximately 60 s-year medical students participated in the lab, where they engaged with both traditional dissection and the VR application. Results indicated that the VR integration not only increased engagement and satisfaction but also improved the students' ability to understand anatomical structures and their spatial relationships. Moreover, feedback from students suggested more efficient learning and retention than with traditional methods alone. We conclude that VR technology can significantly enhance medical anatomy education by providing an adjunct to traditional dissection, potentially replacing certain aspects of physical specimens with digital simulations that offer repeatable, detailed exploration without the associated logistical and ethical constraints.

Keywords: anatomy; extended reality; medical education; virtual reality.