Incorporating regional anatomical dissection into an undergraduate human anatomy laboratory at a small liberal arts college: making one cadaver work for the dissection needs of many

• Published in: The FASEB journal 2007-04, Vol.21 (5), p.A219-A219
• Main Authors: Potterfield, April Collins, Savage, Chet, Smith, Jenna, Rigsby, Elizabeth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0892-6638; 1530-6860
• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.A219-a

Westminster College is a small liberal arts college, with a strong history of preparing pre‐allied health graduates. To enhance the human anatomy curriculum, cadaveric anatomy was introduced in 2005. The challenges faced included: limited funding small facility college's limited understanding of cadaver programs, and limited time resources. The funding and size obstacles were overcome by securing a stretcher from a local hospital, using a single cadaver for the dissection needs of many students, and initiation of lab fees. Officials of the college were educated about cadaver facilities through the implementation of a cadaver facility policy and informational sessions in which faculty, staff, and students were invited to learn about human anatomy. The limited time issue was addressed through the use of multiple TA's to complete the dissection. Assessment results suggest that 84% of students agreed to the statement “I prefer dissecting a human cadaver to other options (models, prosection, or cats)” with 39% of those strongly agreeing. The cadaver was also used for independent studies including: a neuroanatomy independent study, a chiropractic anatomy independent study, three dental anatomy independent studies, as well as for the needs of 24 human biology (non‐biology major) students.