How Useful Is Plastination in Learning Anatomy?

Abstract

In recent years plastination has begun to revolutionize the way in which human and veterinary gross anatomy can be presented to students. The study reported here assessed the efficacy of plastinated organs as teaching resources in an innovative anatomy teaching/learning system. The main objective was to evaluate whether the use of plastinated organs improves the quality of teaching and learning of anatomy. For this purpose, we used an interdepartmental approach involving the departments of Veterinary Anatomy, Human Anatomy, Veterinary Surgery, and Education Development and Research Methods. The knowledge base of control and experimental student groups was examined before and after use of the fixed or plastinated resources, respectively, to gather information evaluating the effectiveness of these teaching resources. Significant differences (p < 0.001) between control and experimental groups of Human and Veterinary Anatomy were observed in the post-test results. The Veterinary Surgery students had the most positive opinion of the use of plastinated specimens. Using these data, we were able to quantitatively characterize the use of plastinated specimens as anatomy teaching resources. This analysis showed that all the plastinated resources available were heavily used and deemed useful by students. Although the properties of plastinated specimens accommodate student needs at various levels, traditional material should be used in conjunction with plastinated resources.

The anatomy of anatomy: A review for its modernization

“…Student satisfaction and acceptance has also been recorded using plastinated models as well as a significant difference between control and experimental groups observed in assessment scores (Latorre et al, 2007). Preservation and dissection of the highest quality allow students to repeatedly study the specimens with minimal wear and tear, similar to the rationale behind using plastic models, while maintaining the natural variance or pathology that plastic models lack.…”

The Awareness of Medical Students in Nigerian Universities about the Use of Plastinated Specimens for Anatomical Studies

“…Plastination was introduced by Professor Gunther von Hagens in 1977 [8] as a method of preservation of cadavers and biological OPEN    ACCESS specimens keeping it fulsome, lifelike and indefinitely antiseptic. Since its introduction, this technique has undergone rigorous and continuous innovations by the various experts and institutions where it has been applied as a teaching/learning resource for training of students [9][10][11]. Plastination is the most important technique recently developed for the preservation of biological specimens [12].…”

Про Порядок Використання Ліцензованого Програмного Забезпечення Для Розроблення Моделей Комп’ютерної Графіки В Медичній Освіті

“…К тому же при больших контингентах студентов такие физические анатомические модели могут по-вреждаться и со временем приходить в негодность. Современные пластические образцы показали свою эффективность при обучении [5,8]. Однако большинство вышеописанных ограничений при-сущи также и пластическим образцам.…”