Educational Alternatives for Veterinary Anatomy Teaching: Chapter 2 of The AAVMC Use of Animals in Veterinary Education Handbook

Chapter 2 Introduction: The teaching of anatomy as a cornerstone of health professional education is universal across medicine and veterinary medicine. Whilst the importance of learning anatomy to underpin the scientific principles of these disciplines is not under dispute, for some time there has been debate around the best methodology to teach anatomy (Papa & Vaccarezza, 2013).Anatomy instruction has traditionally relied on materials such as textbooks, illustrations, models, osteologic preparations, and cadavers, including their dissection. Over the past decade, there has been an increasing emphasis on blended learning, with instruction in the classroom and in online learning environments (Longhurst et al., 2020). This accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when anatomy education saw a huge increase in the use of online and virtual learning platforms and the digitization of learning tools (Bond et al., 2023). In addition to online teaching delivery, alternative educational materials are being used to supplement and, in some areas, replace traditional anatomy learning techniques. With progressive advancement in the industry, new and innovative techniques are developing all the time, such as three-dimensional (3D) printing, radiological reconstruction, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) learning environments. This chapter will discuss the advancement and potential use of educational alternatives for anatomy instruction, defined as anything beyond textbooks, illustrations, osteologic preparations, or the dissection of cadavers. This chapter will also explore what can be learned from human anatomy education, and what educational alternatives used in that realm may be utilized in veterinary anatomy education.