Improving practical instruction in veterinary gross anatomy with multimedia based preparation

This paper describes and discusses work towards the improvement of the teaching and learning of the regional anatomy of the dog in veterinary science classes. The study of this topic in many veterinary schools entails repeated use of preserved dog cadavers. While the use of preserved specimens is a conventional and widely adopted approach in the study of anatomy in many veterinary schools, it is a practice that has several inherent problems. These problems are related to the repeated use and storage of preserved tissue, and the artificial appearance and texture of such specimens. The work reported here sought to address these concerns with an approach to the teaching and learning of this topic with multimedia-based preparation materials and the use of non-preserved specimens for dissection. An evaluation of this effort was conducted with the help of a print-based questionnaire. Students reported that the use of fresh tissues encouraged them to learn anatomical details, and that the multimedia-based preparation materials were helpful in getting a clearer idea of what was to follow in the dissection sessions and in the surgical processes