title: Post mortem CT scans as a supplementary teaching method in gross anatomy.
abstract: Despite increasing the integration of radiologic imaging teaching in anatomy dissection courses, studies on learning outcome of these interventions are rare or have certain shortcomings in study design. In this study, students were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=53) receiving five weekly CT-courses of 30min duration during a 6-week gross anatomy course. Students in the control group (n=329) received no additional teaching. Total teaching time did not differ among groups. All students were asked to participate in a pre- and post-course self-assessment (comparative self-assessment; CSA) of learning objectives related to anatomical spatial relationships and a post-course formative assessment on radiologic anatomy. Items of both assessments were matched. Moreover, students of the intervention group were asked to evaluate the CT-courses. Most participants of the intervention group classified the CT-courses as "good" or "very good". Nevertheless, results of the CSA and formative assessment did not differ among study and control groups. These findings indicate that the teaching intervention (CT-courses) did not have an impact on recognition of anatomical structures in radiological images beyond the knowledge acquired in the anatomical dissection course. As a consequence, interventions integrating radiology imaging into dissection courses should be based on psychological considerations of how to best foster student learning. Learning outcome has to be monitored, as results of evaluation surveys can be misleading. Further research on curricular concepts is needed considering both short- and long-term effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buenting
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Tjark
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology, University Hospital Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raupach
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luers
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroanatomy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wehrenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gehl
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: s.anders@uke.uni-hamburg.de.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anders
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D001344:Autopsy; D002102:Cadaver; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013663:Teaching; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anatomy teaching; Computed tomography; Medical education