title: An assessment of the anatomical knowledge of laypersons and their attitudes towards the clinical importance of gross anatomy in medicine.
abstract: If it is accepted that increasingly we live within a consumerist society then axiomatically 'ownership' of medical training does not belong to political authorities (whether governmental or medical), nor to the medical profession, nor indeed to the teachers, educationalists and even the students but to the laypersons in society who are patients or potential patients (viz. the clients/recipients of medical care). As yet, however, there has been no attempt to evaluate how much anatomy laypersons know and what their attitudes are towards the importance of anatomy in medicine. By means of a questionnaire, we have conducted a survey of laypersons' attitudes to anatomy in the U.K. and France. Results suggest that, regardless of gender, age, socioeconomic groupings, level of education, or in the presence of some cultural differences between the U.K. and France, laypersons have a reasonable understanding and knowledge of gross anatomy (being weakest on understanding function) and have strong beliefs that gross anatomy is crucial for medical education, holding the view that the medical profession's esteem would be diminished if anatomy were not a significant part of the medical curriculum and if human cadaveric material was not employed in medical training. Thus, laypersons' perceptions about the importance of gross anatomy should be factored into the organisation of medical training, not just to provide important information and skills for future medical/surgical practitioners, but also to help maintain the esteem of the medical profession.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, United Kingdom. Electronic address: moxham@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Bernard John
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Moxham
authors.affiliation: Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hennon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Psychologie Médicale (LPPM-EA 4452), Université Bourgogne-Franche Comté, Pole AAFE, Esplanade Erasme, 21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Baptiste
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lignier
authors.affiliation: University of Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, ANCRE, URDIA, EA 4465, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Plaisant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011639:Public Opinion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anatomy; Attitudes; Laypersons; Medical education