The Use of Digital Software Applications and Digital Atlases to Supplement Anatomy Teaching to Undergraduate Allied Health Students

Abstract

Teaching anatomy has traditionally been restricted to didactic lectures and cadaveric dissection, where students are required to rote learn, without focus on analysis, conceptualisation, and clinical reasoning. A shift in pedagogical practices has occurred with rapidly developing online technologies now embedded within many university degree programs. Anatomy education has evolved to include new teaching modalities, such as computer-assisted learning including the use of 2D images or 3D models, web-based interactive games, virtual reality, augmented simulation, and haptics. Dissection courses have been found to be time-consuming and expensive, and in many universities, time committed to teaching is on the decline, there are increased costs associated with running body donation programs, and larger student numbers have led to fewer laboratory sessions available to students for learning. This chapter focuses on the use of digital atlases as a useful supplement to teaching anatomy in not only medical but all the allied health professions.