Facilitating Student Understanding through Incorporating Digital Images and 3D-Printed Models in a Human Anatomy Course

Abstract

Combining classical educational methods with interactive three-dimensional (3D) visualization technology has great power to support and provide students with a unique opportunity to use them in the study process, training, and/or simulation of different medical procedures in terms of a Human Anatomy course. In 2016, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) offered students the 3D Virtual Dissection Table “Anatomage” with possibilities of virtual dissection and digital images at the Department of Morphology. The first 3D models were printed in 2018 and a new printing course was integrated into the Human Anatomy curriculum. This study was focused on the interaction of students with digital images, 3D models, and their combinations. The incorporation and use of digital technologies offered students great tools for their creativity, increased the level of knowledge and skills, and gave them a possibility to study human body structures and to develop relationships between basic and clinical studies.