Concept Mapping of Anatomy Dissection

Medical students in anatomy use dissectors that provide text‐based descriptions of dissections, usually supported by schematics and/or illustrations. Dissections are presented sequentially, proceeding from superficial to deep layers. Students face numerous challenges in carrying out these instructions: understanding the language of anatomy, generating a mental 3D construct of the body region, and appreciating important anatomical relationships early enough in the dissection process to prevent damaging key structures. To address these challenges, we applied concept mapping to design dissection guides – basically, flowcharts – that present a concise outline of the dissection, call attention to important anatomical relationships, and suggest strategies for dissection. The open source Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) application (Tufts University) was used to create these maps.Concept maps of a neck dissection will be evaluated by medical students preparing for and performing dissections. Students may save time preparing for lab and making dissection more effective and efficient by using concept maps to supplement a traditional dissector. In addition, it may be expected that a better dissection will lead to increased understanding of anatomy, both of which could improve student performance on assessments.