ARE PROSECTIONS AN EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENTAL TOOL FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF NECK ANATOMY?

The neck is a complex area that can be difficult for students to understand. Although cadaver dissection is still the best way to teach anatomy there are many other tools that can be used to help students understand neck anatomy. One of these tools is prosection. Aim To evaluate students’ understanding of neck anatomy after studying prosections of the neck. Materials and methods 63 first‐year dental students at LSUHSC were involved in this study during their head and neck anatomy course. The students took a quiz (pre‐test) on their knowledge of neck anatomy. Then, they were provided access to 8 neck prosections for 3 full labs (total 9 hours). Labeled photos for these prosections were placed next to each prosection and instructor was available to answer students’ questions. Finally, students answered the same quiz (post‐test). The quiz also included demographic data questions. Results 63 responses were collected each time. The mean score on the pre‐test was 62.1% and mean score for the post‐test was 65.9% (this difference was statistically significant at p = 0.0003). When asked whether they had studied the prosections 24 (38%) of the students said no. When comparing the mean scores of the pre‐test and post‐test for the group who didn't study the prosections, the mean difference was insignificant (p‐value= 0.2). For the group who did study the prosections, the difference in scores was significant (p‐value=0.0004). Conclusion We found in this study that the use of prosections will improve students’ understanding of neck anatomy. Support or Funding Information LSUHSC‐NO