Dissection As A Clinical And Patient-Centered Learning Experience: Anatomy Reports On The Internet (Ari)

Discoveries in the dissection lab of vestigial remnants, pathologies, variations, anomalies, surgical procedures and implants create unique anatomical, clinical and psychosocial learning opportunities for students and faculty. ARI is a secure web-based program that capitalizes on the students’ interest in unexpected findings and directs them to explore the relevance of these findings from both medical and quality-of-life perspectives. It also assuages the historic annoyance of many anatomists with the real anatomy of the cadaver as a vehicle to teach the ideal morphology of the “normal” human body. ARI requires each team to submit a report on one of their dissection discoveries with digital images, references and a patient-centered psychosocial narrative. Since 2000, 1,500 images and 158 reports have been posted to the ARI website. Of these reports, 6 were further researched by students and presented at international anatomical meetings. ARI is designed to emphasize the clinical significance and relevance of dissection by increasing the students’ regard for how patient's lives might have been affected by these conditions and by creating a focused context for a variety of clinicians in the dissection lab. In addition, ARI's software facilitates anatomical and clinical research by providing searchable access to its database. Finally, we are eager to share ARI with anatomists at other institutions because we believe ARI is a valuable tool for promoting the importance of dissection as a unique educational, clinical and research activity for both students and faculty.