![]() ![]() We based this choice on a literature search, its number one ranking on the Apple App Store for medical apps, and informal questioning of our own anatomy students’ app preferences. Though there are many available products, we decided to focus on one other commonly used anatomy app, Complete Anatomy (CA) by 3D4Medical. Some features lacking from HAA included high-resolution, micro-detailed models, sophisticated mark-up tools, and ease of navigation. As anatomy faculty began translating course content to an online platform, the authors reached out to and partnered with the Norris Medical Library staff to identify appropriate resources for the program.Īlthough the medical library already licensed the Human Anatomy Atlas (HAA) by Visible Body, the app did not appear robust enough to support the conversion of anatomy instruction into an online platform. In 2017, the University of Southern California Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy decided to create a hybrid doctor of physical therapy program to mirror the on-campus residential program. Given their value, the challenge for educators becomes selecting the anatomy app that best fits students’ needs and includes features that support optimal instruction. Implementation of apps into the curricular redesign allows instructors to extract the value of traditional instructional modalities and supplement this information for online environments. Digital apps are particularly useful when transitioning a curriculum from residential experiences to hybrid programs that include a combination of online and on-campus experiences. The technology also affords PT students the possibility to engage with content beyond what is feasible in a traditional cadaver lab, including the ability to view micro-detail of anatomical structures, joint movement, muscle attachments and actions, and neurovascular pathways. While some studies conclude that certain aspects of a dissection lab are irreproducible, overall findings concur that anatomy apps can play a powerful role as supplemental instructional resources. Thus, anatomy education has evolved to include alternative strategies, such as plastic models and digital atlases. However, cadaver programs are extremely expensive, and dissection takes hours to perform and prolongs exposure to caustic chemicals. This traditional teaching modality provides a valuable understanding of the intricacies of human tissue, 3D nature of the body, and important relationships between neurovascular and muscular structures. For understanding anatomy, a cadaver dissection has historically been considered a sacrosanct experience. The challenge, both for medical librarians and for anatomy instructors, is to select and effectively implement a 3D anatomy app, particularly for health sciences curricula that depend heavily on knowledge of anatomy, such as physical therapy (PT).Ī thorough understanding of 3D musculoskeletal anatomy is essential for PT practitioners, as manual skills and treatment interventions rely on clear mental images of underlying structures. Beyond traditional textbooks, library licensing can also allow students to use digital atlases to supplement their anatomy education with three-dimensional (3D) applications that provide a virtual lab experience with an interactive atlas. Medical libraries provide essential resources for anatomy students.
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