Surgeons and anesthesiologists use tumescent fluid to aid in the effectiveness of procedures. Injecting fluid to aid novice dissectors in improving speed, ease, and ability to distinguish planes has recently been proposed in the literature. In our study, we quantified dissections performed by first-year medical students after injecting fluid into…

The aim of this project was to create a prosected specimen that demonstrates the integration of the central and peripheral nervous system with the maintenance of key anatomical landmarks for use as an educational resource. In this dissection, the brain, brainstem, spinal cord, eyes, and optic nerves and tracts were removed along with spinal roots…

Academic help-seeking can allow students to moderate their anxiety in difficult academic contexts, but students often shy away from asking for needed assistance. Muddiest point assignments in a hybrid human anatomy and physiology (A&P) course can address student struggles with academic help-seeking by making it an activity in which all…

The correlation of anatomy with pathophysiology is not intuitive for many medical students. Despite detailed cadaver dissections and three-dimensional models, board-style clinical correlation questions can still be challenging for first-year students. To facilitate understanding in this regard, prosections were developed to illustrate the clinical…

Human Anatomy and Physiology courses are "gateway" courses that students must pass with high grades in order to proceed through their program of study. However, student pass rates are often low, resulting in students attempting the course multiple times and delaying their graduation. Supplemental instruction performed by peer leaders is…

Visualizing effects of images on improved anatomical knowledge are evident in medical and allied health students, but this phenomenon has rarely been assessed in nursing students. To assess the visualizing effect of images on improving anatomical knowledge and to use images as one of the methods of gross anatomical knowledge assessment in nursing…

The use of electronic media in the classroom was prevalent during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic because it afforded the health and safety of students in blended course modalities. This project aimed to quantify the effectiveness of a three-dimensional computer-based human anatomical online platform in a blended synchronous course…

Motivation is one of the keys to success in challenging courses such as human anatomy and physiology (A&P) and may occur in the form of intrinsic motivation (IM, motivation for enjoyment), extrinsic motivation (EM, motivation for reward), and/or amotivation (AM, lack of motivation). The goal of this study was to identify ways of supporting…

The current study examines if participants completing an early online academic orientation display significantly higher levels of achievement in anatomy and physiology (A&P) compared to those who do not complete this orientation. The study involves a sample of first year nursing students in a private Catholic college in a major midwestern city…

The immune response is a wonderfully complex aspect of our physiology that can sometimes confound students and instructors alike. How do we wade through the layers of detail to help our students develop an understanding of immunology? In this article, I will share some of the stories about immunology research that helped me strengthen my own…

Learning physiology requires students to apply physical and chemical principles to the study of biological systems. Unfortunately, many undergraduate anatomy and physiology (A&P) students are unprepared for this due to a lack of prerequisite knowledge in physics and chemistry. This lack of prerequisite knowledge of chemistry and physics makes…

Human anatomy and physiology are challenging courses for many undergraduate students often leading to low rates of academic success and persistence. Implementation of growth mindset strategies has shown promise in improving academic success in challenging courses; however, few studies have focused specifically on anatomy and physiology courses. To…

In the fall of 2021, a cohort of second-year osteopathic medical students took part in a regional dissection experience led by their peers. During the students' first year of medical school, when they would have normally participated in anatomy dissections, they instead took part in a prosection-based gross anatomy course due to COVID…

Digital anatomy programs such as the Primal Program™, BodyViz™, Complete Anatomy™, or Cengage™, provide rich learning opportunities with the ability to remove anatomical layers, highlight specific structures, and rotate images. However, supporting the diverse learning styles of today's anatomy students requires more than access to digital learning…

Renal clearance encompasses a somewhat abstract concept, which makes it a hard-to-visualize phenomenon. It is a confusing topic for students and a difficult task for the instructor to teach. In order to improve or facilitate the teaching-learning process of renal clearance, an alternative strategy is presented here. To properly characterize the…