Body painting to promote self-active learning of hand anatomy for preclinical medical students

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to use the body painting method to teach hand anatomy to a group of preclinical medical students. METHODS: Students reviewed hand anatomy using the traditional method and body painting exercise. Feedback and retention of the anatomy-related information were examined by a questionnaire and multiple-choice questions, respectively, immediately and 1 month after the painting exercise. RESULTS: Students agreed that the exercise was advantageous and helped facilitate self-active learning after in-class anatomy lessons. While there was no significant difference in knowledge retention between the control and experimental groups, the students appreciated the exercise in which they applied body paint to the human body to learn anatomy. CONCLUSION: The body painting was an efficient tool for aiding the interactive learning of medical students and increasing the understanding of gross anatomy.