The influence of dissection on clinical anatomical knowledge for surgical needs

PURPOSE: Due to the ongoing discussion of the usefulness of dissection on human bodies in medical curricula, we investigated the influence of anatomical knowledge collected in the dissection course and requested for modules of visceral surgery. METHODS: Students attending the dissection course of topographic anatomy had to answer a questionnaire of 22 questions with focus on anatomical knowledge required for visceral surgical modules. Failure was defined as 13 or fewer correct answers, success categorized as high, good or moderate. The same questionnaire was handed out to 245 students prior to the module on visceral surgery. Students provided information on which regions they had dissected during the course or prior to the module. The results were compared to the result of a written Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) exam of the module visceral surgery (n = 160 students) with an unannounced primary focus on anatomy. RESULTS: Students who dissected the truncal regions of the human body succeeded in answering the questionnaire with high success. Students dissecting regions of the Head/Neck or Limbs had a high failure rate, and none of them reached the “high” success level. In the MCQ exam, students dissecting truncal regions had a high success rate, while those who had not dissected or who dissected the Head/Neck or Limbs had a high failure rate. CONCLUSION: Dissections support and improve the required knowledge for surgical modules. For the visceral surgical module, students dissecting the region prior to the module greatly benefited. Therefore, entire human body dissection assumes to be preferable. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00276-021-02802-w.