ANATOMY WITHOUT CADAVERS IN COVID-19 TIMES AND ITS POTENTIAL REPERCUSSIONS.

Abstract

The journey of every medical student begins with cadaveric dissection in the dissection hall of Anatomy department. It not only helps to learn anatomy of human body but also helps in developing surgical skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected education worldwide due to lockdown. The purpose of this study was to understand the problems faced by the medical students to study anatomy without cadaveric dissection in COVID-19 times and its potential repercussions. The present study was conducted on 1st year medical and dental students of 2019-20 batch who were willing to participate in the study. A multiple choice questionnaire was designed and feedback was taken from students. The results revealed that 90.8% students thought that anatomy teaching with cadaveric dissection was easier to grasp, 76.4% reported that unavailability of gadgets and internet connectivity issues prevailed in online teaching classes, 92.7 % students found that only virtual teaching is not sufficient, 72.5% agreed that competency will be hindered in surgical proceduring, 73.3% students missed every aspect of anatomy education and 85.3% thought that virtual teaching will have negative impact on future surgery and anatomy professionals. Anatomy teaching with cadaver is a better teaching modality as compared to virtual teaching. Moreover, cadaveric dissection can help students to develop skills which help them to opt for surgical branches as future profession.

Keywords: Anatomy, COVID-19, Cadaveric dissection.