McMenamin Paul G, Costello Lucy F, Quayle Michelle R, Bertram John F, Kaka Aboubacar, Tefuarani Nakapi, Adams Justin W
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Centre for Human Anatomy Education, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
3D Print Med. 2025 Jun 14;11(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s41205-025-00277-8.
The inequity of resources available for learning human anatomy, one of the basic sciences underpinning a medical or allied health training, between low- and high-income countries is stark. Many Low Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) have no access to cadavers for the study of human anatomy. In this review we try to highlight the status of anatomy education especially with regards to the barriers to accessing cadavers such as cost, local laws and regulations, religious beliefs and cultural mores. Many of these barriers are more acute in LMIC. We discuss possible solutions to the shortage of cadaver material and specifically we detail 3 case studies in which authors from high income countries can assist colleagues in LMIC institutions teach anatomy using 3D printed replicas of human dissections. The case for this assistance is made and its practical application together with its evaluation is presented. The case studies include medical schools in Liberia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The outcomes suggest this model could be expanded to other countries who lack the economic resources to adequately provide learning materials for undergraduate students in medicine and other allied health disciplines.
作为医学或相关健康培训基础学科之一的人体解剖学学习资源，在低收入国家和高收入国家之间存在着明显的不平等。许多低收入中等收入国家（LMIC）无法获取用于人体解剖学研究的尸体。在本综述中，我们试图突出解剖学教育的现状，特别是在获取尸体方面的障碍，如成本、当地法律法规、宗教信仰和文化习俗。其中许多障碍在低收入中等收入国家更为严峻。我们讨论了尸体材料短缺的可能解决方案，并具体详细介绍了3个案例研究，在这些案例中高收入国家的作者可以协助低收入中等收入国家机构中的同事利用人体解剖3D打印复制品教授解剖学。阐述了提供这种援助的理由，并介绍了其实际应用及其评估。案例研究包括利比里亚、斐济和巴布亚新几内亚的医学院。结果表明，该模式可扩展到其他缺乏经济资源为医学及其他相关健康学科的本科生充分提供学习材料的国家。
