Teaching topographic anatomy to medical university students: Revising the curricular design & focusing on practical training

Abstract

Contemporary medical practice requires highly trained specialists proficient in topographical and anatomical knowledge, clinical reasoning, and manual skills. A proper understanding of these aspects is critical for future practitioners, as knowledge of anatomical structures and their relative positions directly impacts the safety of medical procedures. Furthermore, the rapid advancements in medicine necessitates modernizing the educational process, including the course “Topographic Anatomy and Surgical Techniques.” Although traditional teaching methods, such as lectures and practical sessions with natural specimens, remain effective, they do not always adequately prepare students for real-world clinical practice. In particular, an integration of anatomical knowledge, clinical reasoning, and manual skills should be emphasized, which requires reevaluating approaches to organizing the educational process. Students in their second and third years of study often lack the necessary skills in clinical reasoning and spatial perception of anatomical structures, which is one of the challenges. Therefore, to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical application more effectively, it is advisable to schedule the study of topographic anatomy and operative surgery for the third and fourth years. By then, students will have acquired the fundamental knowledge of propaedeutics, radiological diagnostics, and surgery required for clinical work.