Bigger, Brighter, Better Human Anatomy Teaching Facility Caters to More Students

The study of human anatomical structures has been made easier and more comfortable for NUS medical students and staff, thanks to the improved teaching and learning facilities at the Department of Anatomy of the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

With more medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy and life science undergraduate students using its facilities to study human tissue and organ structures over the years, the Department embarked on six months of extensive renovations of its three-decades old teaching facility in February last year. They were opened on 17 March 2016 by the Minister for Health, Mr Gan Kim Yong.

The refurbished Human Anatomy Teaching Facility now includes an enlarged, well-ventilated hall for anatomy prosection classes, during which visuals of dissected specimens can be projected on large TV screens, with commentary delivered via an enhanced audio-visual system. The hall and the new dissection and embalming rooms were upholstered with anti-slip flooring and improved lighting. New-generation trolleys with facilities for connection to efficient downdraft suction systems that minimise exposure to formalin means students and staff are able to work comfortably in the facility, which now includes a completely refurbished mortuary to accommodate more cadavers.

A new reception area for families and loved ones of deceased body donors and other visitors completes the list of works carried out to modernise and upgrade the facility, which is located on the ground floor of the Anatomy Building in the NUS Medicine campus on Lower Kent Ridge Road.

All in, the refurbished facility has expanded its teaching space by 16 per cent from the original 1,050 square metres and can now more comfortably accommodate the 800 Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and Life Sciences undergraduate students attending Human Anatomy practicals as well as residents and specialists participating in workshops there, said Prof Bay Boon Huat, the Department’s Head.

“We separated the dissection and embalming areas from the general teaching area, so that specimen preparation could be carried out in a better work environment for our prosectors. The works are timely, because our student numbers have gone up over the years and we want to provide them and our staff with a more conducive learning and teaching environment.

“The human body is the most essential tool when it comes to learning anatomy. When students work with cadavers, they are able to keenly appreciate the three-dimensional relationships between different body systems, regions and organs. While computer-aided learning has its benefits, many pedagogical studies have shown that practical experience with cadavers remains superior. We are truly grateful to our body donors and their families, because their gifts ensure that our students will continue to receive the in-depth, hands-on training that is so essential for their undergraduate and postgraduate professional development.”