Acentury ago, a unit dedicated to teaching medical students about the intricacies of the human anatomy was formed. It was established on 21 February 1922 within the King Edward VII College of Medicine, with Professor J G Harrower as the first Chair of the Department of Anatomy.

One hundred years later on 21 February 2022, staff of the Department of Anatomy gathered at the University Cultural Centre to commemorate its centennial. Guest-of-Honour, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye was joined by Professor Ho Teck Hua, Provost, Professor Yeoh Khay Guan, Chief Executive, National University Health System (NUHS); Professor John Eu-Li Wong and Professor Benjamin Ong Kian Chung, NUS Senior Vice-Presidents and Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye lauded the Department’s drive for excellence across areas of education and research through the incorporation of smart technology, such as Anatomy’s unique melding of traditional teaching methods of dissection and prosected cadaveric specimens with modern virtual dissection tables, digitised specimens, and a virtual museum where students could view and examine anatomical specimens.

Prof Chong Yap Seng congratulated the department and expressed confidence that the next 100 years of Anatomy would see the Department transcend hurdles and flourish within a thriving academic environment, empowered by proficient mentors and protégés determined to pass on the NUS spirit to inspire the next generation of students, teachers, and researchers.

Left: Tan Teck Guan Building.
Right: The dissection room of the Department of Anatomy in the Tan Teck Guan Building.

Prof Yeoh Khay Guan, Chief Executive of NUHS also inaugurated the 6^th International Anatomy and Cell Biology Conference, held in conjunction with the centennial celebrations. The three-day event featured lectures by internationally renowned medical educators, anatomists, and researchers working on ageing, neuroscience, cell biology and developmental biology from around the world.

Associate Professor S T Dheen, Head of the Department also announced the inception of the ‘Anatomy Centennial Medical Bursary’, to benefit needy medical students. Prof Chong received a cheque of $50,000 to institute a Staff Club-Anatomy centennial medical bursary from the club’s Vice-Chairman, Associate Professor Lee Kim Seng.