Philosophy of the Teaching of Human Anatomy
The teaching of human anatomy is an essential element in medical education. We strongly believe that the laboratory experience, based on the dissection of the human body, should remain the cornerstone of anatomy training for medical students. The medical student is provided with the unique opportunity to explore the human body in its three dimensional structure and to discover the unexpected pathology and biological variation during the dissection process. Attempting to teach human anatomy through textbook presentation alone does not adequately prepare the medical practitioner of tomorrow.
The Division of Human Anatomy will continue to honor its responsibility by preparing our medical students for their future careers in medicine. Our belief is that the best anatomical education for the practice of medicine involves the dissection process in coordination with lectures, both of which underpin the student’s ability to correlate and visualize human structure.
Another important aspect of the Division is to provide facilities which are offered to other Stanford departments and to outside concerns. The use of these facilities provides access to cadaveric material which is used to enable the development of new surgical techniques and technologies.
