Anatomy, medical education, and human ancestral variation

Goran Štrkalj*, Muhammad A. Spocter, A. Tracey Wilkinson

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalComment/opinionpeer-review

    18 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    It is argued in this article that the human body both in health and disease cannot be fully understood without adequately accounting for the different levels of human variation. The article focuses on variation due to ancestry, arguing that the inclusion of information pertaining to ancestry in human anatomy teaching materials and courses should be carried out and implemented with care and in line with latest developments in biological anthropology and related sciences. This seems to be of particular importance in the education of health professionals, as recent research suggests that better knowledge of human variation can improve clinical skills. It is also argued that relatively small curricular changes relating to the teaching of human variation can produce significant educational gains.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)362-365
    Number of pages4
    JournalAnatomical Sciences Education
    Volume4
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2011

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