A COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF ANATOMY AT MEDICAL SCHOOL IN MOZAMBIQUE

Dr. Maria Alexandra Fernandes Rodrigues*

ABSTRACT

During the academic year 2010, two randomised groups of second year medical students at the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) in Maputo learned gross anatomy of the limbs and the trunk using different teaching approaches. One group dissected the thorax for 5 weeks according to an experimental programme, while the other group worked on the same topic in the traditional way at UEM, which excluded dissection. The groups learned the abdomen by reversing the methods. For learning the limbs, all the students learned the upper limbs by using the traditional approach while the lower limbs were dissected. Study guides were supplied to the experimental group and each of the practical classes started with a ten-minute preparatory tutorial when the structures to be studied were discussed. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that dissection could be a useful complementary teaching approach in addition to lectures and tutorials in Anatomy at UEM.

Keywords: Teaching approach, dissection, achievement test, medical curriculum.