U of T Physical Therapy: Anatomy Dissection Belongs Here

Although sometimes tedious and frustrating there is no better way to learn about the orientation and complexity of the human body than studying off of one. The dissection labs at U of T provided more insight into human anatomy than any lecture, textbook or 3D model ever could. For a program that is meant to train students to be experts in human movement and anatomy it is very concerning that the individual(s) running the program would even consider removing these labs. What is more mind-boggling is the rumor that this decision was made without input from faculty, students or alumni from the program. Should this rumor be true, it is a disgrace for a program that encourages collaboration between all of its members. Such radical changes to the program should have input from those who it will most likely affect.

I ultimately believe that physiotherapists should be movement and anatomy experts and that our education should us train us to become so. While I do believe that U of T's anatomy curriculum and entire physiotherapy program would be stronger with additional focus on applying functional anatomy, I cannot support the way that these curriculum changes are being made without the input from others amongst our respected faculty and clinicians. When I ask myself "Is this decision best for the development of future clinicians?", and "Is this what is best for our future patients?", the answer is no.

Anatomy labs were so helpful and Anne was such a great prof! It's one the most valuable component of the program.

There really is no better way to learn anatomy than through dissection. There is no better way to gain an appreciation for the tissue layers, fascial systems and muscular interconnections than by doing the dissections. This component of the program is one of the major reasons why I choose U of T physiotherapy. I would not be where I am today without having had this experience. Having done both pro-sections and dissections I can say that dissections really are second to none. The strong lab component was one of the main things that attracted me to physiotherapy at U of T (and I know I am not the only one). I think that removing this component will have a detrimental effect on the strength of the U of T program and the quality of its graduates going forward. It would be a huge detriment to the future of U of T physiotherapy to remove the anatomy dissection component of the program.

The anatomy curriculum has been a strong defining feature of the UofT program for me. The fundamental knowledge acquired through anatomy lectures and dissection labs have helped me in forming a strong foundation to clinically reason through and apply assessment and treatment techniques learned throughout the curriculum. The dissections have been a highlight of my learning experience here and have unequivocally built and cemented my knowledge of the human body in a way that is functionally applicable to the patients I will treat. It was amazing and sometimes unexpected to see the structures learned in lecture in a tangible way within the human body; no textbook can compare to being able to actually appreciate the relationships between each tissue. Taking this experience away from future students would be detrimental not only to their education but to the reputation of the program itself. I completely respect the time, energy, and donations that went into this exemplary curriculum and believe it is necessary that future students be able to take part in every component as we were for the sake of their complete understanding and knowledgeable practice.

As I started anatomy this year, I had mixed feelings about dissection labs. I understood the purpose of dissection, but I wasn’t sure that I personally had to do dissection to learn human anatomy. However, as we learned the extensive detail of the anatomy of the human body in Anne’s classes, I became overwhelmed by the orientation of muscles, nerves and blood vessels around the structure of the skeletal system. Lab after lab, I was amazed by the deeper understanding I obtained by being able to personally dissect and examine the layers of tissue. Already, there are numerous times that I’ve thought back to specific anatomy labs to understand the pathophysiology of a condition, the techniques of treatment or the possible underlying causes for a patient complaint. By participating in dissection labs, I can recall the experience of folding back one layer of tissue to find the next and following the paths of nerves, vessels and muscles along their path. I think that physiotherapy students are very good at studying and knowing the things we need to know, but dissection allows us to understand and integrate this knowledge in a way that I can’t imagine any other form of anatomy lab would. I am so thankful that I am able to integrate the rich experience I gained in dissection labs into my clinical experiences and future career, and I would hope that future physiotherapy students at the University of Toronto would have the same opportunity to excel in their learning and understanding.

Simply put, there is no better way to learn anatomy than through cadaver dissections. The lab demonstrators, teaching assistants, and Dr. Agur are extremely knowledgeable and any incoming physiotherapy students would benefit from their knowledge and expertise in the cadaver lab. If the issue is funds, I'm sure that incoming students would be more than willing to pay extra tuition because it would provide such an incredible learning opportunity. I know I would.

Not having cadaver dissection in my undergrad program has given me an appreciation for how valuable this method of learning is and to remove it from the program will be detrimental to future physiotherapy students and eventually their treatment of patients. There are things we cannot learn by simply diagrams and books alone. Through dissection we are able to truly gain insight as to how the layers of muscle, fascia, and vessels interact and how deep certain structures are. By having multiple cadavers in the labs it allowed us to see and appreciate subtle differences in anatomy between persons so that we understand that we may need to vary our treatment from patient to patient. As physiotherapists are expected to be experts in human anatomy, removing this learning opportunity is doing a disservice to future students and future patients.

Many people regard Physiotherapist as the "experts on the musculoskeletal system of the body". In order to fully understand this system, it is critical to see what lies under the skin. Although models are great for learning initially, sometimes they are not a great representation and are not up to scale in the human body. All bodies are not the same and through the cadaver dissections, we are able to see the different variations of certain muscles and the course of nerves and blood vessels and their relationship to each other. I was fortunate enough to experience cadaver dissections since my 2nd year of university and to this day, I must attribute that class to further confirm my passion to study the MSK system and my decision to become a Physiotherapist. Although I was a little hesitant at the first lab - wrapping my head around the fact that we are dissecting a human, I can still vividly visualize my days learning in that lab. As a hands-on and visual learner, I definitely retained more information seeing the relationships of each structure as well as being able to physically manipulate them to understand their function. Understanding the location and function of each muscle is vital to treating all MSK conditions which I continually refer to when I problem solve through clinic reasoning. In conclusion, only using textbooks and models to learn anatomy does not do this prestigious program justice. Physiotherapist are expected to be experts in understanding the human body and a lot comes from our ability to visualize and understand how things lie under the skin. It is a shame the school is considering to remove this vital component from the program. Without the cadaver dissection, I believe this will impact future student's confidence understanding the human body thus affecting their effectiveness providing treatments for patients. Cadaver anatomy has been and always will be one of my favourite classes I have taken and there is nothing that can replace the

I found the dissection labs to be a highly valuable experience in this program. Physiotherapy is a hands on profession, and I don't believe I would have the same depth of understanding of the musculature, nerves and vessels without such an informative part of the program. I believe removing cadaver dissection is a mistake, and I am disappointed that the people who benefit from these labs (the students themselves) were not involved in a decision that would have such a great impact on future learners.

During my undergraduate degree, I did not have the opportunity to learn from a human cadavers lab. Knowing that University of Toronto was going to provide this component to my education was important as I did not feel that textbooks or images provided me with enough vision to grasping concepts. I found the environment of the cadavers lab was an integral part of facilitating my learning in anatomy. Like many others, I am a visual learner and this experience helped me to retain the knowledge I received.

The anatomy dissection labs were, in my opinion, one of the most useful learning experiences in this program. To be able to visualize each layer of tissue and how they all connect is not something achievable to the same degree with other learning strategies. In my undergrad education I learnt anatomy from a textbook and this was not nearly enough for me to retain this information and appreciate the complexities of human anatomy. Because of my experience with dissection, I am able to visualize the depth of different tissues and muscles and apply this knowledge to ensure proper manual techniques with patients in clinic. A computerized program, or paper based learning simply cannot capture the complexities of the human body. As physiotherapists, the foundation of our knowledge base is human anatomy. If anatomy learning is compromised, all concepts that build off this knowledge are in turn compromised. I do not think this is a component of our learning that we can afford to be sub-par.

I can't imagine the U of T Physical Therapy program without cadaver anatomy lab sessions. Learning anatomy from those hands on experiences gave me so much more insight into the composition of the human body and how it works. Throughout placements and now as a clinician, I continually imagine the cadaver specimens to help me picture how a patient's body tissues are working or failing causing pathology. Without those experiences my understanding of the body wouldn't be as comprehensive. In addition, the expertise of the incredible prof and TAs we had leading the labs helped expand my anatomy knowledge and apply that knowledge to clinical scenarios. I think if anything, the program could benefit from more hands on cadaver lab time!

Having taken several anatomy courses centred around textbook pictures, prosected specimen and 3D-models prior to entering the physiotherapy program at U of T, I can attest to the tremendous difference that the dissection labs have made. For me, having the experience of discovering and carefully examining each layer of the human body was unparalleled and helped me to develop a true appreciation and understanding for the intricate interconnections within the human body for which 2D/3D models would not be sufficient. With only limited experience out in the field, I have already learned the importance of having a solid anatomical foundation to clinically reason through situations that were not covered in the curriculum.

The anatomy dissection labs were an incredible hands-on learning experience. It provided an opportunity to appreciate the components of the human body in ways that a diagram or computerized model could not replicate. As a program that prides itself on an exemplary curriculum, it would be very unfortunate to see this portion of the anatomy course removed.

As a student who came from a non-kin background at a university that was unfortunately limited to using 3-D and plastic models for their anatomy course, the cadaver portion of the anatomy course played an integral role in my knowledge and understanding of the proper orientation of the musculature, vasculature, and nervous system in the human body. This experience has already proven to be and will continue to be a great tool for envisioning how exactly various structures are aligned in the body. Additionally, for the sake of the program, the cadaver dissections were a selling point for my choosing of the PT program at U of T. Hearing that other programs offer dissections, but have more limited resources (e.g. more students to each cadaver) was one of the reasons I chose U of T. Making decisions like this that affect the student body in a significant way, without acknowledging their say in the decision builds rifts between the admin and the students. It's a shame to say it, but I feel betrayed by their decision to go over our heads to make this decision on their own. If you want to build a better program, build it on the opinions of those who are experiencing it first-hand.

In my opinion, the cadaver dissection was one of the most valuable experiences U of T's physio program offered its students and helped distinguish the program from other schools'. It would be a shame if future classes do not include cadavers as I believe it denies them a great, and relatively uncommon, opportunity to study anatomy. It is arguably more concerning to me, however, that this decision apparently was made without adequate consult with the rest of the faculty. To me, it is worrisome that key decision maker(s) within the program are making drastic and very controversial decisions without seeking adequate input from other members of our program and I hope that future decisions will not be made in a similar fashion as this decision.

The cadaveric dissection offered as a part of the curriculum was one of the primary factors that contributed to my decision to select U of T's Physical Therapy program offer over other schools. The labs fostered critical thinking and problem solving, in-situ exposure of structures that we will be assessing and treating as clinicians, and allowed students to witness the endless variations present in the human body that aren't always found in a textbook or on a plastic model. Aside from the educational benefits that the dissections offered, the labs also cultivated a profound level of respect for both the individuals who donated their bodies to assist with our learning, and human anatomy in itself. I think it is both disappointing and in poor taste that the university would go forth with this proposed change in curriculum before the incoming class has had a chance to consider whether or not cadaveric dissections are a critical part to their learning, and ultimately their decision to accept the university's program offer.

The dissection labs were extremely beneficial! It would be an injustice to the physical therapy students to remove this from the program

One of my greatest learning moments came from dissecting and using cadaveric specimens to study and learn while in the U of T Physical Therapy Program. As a now practicing physical therapist, this hands on experience of learning anatomy has without question enhanced my knowledge of anatomy that I now use clinically on a daily basis to inform my practice.