Teaching and learning anatomy. Pedagogical methods, history, the present and tendencies

Abstract Human anatomy is a basic science which allows healthcare professionals (in training and graduated) to acquire a detailed and global understanding of what it means to study the human body. It provides a foundation in the technical language required for other basic, clinical and surgical sciences. The manner of teaching and learning anatomy has changed over time, and several pedagogical models exist which may be confused with didactic ones. The purpose is to observe educational aspects and reflect on the pedagogical models, resources and didactics used for teaching/learning human anatomy (history, the present and tendencies), recovering the value of anatomical knowledge in the training of doctors and other healthcare professionals. Current tools and new tendencies in anatomy informatics may complement, enliven and improve (but not replace) the basic pedagogical models of regional, system and clinical descriptive anatomy.