Animal dissections are a hallmark of anatomy education, providing a proxy for what students would see if they opened a real human body. However, the organs of a frog or mouse don’t exactly match what you’d find in a human cadaver.
Now at Lakes High School, students can interface with highly accurate, 3D visualizations of the human body through a new powerful tool called an Anatomage Table.
“It’s really cool because you get to see hands-on what you’re really cutting into and where it would be on the body,” said Lakes senior Omar Arroyo. “Rather than just seeing it on a computer screen in front of us, we get to actually work with it.”
The Anatomage Table provides a human-sized interactive touchscreen that allows students to digitally dissect human and animal cadavers. Students can view full-scale images of real human bodies that allow them to remove layers and reveal bones, muscles, nerves, veins, arteries and more.
Students can also take quizzes and play engaging games that enrich their learning. The Anatomage Table is becoming an important part of Lakes’ sports medicine, medical careers, and anatomy and physiology classes. Each course allows students to earn dual credit at local colleges.
“It gives them more hands-on learning opportunities than they would normally get,” said Lakes anatomy teacher Heather Matsuda. “We’re not looking at an animal anymore, we’re now looking at a real human being.”
Beyond giving students a more visual and interactive education, the Anatomage Table also helps them explore potential careers. Students interested in pursuing health sciences can gain a better understanding of what working with real humans may be like outside of the classroom.
“This really opens up different doors and interests for me,” said Lakes senior Ezra Lay. “Being able to dip my feet in different things and explore will let me see if I want to pursue something like this after I graduate high school.”