Experimental Research Validation for the Use of 3D in Teaching Human Anatomy.

ICAP department of Lyon 1 university developed instructional tools based on 3 dimensional (3D) technologies to assist human anatomy teachers. Three experimental researches aimed to validate the use of these tools. In study 1 we searched for correlations between spatial ability tests and anatomy examination scores. In study 2 we evaluated the effects of specific spatial ability training on anatomy examination results. Study 3 investigated the beneficial effects of using 3D tools during a short term learning session. We found that spatial ability is a predictor of success in learning human anatomy, however the benefits from using 3D tools is not effective during a 2-hours learning session.