A century ago, anatomy had a prominent place in medical education. The recent knowledge explosion in the cellular and molecular aspects of disease might lead the designers of medical curricula to think of anatomy as a backward relic, no longer necessary in a medical education. Thus, medical schools in the United States1 and abroad have been downsizing their anatomy departments for decades.
Educational policy in medicine directly affects the ability of future doctors to practise medicine safely. History-taking, inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation, imaging and surgery all require knowledge of how the body is constructed at the cell, tissue and organ system levels. Looking up anatomic facts and pictures just before a procedure is no substitute for a rigorous knowledge of anatomy.
Documented iatrogenic injuries caused by inadequate anatomic knowledge include damage to the popliteal blood vessel during arthroscopy,2 damage to the cervical spinal cord during interscalene block,3 transection of the median nerve during carpal tunnel surgery4 and femoral nerve injury during abdominoperineal resection.5 The issue of deficient physician knowledge of anatomy leading to errors is part of the broader issue of medical errors causing injury and death, an extremely controversial topic.6
The expurgation of anatomy from medical curricula should be consciously avoided.
Roland N. Auer Professor Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty of Medicine David S. McDonald PhD Candidate Department of Neuroscience University of Calgary Calgary, Alta.
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