The Use of Augmented Reality as an Aid in the Perception and Learning of Human Body Anatomical Structures by Students of Medical Schools

Abstract

The study of the human body and human anatomy has great importance for future physicians. The use of cadavers to study the body has been one of the most traditional ways to learn about this subject, however it involves several practical, ethical and moral issues. In this work, an integrative literature review was carried out on the use of augmented reality for learning and understanding the human body in the field of medicine. This literature review has the following research question: How is Augmented Reality transforming learning and facilitating understanding about the human body in the field of medicine? And was adopted a methodology that encompasses the following steps: definition of the scope of the work and formulation of the research question of the review (stated above); establishment of exclusion and inclusion criteria for literature search in the databases; identification of pre-selected studies with a careful reading of its titles, abstracts and keywords in order to verify their adequacy to the exclusion and inclusion criteria; categorization of studies in order to summarize and document the information extracted from the papers; and finally, the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained with the papers. A lot of research is being done about the subject and augmented reality is changing the traditional way that students learning human anatomy—books, usage of guinea pigs and cadavers are being replaced by simulations, avatars and different devices. Many studies still have shown that augmented reality appears to have greater learning potential than traditional methods. The knowledge retention is improved when students are actively involved in their learning experience. Active, problem-oriented learning stimulates students’ interest and helps to solve problems. In the field of medicine, critical thinking and long-term knowledge retention are very important for identifying anatomically the structures of the body. So, educational tools enhanced by technology, in special Augmented Reality, can greatly enhance student involvement and the learning of human anatomy.