Construction of the Equine Digestive System: A Tool for Teaching Topographical Anatomy.

This research provides a novel, affordable teaching method for learning anatomy, particularly the topographical structure of the equine abdominal digestive system. The approach involves the construction of a basic anatomical model using readily available materials and assembling it onto an equine skeleton.

Research Context

• Teaching anatomy is often theoretically and practically heavy, making it a challenging course for many students. This has resulted in high levels of student dropout and failure rates.
• This research proposes an innovative, hands-on approach to make learning anatomy more accessible and engaging for students. The concept revolves around creating a simple anatomical model of the horse’s digestive system.

Methodology

• The researchers created an anatomical model of an equine’s abdominal digestive system, which included organs such as the liver, pancreas, and small and large intestines.
• Materials used for the construction of these models were common and easily available items such as newspaper, balloons, laminated rubber sheets, and polyethylene cylinders.
• The constructed model was then mounted onto an equine skeleton.

Findings and Implications

• The system developed acts as an active multisensory tool aiding the students in understanding the topography and anatomical boundaries of the equine abdominal digestive system.
• This up-close and hands-on experience of model construction and assembly assists in the students’ recognition and understanding of the equine digestive system and its intricacies.
• Though the method offers great advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness and accessibility, it only provides a broader understanding of the system. It is less effective in representing detailed features of specific digestive system organs.
• Therefore, while it serves as a good, engaging platform for initial understanding, it would need to be supplemented with other methods for a comprehensive teaching-learning experience in anatomy.