RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The authors determined to what extent a comp
uter-based program could enhance or substitute for cadaver dissection
in teaching cardiac anatomy to first-year medical students. METHODS. F
irst-year medical students (n = 175) were randomized into four groups.
Group 1 (control) received no instruction, group 2 participated in ca
rdiac dissection, group 3 viewed the computer application, and group 4
performed cardiac dissection and then viewed the computer application
. Each group was tested with 10 ultrafast computed tomographic static
images and 8 cardiac cadaver specimens. RESULTS. The computer program
plus dissection was superior to either the computer program alone or d
issection alone; however, the results varied according to the subtest
used to assess the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS. Cardiac computer instruction
after dissection resulted in dramatically improved image testing perf
ormance. However, computer instruction should not replace dissection f
or teaching cardiac anatomy.