The independence of teachers and students is one of the main advantages of
teleteaching. Specialties considered unsuitable for combined lessons are ma
nageable using the internet. This study outlines simultaneous communication
with students and lecturers over long distances between the anatomical dis
section laboratory, the operating theatre, and the lecture hall. In several
three-directional on-line lectures, different equipment was used. Students
could also participate using personal computers from other locations. Duri
ng the presentations, the participants have the opportunity to discuss prob
lems with any lecturer. It was possible to demonstrate sufficient transmiss
ion capability for real-time application with the use of the new internet t
echnology. No important qualitative differences can be reported between: ha
rdware and software based solutions; or commercial and free offers. Althoug
h it is often difficult to reconcile the timetable of surgeries and lecture
s, multimedia on-line teaching via the internet provides new potential for
interdisciplinary medical education. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
All rights reserved.