Anatomy in Surgical Examinations

Today, more than ever, the postgraduate surgical trainee requires instruction in anatomy, for no longer does the undergraduate get a thorough grounding in anatomy. In the past, the postgraduate trainee had formal tuition and examination in anatomy at 2nd M.B. and, therefore, only recall and reinforcement of knowledge were necessary to learn the anatomy required for the old Primary Examination of the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons. In recent years, the amount of time for teaching anatomy in the undergraduate course has been drastically reduced and, in many medical schools, anatomy is taught on prosected specimens rather than allowing the student to dissect the human body. In some cases, knowledge is acquired by self-directed learning and by virtual reality programs on the computer. The old 2nd M.B. examination has virtually disappeared and teaching of anatomy has changed from a discipline-based method, to systems-based or problem-based teaching with self-directed learning. Consequently, the basic anatomical knowledge of the postgraduate trainee is now totally inadequate and much new learning is required for the professional examinations in surgery.