Should Gross Anatomy be taught systemically or regionally ?

While the teaching of gross anatomy remains a topic of considerable discussion (and occasional controversy), in terms of the time allocated, timing within the course, content and clinical relevance, and the use of cadavers and dissection by students, there is relatively little discourse about whether gross anatomy should be taught systemically and/or regionally or whether anatomy should be integrated or a stand-alone course. This brief article analyses the differences between the systemic and region approaches, suggests ways in which the efficacy of these approaches might be investigated, and assesses how they might be integrated into other biomedical sciences and into clinical disciplines. Overall, we conclude that, even within health care studies courses such as medicine that are integrated, there should be a standalone component for the study of gross anatomy that takes a regional approach; although undoubtedly study of anatomy both systemically and regionally would be the ideal situation (time and resources permitting).