The Human Body and Modern Harms – Itinerant Anatomy Museum (IAM)
Authors: MASUKO TELMA SUMIE , dos Santos Coutinho Rafael Viana , Gonçalves Juliana Oliveira , da Silva Carvalho Priscila , Vilasbôas Ítalo Matias , Oliveira Adma Barros , Maron e Silva Matheus Menezes , Nascimento Joelma Naide , Matos Disnei Félix Barbosa , de Souza Santos Luisa Danielle Alves , Moraes Laise Monteiro Campos 
Published: November 2023

INTRODUCTION

Technological evolution allowed countless benefits for modern society, despite it's mischiefs to health. Thus, the Itinerant Anatomy Museum (IAM), which introduces elementary and middle school students and teachers, as well as disabled and blind people to anatomical models and plastinated body parts, promotes an innovative education, to create a better knowledge on the human body and aware people about the harms that modern habits and contemporary behaviors cause to the organism. Our goal was to cover different contents in order to help understanding human body organization and function, and matching them to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), early pregnancy and contraception, legal and illegal drugs, latter‐day habits, locomotor, circulatory and nervous systems and senses alterations, due to harmful modern habits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This project covers ten visits to two public schools in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. The IAMs were done in two steps: lecture followed by correlated anatomical models exposition. At first, a pre‐test containing 10 questions was given to the ones above 18 years old which signed the informed consent; after, a lecture was ministered and then a post‐test containing the first 10 and 5 new questions. The anatomical models exposition comprised plastinated body parts and anatomical teaching aids related to the IAM's topic. Three IAM editions were done so far: the first IAM's topics were STD, early pregnancy and contraception, the second were legal and illegal drugs and the third was latter‐day habits.

RESULTS

IAM overcame its initial purpose of spreading the scientific knowledge, through inclusive education and by presenting the students a new way to learn about STD, drugs and latter‐day habits. A mean of 17 students answered the pre‐tests during the first, second and third IAM's editions, obtaining a mean of 61.9%, 64.3% and 75.7% in each, respectively, with a worse result on topics of female reproductive system, AIDS/HIV infection; harms of cigarette, weed and alcohol; and use of mobile phone and presbyopia. A mean of 15 students answered the post‐tests during the first, second and third IAM's editions, achieving a mean of 70.5%, 66.3% and 79.3% in each, respectively, with a worse result on topics of anatomy and significantly improved on STD and pregnancy prevention; had worse results on the effects of cocaine but improved on the effects of alcohol abuse; were worse on harms of computer use and had a remarkable improvement on recommended use for the computer keyboard.

CONCLUSION

The tests revealed that entertaining, didactic teaching methods, when adequate to teenagers’ age bracket, are effective in enriching knowledge and suggesting positive behavioural changes. Thus, perceiving anatomy through plastinated body parts and resin anatomical models made it easier to realize how risky behaviours impact in humans lives. IAM's visits value can be assigned to the facilitators’ age group to be similar to the students’ one; but also the curiosity about the novelty anatomical models exposition.

Support or Funding Information

Supported by PROEXT MEC 2015 ‐ ProEXT Número: 4336.2.554.22042014 and FAPESB Edital 28/2012 ‐ Pedido 70/2013