​An exciting new online tool that is set to revolutionise the learning and teaching of anatomy and physiology has recently been acquired by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

“This interactive educational resource will give students and academics access to human anatomy in ways that were not possible before," said FMHS Vice Dean: Learning and Teaching, Prof Julia Blitz.

This online learning platform, called Primal Pictures, is accessible to all students and staff via the library website or by following the direct link to www.anatomy.tv. The portal can be accessed via computer, smartphone and tablet devices.

This cutting-edge technology gives users access to thousands of interactive visuals of anatomy structures and systems that can be manipulated to be viewed in 3D. The visuals are accompanied by multimedia tutorials available at the click of a button.

Customised visuals and text can also be downloaded to PDF, which can be saved and accessed without an internet connection, or printed to a hard copy.

Other content includes photographs, radiological scans, text, videos, quizzes, colouring-in images and more.

“The available modules cover not only anatomy, but also physiology. It is a resource that is both a study aid for undergraduate and postgraduate students across all the health professions, and a teaching aid for lecturers," Blitz explained.

All the Primal Pictures multimedia content can be used by lecturers to aid teaching, and some of the content can also be customised to be used in tests.

According to Mr Tim Smith, director of Learning Curve, the supplier of Primal Pictures, this educational tool has been rolled out at eight other universities in South Africa, and has already made a considerable difference to students' understanding of anatomy.

Caption: Ms Ilana van Niekerk, chair of the Tygerberg Academic Affairs Council, Mr Tim Smit, Business Development Director for Learning Curve, Mr Jaydon Foiret, a postgraduate student at the FMHS, Mr Eben Mouton, Director: Business Management at the FMHS, Mr Daniel Smith from Learning Curve, Prof Jimmy Volmink, Dean: FMHS, and Prof Julia Blitz, Vice Dean: Learning and Teaching at the FMHS.