Medical education in the anatomical sciences: the winds of change continue to blow.

At most institutions, education in the anatomical sciences has undergone several changes over the last decade. To identify the changes that have occurred in gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, neuroscience/neuroanatomy, and embryology courses, directors of these courses were asked to respond to a survey with questions pertaining to total course hours, hours of lecture, and hours of laboratory, whether the course was part of an integrated program or existed as a stand-alone course, and what type of laboratory experience occurred in the course. These data were compared to data obtained from a similar survey in 2002. Comparison between the data sets suggests several key points some of which include: decreased total hours in gross anatomy and neuroscience/neuroanatomy courses, increased use of virtual microscopy in microscopic anatomy courses, and decreased laboratory hours in embryology courses.