Comparing the critical features of e-applications for three-dimensional anatomy education.

Anatomical e-applications are increasingly being created and used in medical education and health care for the purpose of gaining anatomical knowledge. Research has established their superiority over 2D methods in the acquisition of spatial anatomy knowledge. Many different anatomy e-applications have been designed, but a comparative review is still lacking. We aimed to create an overview for comparing the features of anatomy e-applications in order to offer guidance in selecting a suitable anatomy e-application. A systematic search was conducted. Data were retrieved from the 3D model designs (realism), software aspects and program functionality. The non-commercial e-applications focused on small body regions and received an average score of 3.04 (range 1-5) for model realism. Their average score on program functionality was 8.8 (range 0-14). The commercial e-applications covered the entire human body and received an average score of 2.85 (range 1-5) for model realism. Their average score on program functionality was 10.4 (range 0-14). Non-commercial anatomy e-applications received higher scores on realism and facilities like performing a virtual dissection, while the commercial anatomy e-applications offer a much wider range of anatomical structures available and they showed higher scores on program functionality. These scores gave good insight of the e-applications' possibilities, and may help future users to make an informed choice among the large number of available e-applications.