King's College London

The Synthetic Anatomy module is an interdisciplinary, innovative module at King’s College London for second-year undergraduate students, which extrapolates anatomy to areas of bioengineering, 3D printing and arts. It imports the teaching and assessment techniques of art school into anatomy.

Co-organised by the Department of Anatomy in the School of Bioscience Education and the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, the module has been successfully delivered for six years.

The module brings together biomedical engineers and anatomy students in small collaborative groups to speculate on, design, and 3D print imagined structures that probe the boundaries of clinical, evolutionary and developmental anatomy and beyond.

Technical teaching is accompanied by class workshops exploring visual presentation and reflection dimensions. Anatomists, bioengineers and visiting artists lead workshops, where they apply the technique of the 'crit', a form of group reflection adapted from art and architecture schools, to encourage group engagement.

Module co-lead Dr Mandeep Gill Sagoo says “students are highly satisfied with their learning experience and show an extraordinary commitment to the course”.

The Anatomical Society’s Education Innovation Award rewards anatomy educators who have developed and implemented an innovative standalone project in the field of undergraduate or postgraduate education that has had sustainable impact on the student experience and learning.

Students who have participated in the module have been able to use the interdisciplinary techniques learnt to further develop their research. Antonia Pontiki, a student in the 2017-18 iteration of the module, and Prof Kawal Rhode, Synthetic Anatomy Module co-lead, developed a 3D printed mould method for cancerous bone and tissue, which has dramatically reduced the cost of tumour removal procedures.