Brock University Human Anatomy

A collaborative and interdisciplinary collection of educators and researchers, using innovative tools and resources that allow students to engage in the exploration of human anatomy. 

Brock University has proudly delivered human anatomy education to undergraduate students for the past several decades. Every year, approximately 650 students from at least six degree programs enroll in human anatomy, which reflects the need for this foundational and fundamental knowledge across multiple career paths. Students enrolling in these programs have the opportunity to experience human anatomy content by completing interactive lectures and laboratories offered by our experienced team of educators. 

360° Lab Tours: Anatomy Lab

About Us

Students studying Anatomy

The chance to explore and discover Human Anatomy is supported by a variety of tools and resources, mainly housed in our learning room located in the Roy and Lois Cairns Health and Bioscience Research Complex. This teaching space provides an opportunity for students to engage in hands-on learning led by instructors and lab demonstrators.  

Students are able to physically interact with detailed models, engage in group learning, and interact with one of the most technologically advanced visualization systems for anatomy education. Brock is the first university in Canada that utilizes the Anatomage Table platform. This allows students to interact with micro- and macroscopic 3D views of the human body, ranging from muscle groups and organ systems visualized in-situ, to cellular structures from tissue samples. 

In addition to the learning spaces and labs available on Brock’s Niagara campus, students have the unique opportunity to expand their learning through the collaboration between Brock University and McMaster University. This opportunity provides students with supervised access to the McMaster University, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Niagara Regional Campus Anatomy Teaching Lab, where they are allowed to interact with cadaveric specimens to enhance their knowledge and experience. 

Brock University Human Anatomy has access to many physical and digital resources to support the teaching and learning of human anatomy.  

Model & Digital Learning Lab (Cairns 310) 

Human Cadaver Lab (Cairns 221) 

Brock University Human Anatomy facilitates undergraduate courses in both the Departments of Kinesiology (KINE) and Health Sciences (HLSC). Introductory undergraduate courses in Human Anatomy are taken in the first (KINE 1P88, KINE 1P90) or second year (KINE 1P98, HLSC 2P95, HLSC 2P96) of undergraduate study and serve to lay the foundation for many upper-year applied courses in Kinesiology and Health Sciences. In addition to the introductory courses, specialized upper-year electives exist to apply basic anatomical concepts in the context of musculoskeletal injury prevention (KINE 3P80) and clinical assessments in athletic therapy (KINE 3P98, KINE 4P81). Further application of basic anatomical concepts are applied in the pathology of human diseases (HLSC 4P95). 

Foundational Courses 

KINE 1P88Foundations of Human Anatomy

Exploration of human movement anatomy as it relates to motor performance, biomechanics, physiology, physical fitness, and sport related activity.

KINE 1P90 & HLSC 2P95 – Human Systems Anatomy  

Human anatomy using a systemic approach, emphasizing the functional aspects of gross and histologic anatomy. 

KINE 1P98 & HLSC 2P96 – Human Musculoskeletal Anatomy 

Overview of the musculoskeletal system including the anatomical features of bones and muscles, joint actions, skeletal and muscular movements, the spinal cord, and appendicular peripheral nerves and blood vessels. 

Elective Courses 

Upper-Year Electives: KINE 3P80, KINE 3P98, KINE 4P81 

Associated Courses: HLSC 4P95 

Link – for more information on kinesiology courses

Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research 

Students interested in developing their research interests in human anatomy have the opportunity to explore this facet during their undergraduate education. Directed reading courses and 4th year thesis courses give students the chance to participate in current, ongoing work under the supervision of instructors and lab demonstrators. As research interests expand and the program evolves, graduate student research opportunities will also become available. 

Research Areas 

The role of peer-led instruction in anatomy education

Current Research 

The Impact of an Undergraduate Anatomy Peer-Led Teaching Program on the Perceptions and Appraisal of the Anatomy Discipline 

Anatomy Volunteer Program 

Anatomy volunteers have become an integral part of the anatomy program, leading to the successful integration of teaching and learning in our anatomy labs. 

Anatomy Students studying models

Anatomy students from both departments of Health Sciences and Kinesiology are invited back to the teaching and learning labs to share their experiences with a new cohort of incoming studentsThis experience provides an opportunity for volunteers to not only help new students being introduced to the anatomy learning environment, but the chance to hone their own skills in teaching, presenting, and expanding their core knowledge. 

Students who have successfully completed an anatomy course in either Systems Anatomy or Musculoskeletal Anatomy can apply to be volunteers in the lab. As volunteers, they’re responsible for sharing what they’ve learned with new/incoming students. That can mean assisting with setting up models or specimens in the lab, coming up with practice review questions, or simply sharing tips and tricks with incoming students to help make their experience in the lab more memorable and productive. 

Many of our volunteers use their experience to come back to the lab to help maintain their anatomy knowledge and continue learning. Some of our volunteers have turned this experience into an opportunity to participate in conducting research later in their academic careers, as well as use their volunteer hours to apply to graduate programs in health-related fields. Volunteers also get valuable experience in teaching, and the knowledge that their insight can be passed on to the next cohort of students – part of what makes learning Anatomy at Brock so unique! 

Sharing our Research!

In March of 2021, we set out to invite notable speakers, student researchers, and student peer educators to highlight the past year of the anatomy program here at Brock. In case you missed it, our first symposium can be viewed on YouTube, which was held online for anyone to join.

In 2022, our Second Annual Anatomy Symposium was held in a hybrid format, where people could join in-person and online!

In 2023, our Third Annual Anatomy Symposium was held in-person! Leading our exploration into art & anatomy was Dr. Yasmeen Mezil, and Dr. Wayne Vogl joined in from the University of British Columbia to share his lifetime of work in the field of anatomy. We even had the chance to create some art and models of our own!

For our upcoming Symposium in March 2024, we’ll be learning from professionals and clinicians in various industries, learning about how they’ve utilised their anatomical knowledge and sharing their experiences.

Apply to become an Anatomy Volunteer!

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