Evaluating Musculoskeletal Anatomy Knowledge Among Medical Students: Comparison of Anatomy Examination Scores Between Three Cohorts.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of different teaching interventions on musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge among first-year medical students. Three sequential cohorts of first-year medical students received different musculoskeletal anatomy teaching interventions: a pre-examination review session by the anatomy department (Cohort A), a clinical skills session taught by a physiatrist (Cohort B), or both (Cohort C). Outcome measures included (1) scores from a 30-question multiple-choice anatomy final examination and (2) scores from 10 of the 30 questions relevant to the anatomy concepts covered in the clinical teaching session. Data were collected from all students in each cohort ( N  = 231); outliers were removed using the 1.5× interquartile range method before all analyses. Cohort C scored significantly higher than Cohort B on the full examination ( P  < 0.05). On the 10-question subset, Cohort C outperformed both Cohorts A and B ( P  < 0.05). No other comparisons reached statistical significance. A combined approach using both pre-examination review by the anatomy department and clinical teaching led by a physiatrist (intervention C) significantly improved musculoskeletal anatomy examination performance. These findings support synchronized, multimodal teaching to enhance anatomy knowledge. Future studies should assess long-term effects on clinical skills and knowledge retention.