The complete guide to teaching with Visible Body technology

Why use 3D interactive anatomy for teaching?
How to use Visible Body 3D anatomy models in a course
Training on using 3D interactive anatomy models
Overview of Visible Body Products
Instructor resources

Why use 3D, visual interactive anatomy for teaching?

There is a lot to consider when changing course materials. The content on this page is organized to help instructors answer the questions: Is 3D interactive anatomy right for my course? If it is, which Visible Body products match my course, and how do I start using them?

We've gathered professor testimonials, student class test results, videos, and instructor support resources showing how 3D visual anatomy can improve student success.

See why students prefer 3D visual anatomy resources:

Got 7 minutes? See the differences between 2D visuals and 3D anatomy when teaching key digestive system structures. Presentation by Bert Oppenheim, MS in Medical and Biological Visualization, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Read our interviews with students discussing 2D textbook images versus 3D models and how to understand tough topics, like the Circle of Willis.
Access a summary from Inside Higher Ed on a 265-student study that revealed the benefits for struggling medical students of incorporating 3D anatomy into the gross anatomy course.
The conclusions of studies that used virtual or augmented reality suggest that 3D models of anatomical structures facilitate students' understanding of spatial relationships in the human body.
Read how the popularity of Visible Body products has risen right alongside the pervasiveness of 3D visual technology in anatomy labs and healthcare professions.
Download the results of the 800+ student class test we conducted while creating the content and features in our Visible Body Course pack.
Watch a presentation and download the data: This 2017 anatomy instructor survey includes a summary and the data on the growing demand for visual reference materials in anatomy and physiology programs.
Anatomy and Physiology can be one of the most challenging intro courses for students pursuing a healthcare career. Mobile and web-based products enable students to study wherever they are, and track their own learning.

How to use Visible Body 3D anatomy models in a course

Instructors use our 3D visual products to replace or reinforce textbooks, as a part of their lectures, and to create online labs or in-lab exercises with virtual models that provide alternatives to real specimens and plastic models.

We work with educators and students to design human body apps that present information in ways that students find accessible, relevant, and engaging. Our apps are visual, interactive, and mobile! They are used across the globe for:

Visual and interactive lectures on the human body: dynamic visualizations of bodily structures and functions that teachers can customize to match their lesson goals.
Virtual anatomy labs: hands-on identification, manipulation, and dissection of thousands of virtual 3D models that can be used in conjunction with, or as replacements for, specimens or physical models.
Interactive, self-paced anatomy and physiology lessons: students can explore and review anatomy and physiology at their own pace; quiz themselves; and look up terminology, definitions, and pronunciations.

See what other instructors like about teaching with Visible Body apps. Here are a few video presentations from instructors using 3D interactive visuals to teach anatomy and physiology.

Digestive System webinar with Bert Oppenheim

Teaching a cadaver lab with 3D anatomy models

Got 10 minutes? This blog with video segments walks cadaver lab instructors through how Professor Tomer Kanan at the University of Illinois-Chicago uses 3D anatomy in the cadaver lab and the same models online to reinforce learning with homework.

Using Human Anatomy Atlas in lecture

In 4 minutes, Blythe Nilson, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of British Columbia shows 5 key anatomical relationships that are faster to teach using 3D visual anatomy.

Prepping Students for Lab with Visible Body 3D Anatomy Apps

This 2-minute presentation by Molli Crenshaw, Instructor in the Biology Department at Texas Christian University, reviews how she uses 3D interactive homework assignments to prepare students for a heart valve lab.

Want to try out 3D, interactive anatomy learning? Schedule an instructor tutorial web meeting with a member of our Education Team. In 30 minutes you will get a walk-through of some 3D interactive models, see the options for creating assignments using these models and our cloud-based online assignment platform, and popular LMS systems like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle and D2L. You'll also get a free instructor trial code.

If you have any questions about the content on this page, you can contact a sales representative.

Training on using 3D interactive anatomy models

Visible Body's development team is focused on offering technology that is fast to learn and easy to remember!

Today's youngest students are part of the "Digital Natives" generation and are comfortable with information presented visually, in small bites, on screen, and on the go. Returning students appreciate how much quicker content can be learned from an interactive 3D experience as well as the benefits of learning on the go, with or without a heavy textbook in your backpack!

Our apps leverage the common touchscreen finger gestures and mouse commands used in mobile games and tools. If you are unfamiliar with how our 3D interactive anatomy apps work, check out these one-minute video tutorials. See how easy our apps are to use on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Android phone or tablet!

Rotate a 3D anatomy model, zoom in or out
Access encyclopedic reference content
Use the augmented reality features
Study 3D anatomy alongside MRI, CT scans and cadaver images
Prepare for gross anatomy lab or review dissections
Make your own 3D model sets to share in lecture

The tutorials above are all from Visible Body's comprehensive gross anatomy reference app, Human Anatomy Atlas. It includes complete male and female gross anatomy models and select micro anatomy and is often used in introductory courses and lab courses. Use Visible Body's Human Anatomy Atlas instead of, or alongside, cadaver specimens and plastic models in your lab course or for student activities.

For courses focused on introducing students to the structure and function of each human body system, Visible Body offers its Anatomy & Physiology product. It is an interactive textbook that uses 3D models and animations to teach bite-sized lessons about key anatomy and physiology in each body system. This product is commonly used instead of or alongside a textbook. It is designed to follow the curriculum of an introductory anatomy and physiology course. To get an idea of how the product is organized:

Review the unit, chapter, and asset organization
Walk through one learning objective
Take one of the self-paced quizzes at the end of each chapter
See how the product helps students track their learning
Watch a two-minute product demo

Like what you see in these videos? Take the next step and get the help you need to try 3D anatomy in your course! Schedule a 30-minute instructor tutorial web meeting with a member of our Education Team. The Education Team member will help you select the products that best fit your course goals and point you to our wealth of free teaching and learning resources.

If you would like to see previous instructor tutorials, please see our webcasts and demonstrations page.

If you have any questions about the content on this page, you can contact a sales representative.

Overview of Visible Body Products

Visible Body is on a mission to make using 3D interactive visual anatomy powerful, easy, and affordable! Our apps can replace textbooks, serve as library reference, and be used by instructors to create virtual lab assignments and interactive homework. Our products can link to the LMS system you already use or to our Courseware.

All Visible Body content is created by medical visualization experts and reviewed by professors and healthcare professionals. All of Visible Body products are created by a team of biomedical visualization experts and are reviewed by outside panels of instructors and healthcare professionals. Visible Body's 3D products have won prestigious awards from professional societies and consumer groups for anatomical accuracy and ease of use!

Visible Body's library of human body visualizations is curated into a series of products. Each product is designed to fit a specific type of healthcare professional, student, or instructor. Some institutions subscribe to one product and others subscribe to all. The products link up with learning management systems for institutions that want to assign learning content straight from the products to students in a course,

Human Anatomy Atlas

Our flagship, award-winning bestselling 3D atlas of the human body. Watch an overview.

Muscle Premium

Used by orthopedic specialists, kinesiologists, physical therapists, and others learning or teaching about muscles and bones. Watch an overview.

Anatomy & Physiology

Designed to follow the curriculum of an introductory anatomy and physiology course. Watch an overview.

We offer these products to educational institutions as seat licenses, site licenses, or, if you're looking to provide your students with specific assignments and lessons, we offer these apps within our cloud-based Courseware platform. The platform gives instructors access to comprehensive anatomy and physiology content that is visual, interactive, and mobile—and offers a fast-to-learn and easy-to-use way for instructors to assign interactive lessons and quizzes that link to D2L, Blackboard, Moodle, or Canvas.

Want to create and deliver course content to your students online? Select our Courseware option to custom-create exactly the course you want!

With Visible Body Courseware you can:

Create various types of assignments for students: 3D interactive content from Visible Body apps, videos, images, documents and presentations
Assign quizzes from our bank of over 1,000 dissection and multiple choice quiz questions or create your own
Track student performance in a gradebook that shows detailed student results

Instructor resources

We've done the work for you! Use these free teaching resources to try out a 3D anatomy lesson or lab, or fully integrate Visible Body's 3D interactive content into your course.

Visible Body lab activities are written by instructors for instructors and rely on 3D interactive models and animations to be used alongside, or instead of, cadavers and specimens. These lab activities are free to instructors and students. There is no expensive lab manual to purchase! Each activity includes pre-lab, lab, and post-lab steps for students to follow using our Human Anatomy Atlas and Anatomy & Physiology products. There are dozens of labs available, including on the heart, digestive system, muscles, and more.

This Anatomy & Physiology correlation guide makes it easy for instructors to see how the content in the A&P textbook they use is covered in our visual and interactive Anatomy and Physiology product. The guide includes correlations for the following textbooks:

Marieb & Hoehn, Human Anatomy & Physiology, 9th ed.
Martini, Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, 9th ed.
McKinley, Anatomy & Physiology: An Integrative Approach
Saladin, Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function, 6th ed.
Tortora, Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 13th ed.
OpenStax OER, Anatomy & Physiology
New! Amerman, Human Anatomy & Physiology, 2nd ed.

Access materials for student engagement on the Visible Body teaching resources page! Visible Body provides free ebooks on key topics, a Learn Site that introduces each body system, and a blog that includes posts on the human body, common conditions, testimonials from students and instructors, and news about teaching anatomy and physiology.

Create your own interactive teaching materials! Institutions with a site license or with a Courseware adoption can leverage Visible Body's visual assets to create their own materials: in-class presentations, handouts, slideshows, lab manuals, or study guides.

The cost of Visible Body's site license or Courseware is often less than the course materials they replace, and fits into many administrators' budgets. Our products are available via web access and as mobile apps for many kinds of hardware, including Macs, PCs, Chromebooks, iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets, and zSpace tables.

Want to try out 3D, interactive anatomy learning? Schedule an instructor tutorial web meeting with a member of our Education Team. In 30 minutes you will get a walk-through of some 3D interactive models, and explore the options for creating assignments using these models and our cloud-based online assignment platform, or popular LMS systems like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle and D2L. You'll also get a free instructor trial code.