*Corresponding Author: Birendra Kumar Yadav, Email: birendra_yadav27@yahoo.com ISSN 0976 – 3333 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Available Online at www.ijpba.info International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives 2013; 4(1): 182-187 A Comparative Study of Performance of the Medical Students of Nepal in Anatomy on the Basis of PBL and Traditional Teaching Birendra Kumar Yadav 1 *, Nishu Yadav 2 , Sanjay Yadav 3 and L K Sharma 4 1 Ph.D. Scholar ,Singhania University ,Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan,India 2 Department of Microbiology, Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar ,Nepal 3 Department of Biochemistry, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal 4 Department of Anatomy, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur,Nepal Received 24 Sep 2012; Revised 05 Feb 2013; Accepted 14 Feb 2013 ABSTRACT Innovations in undergraduate medical education, such as integration of disciplines and problem based learning, have given rise to concerns about students’ knowledge of anatomy. This article originated from several studies investigating the knowledge of anatomy of students at five medical colleges of Nepal. The studies showed that undergraduate students uniformly perceived de ficiencies in their anatomical knowledge when they started clinical training regardless of their college’s didactic approach. A study assessing students’ actual knowledge of clinical anatomy revealed no relationship between students’ knowledge and the school’s didactic approach. Test failure rates based on absolute standards set by different groups of experts were indicative of unsatisfactory levels of anatomical knowledge, although standards differed markedly between the groups of experts .Good test performance by students seems to be related to total teaching time for anatomy, teaching in clinical context, and revisiting anatomy topics in the course of the curriculum. These factors appeared to outweigh the effects of disciplinary integration or whether the curriculum was problem-based or traditional. Key words: Anatomy teaching; Anatomy education; Problem-based learning; Integrated curriculum; Anatomical knowledge. INTRODUCTION The body of scientific knowledge has expanded dramatically over recent decades, with exponential increases in medical knowledge in nearly all disciplines. In the early 1980s, it was increasingly recognized that the body of information with potential relevance to medical practice was far too large for instructors to teach or for students to learn. To put it differently, it was rapidly becoming impractical to try and include everything in the undergraduate curriculum (Swanson and Case, 1997; Clough et al., 2004; Woloschuk et al., 2004).The current explosion of knowledge paradoxically coincides with a trend in many countries toward shorter undergraduate medical training programs. And if that is not bad enough, we know that there is a good chance that what students learn today will be outdated tomorrow: ‘‘we can be certain that the doctors of tomorrow will be applying knowledge and deploying skills which are at present unforeseen’’ (General Medical Council, 1993). Therefore, the teaching of more generic competences, such as interpersonal skills and skills for lifelong learning, is being incorporated in medical education. But basic science education, with anatomy education in particular, is probably equally important: ‘‘Future developments in medical practice (e.g., diagnostic technology or surgical approaches) will best be dealt with by those who have a sound knowledge of the structure and function of the human body’’ (Monkhouse and Farrell, 1999). All these developments make it imperative that very careful consideration is given to what medical students need to learn and at which stage of the curriculum. Medical education has seen changes driven by evidence from the fields of psychology and education. Retention of knowledge is promoted when students are actively involved in their learning; this research finding s upports the view