Journal of Morphological Sciences Vol. 40/2023 457 Journal of Morphological Sciences J Morphol Sci Brazilian Society of Anatomy Original Artcle J Morphol Sci 2023;40:457-463 Classroom Examination Versus Online Examination in Anatomy Courses Before and During Covid-19 Pandemic - Evaluation of Performance, Perception and Preference of Students in a Nigerian University Dayo Rotmi Omotoso 1 1 Department of Human Anatomy, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria Disclose and conflicts of interest: none to be declared by all authors ABSTRACT Introduction: to avoid the disruption of 2019-2020 academic year in our institution during the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning and assessment was activated for all courses including anatomy. This study assessed the performance, perception and preference of students during online examination in anatomy courses compared to classroom examination. Materials and Methods: he acadeic eface f eigh e bjec icdig Nig ciece ,7 Phihea 6M ad Ha aa +! de dig he ca eaiai eadeic eee ad ie eaiai adeic eee i hee aa ce g aa hig & cg ad ha ebg a caaie assessed. Furthermore, a survey was conducted to assess their perception and preference regarding the classroom and online eaiai£ The daa baied f he d a aiica aaed£ Results: hee a igica  ≤ 0£07 iee i he aicia acadeic eface dig ie eaiai i aa ce caed  ca eaiai£ Maji >M0% f aicia ied ha ie eaig eabed successful assessments; effective time management was hampered; online examinations were not more effective instead, the adad f ei ee caabe  ca eaiai£ Maji > B0% idicaed ha eaig ce ad ee f edge acied dig ie eaig a aifac b he i i ca eaiai£ I addii he distraction, anxiety and stress affected the preparation for online examinations. Conclusion: he aicai f echg ha eabed a effecie de aee i aa ce dig he pandemic. The academic records showed an improvement during the online examination. However, the participants are more inclined towards classroom learning and assessment. Keywords: Anatomy education; Online examination; Academic performance; Nigerian University. DOI: 10.51929/jms.40.457.2023 ISSN 2177-0298 Introducton The coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19) is a highly infectious disease which originated from Wuhan, China in December, 2019 and became rapidly transmitted around the world thereby leading to its declaration as a global pandemic on the 11th March, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) 1,2 . Due to the rapid global transmission of the disease, the frst case of covid-19 was soon detected in Nigeria on the 27 th February, 2020 and this prompted the Nigerian federal government to declare strict preventive measures which included nationwide lockdown, restriction of human and vehicular movements and suspension of activities in all educational institutions in order to curtail transmission 3 . Following the suspension of the physical academic activities, universities around the world adopted a drastic change in the mode of academic content delivery to online mode of learning and assessment 4 . The primary reason for the adoption of online learning was to ensure a continuous and uninterrupted academic activities during the pandemic period. In addition, it would help to eliminate the risk of transmission of the disease through keeping the students on campus for the conventional classroom learning 5 . Generally, the advancement in technology witnessed in the past two decades has accelerated the usage of online platforms for academic assessment of trainees in different academic programmes and discipline of study 6 . This has enabled a fast, reliable and highly effcient evaluation of academic performances especially when large number or cross-section of trainees with limited human resources is involved 7 . The transition to online learning and assessment during the pandemic also impacted the training of medical and basic medical professionals leading to the adoption of technology-aided platforms for continuous academic engagements by many medical schools 8,9 . Among the crucial foundational course in medical training is anatomical science which is usually delivered and assessed using practical-based and clinically-oriented strategies with cadaveric dissection