477 REVIEW Eur J Anat, 26 (4): 477-486 (2022) A review of the importance of research in Anatomy, an evidence-based science Mariana Tapia-Nañez*, Alejandro Quiroga-Garza*, Francisco D. Guerrero-Mendivil, Yolanda Sali- nas-Alvarez, Guillermo Jacobo-Baca, David de la Fuente-Villarreal, Santos Guzman-Lopez, Rodrigo E. Elizondo-Omaña Department of Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México SUMMARY Considered an absolute unchanging truth, and not research-led, human anatomy has been subject to a steady decline in course hours and funding. However, this is a misconstruction, as anatomy plays an important role in the clinical and surgical feld, with the need of evidence- based data, more so now than ever. Research in anatomy not only establishes an evolutionary and functional database with variability between populations, sex, and age, but develops the tools needed for patient safety, development of prostheses, technology and surgical materials, improves interpretation of imaging studies, and provides evidence of clinical and anatomical implications. Evidence-based education is an exponentially growing feld in anatomical sciences, providing the best evidence for technological and pedagogical strategies integrated in the classroom and laboratory. The gold-standard cadaveric dissections are currently only one of the wide range of educational resources available, with imaging studies and clinical scenarios playing an important role. Anatomy research needs to be continued, evolving with the generations the availability of new resources and the demands of the feld. This review breaks down the available data, recommendations, and guidelines, as well as the importance behind the continuing research in anatomical sciences. Key words: Human anatomy – Anatomical variants – Anatomical sciences – Anatomy education – Evidence-based anatomy – Imaging INTRODUCTION Human anatomy as a discipline has historically been the study of the structure and form of the body, as well as the relationships between the different regions. It has been in constant transformation since ancient Mesopotamia and the Greek era, with documents such as the Corpus Hippocraticum associated with medical education, Hippocrates “Father of Medicine,” and the frst evidence of anatomical research and documentation (Edelstein, 1939; López Férez, 1986; Persaud et al., 2014). New dissection techniques were developed, on which Aristotle based human anatomy by comparison with animal anatomy to establish the fundamentals of clinical medicine (Blits, 1999; Crivellato and Corresponding author: Prof. Santos Guzmán-López or Prof. Rodrigo E. Elizondo-Omaña. De- partamento de Anatomía Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León, Ave. Madero y Aguirre Pequeño, Col. Mitras Centro, s/n, Col. Mitras Centro, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, CP 64460. E-mail: dr.santos.anato@gmail.com // rod_omana@yahoo.com Submitted: January 27, 2022. Accepted: March 21, 2022 https://doi.org/10.52083/EVZA1394 *The authors Mariana Tapia-Nañez y Alejandro Quiroga-Garza participa- ted equally in the communication and are both in position as frst author