Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02470-2 REVIEW Three‑dimensional printing in anatomy teaching: current evidence Dimitrios Chytas 1  · Elizabeth O. Johnson 1,2  · Maria Piagkou 2  · George Tsakotos 2  · George C. Babis 3  · Vasileios S. Nikolaou 3  · Konstantinos Markatos 4  · Konstantinos Natsis 5 Received: 26 February 2020 / Accepted: 10 April 2020 © Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Purpose The critical literature review investigates the extent to which the current evidence supports that three-dimensional printing (3DP) could play an important role in human anatomy education. Methods PubMed, ERIC, and Cochrane databases were searched for papers dealing with the outcomes of 3DP implemen- tation in human undergraduate anatomy education. The following data were extracted from each paper: authors, year of publication, type of study (comparative or not), number of participants, level of outcome according to Kirkpatrick hierarchy, infuence of 3DP on acquisition of anatomical knowledge and skills, as well as perceptions about the 3DP use in anatomy teaching. Results Eight papers were eligible for analysis. All of them comprised comparison of 3DP with other anatomy teaching tools. Two papers evaluated only students’ perceptions about 3DP, while six papers explored its impact on students’ knowledge. The 3DP was statistically signifcantly superior to two-dimensional images in terms of the investigated parameters. However, comparison between 3DP and cadavers’ dissection by students did not take place in any study. Conclusion The 3DP implementation in anatomy education showed promising outcomes. However, the lack of studies which compared the educational efectiveness of 3DP with that of cadavers’ dissection is highlighted. It seems that 3DP could certainly be used as an adjunct to cadavers’ dissection. Further research could clarify if 3DP could obtain a more prominent role in anatomy pedagogy compared to other anatomy teaching modalities. Keywords Three-dimensional printing · Anatomy education · Review · Medical education Introduction Three-dimensional printing (3DP) involves conversion of three-dimensional (3D) digital models to physical ones, via a layer-by-layer fabrication process [10]. A variety of mate- rials can be used, including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polylactic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, nylon, polyethylene and wood, metal and carbon fber flaments [4]. Several 3DP technologies exist, including fused deposition modeling, stereo-lithography, direct light processing, selective laser sintering, material jetting, binder jetting, selective laser melting, and electron beam melting [1]. The 3DP technol- ogy is promoted as one of the major modern technological advances [6] and is widely applied in health sciences, where 3D digital models of the human body are constructed via computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [18]. Especially, anatomy education is a feld which was perceived to be probably favored by 3DP implementa- tion [18]. Fasel et al. [9] pointed out that 3DP specimens * Konstantinos Natsis natsis@auth.gr 1 School of Medicine, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenous Str, Engomi, 2404 Nicosia, Cyprus 2 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 75, Mikras Asias Str., 11527 Athens, Greece 3 2nd Orthopedic Department, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 3-5, Agias Olgas Str., 14233 Nea Ionia, Greece 4 Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 4, Soranou Ephessiou Street, 115 27 Athens, Greece 5 Department of Anatomy and Surgical Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloníki, Greece