Korf HW, Wicht H, Snipes RL, et al: The dissection course: necessary and indispensable for teaching anatomy to medical students. Ann Anat 190: 16, 2008.
Drake RL, McBride JM, Lachman N, et al: Medical education in the anatomical sciences: the winds of change continue to blow. Anat Sci Educ 2: 253, 2009.
McMenamin PG, Quayle MR, McHenry CR, et al: The production of anatomical teaching resources using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. Anat Sci Edu 7: 479, 2014.
Brown B, Adhikari S, Marx J, et al: Introduction of ultrasound into gross anatomy curriculum: perceptions of medical students. J Emerg Med 43: 1098, 2012.
Rizzolo LJ, Stewart WB: Should we continue teaching anatomy by dissection when ... Anat Rec B New Anat 289: 215, 2006.
D'Antoni AV, DiLandro AC, Chusid ED, et al: Psychometric properties and podiatric medical student perceptions of USMLE-style items in a general anatomy course. JAPMA 102: 517, 2012.
Teichgräber UK, Meyer JM, Poulsen Nautrup C, et al: Ultrasound anatomy: a practical teaching system in human gross anatomy. Med Educ 30: 296, 1996.
Johnson EO, Charchanti AV, Troupis TG: Modernization of an anatomy class: from conceptualization to implementation: a case for integrated multimodal-multidisciplinary teaching. Anat Sci Educ 5: 354, 2012.
Baker EW, Slott PA, Terracio L, et al: An innovative method for teaching anatomy in the predoctoral dental curriculum. J Dent Educ 77: 1498, 2013.
Magiros M, Kekic M, Doran GA: Learning relational anatomy by correlating thin plastinated sections and magnetic resonance images: preparation of specimens. Acta Anat (Basel) 158: 37, 1997.
Moscova M, Bryce DA, Sindhusake D, et al: Integration of medical imaging including ultrasound into a new clinical anatomy curriculum. Anat Sci Educ 8: 205, 2015.
Orsbon CP, Kaiser RS, Ross CF: Physician opinions about an anatomy core curriculum: a case for medical imaging and vertical integration. Anat Sci Educ 7: 251, 2014.
De Barros N, Rodrigues CJ, Junqueira AJQ, et al: The value of teaching sectional anatomy to improve CT scan interpretation. Clin Anat 14: 36, 2001.
Peppler RD, Kwasigroch TE, Hougland MW: Cross-sectional anatomy: preparation of teaching specimens. Anat Rec 206: 341, 1983.
von Hagens G: Impregnation of soft biological specimens with thermosetting resins and elastomers. Anat Rec 194: 247, 1979.
von Hagens G, Tiedemann K, Kriz W: The current potential of plastination. Anat Embryol (Berl) 175: 411, 1987.
Radenkovic D, Solouk A, Seifalian A: Personalized development of human organs using 3D printing technology. Med Hypotheses 87: 30, 2016.
AlAli AB, Griffin MF, Butler PE: Three-dimensional printing surgical applications. Eplasty 15: e37, 2015.
Vaccarezza M, Papa V: 3D printing: a valuable resource in human anatomy education. Anat Sci Int 90: 64, 2015.
Rengier F, Mehndiratta A, Von Tengg-Kobligk H, et al: 3D printing based on imaging data: review of medical applications. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Sur 5: 335, 2010.
Siddiqui NA, Lamm BM: Digital planning for foot and ankle deformity correction: Evans osteotomy. J Foot Ankle Surg 53: 700, 2014.
Jastifer JR, Gustafson PA: Three-dimensional printing and surgical simulation for preoperative planning of deformity correction in foot and ankle surgery. J Foot Ankle Surg 56: 191, 2017.
Qiao F, Li D, Jin Z, et al: Application of 3D printed customized external fixator in fracture reduction. Injury 46: 1150, 2015.
Nayagam S: Safe corridors in external fixation: the lower leg (tibia, fibula, hindfoot and forefoot). Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2: 105, 2007.
Raja DS, Sultana B: Potential health hazards for students exposed to formaldehyde in the gross anatomy laboratory. J Environ Health 74: 36, 2011.
The increased use of external interventions to diagnose and treat podiatric medical pathologies has warranted a greater understanding of the lower extremity in the transverse plane. Films, prosections, and plastinated cross sections have long been used alongside traditional instruction to assist students in anatomical studies. These methods, however, often fail to provide the tactile component of anatomical dissection and may obscure or exclude the requisite structures for identification by medical students. Such teaching techniques prove costly, time sensitive, and dated compared with the relatively less expensive and customizable nature of three-dimensional (3-D) printing.
Limb length was measured on a cadaveric specimen, and eight cross sections of equal width were excised. Manual sketches of these sections were then digitized and 3-D printed.
Three-dimensional printing provides a safe and reproducible means to construct customizable cross sections of the lower extremity. Moreover, this method proves to be relatively inexpensive.
Advancing traditional didactic teaching with the use of cost-effective 3-D printing can facilitate the visuospatial comprehension of lower-extremity anatomy. The evolution of 3-D printing enhances the clinical skills essential for the interpretation of imaging studies as well as planning for surgical procedures such as external fixation application.