Introduction
The websites on this page contain materials that can be used in teaching or learning anatomy, mostly targeted at the undergraduate medical or health care student level.
They have been selected for their quality and the possibility to use them freely in online teaching. Sites with official open licenses - Creative Commons - and with materials in the public domain are featured as first. Next, there are sites who's terms of use state that you can freely use the materials for educational goals. Finally, some sites are listed with useful educational materials without permission to copy materials but whose items can be linked individually and reached without log in barriers.
Check the description of the license and permitted usage for the individual item before you use an item.
Scroll down to see all, or check the following sites if you look for...
Gross Anatomy
The OpenStax Open Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology. The leading Open Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology. 1420 pages. It covers the complete anatomy and physiology at an undergraduate student level. It can be viewed online, downloaded, or ordered in print. All images from this textbook are included individually on AnatomyTOOL.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit. Exact license text
University of British Columbia - Website Clinical Anatomy. This website contains interactive modules, dissection photo's where structures can be highlighted, tutorial videos, 3D models, drawings, etc. Subjects: Head & Neck, Thorax, Abdomen, Pelvis, Upper Limb, Lower Limb, Back, Neuroanatomy, Radiology, Embryology. Many items from this site can be found individually on AnatomyTOOL.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
A MOOC by Leiden University on the anatomy of abdomen and pelvis.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
'3D Anatomy Lyon' is a series of 100 video tutorials explaining anatomy with 3D models. Subjects: Trunk, Upper Limb, Lower Limb, Thoracic Cage, Female Pelvic Organs (covers pelvis generally), Neuroanatomy, Larynx. All videos from this site can be found individually on AnatomyTOOL.
These 100 videos have been translated into English, of a total of 300 videos in French.
License
You are free to copy and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and do not create derivative materials. Exact license text
A comprehensive collection of learning materials regarding the heart: very illustrative videos of beating cadaver hearts, valves, or parts of the heart, etc in a Langendorf perfusion set up, 3D models, still images, tutorials etc. Many items from this site can be found individually on AnatomyTOOL.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE, but is free to use for educational purposes with adequate reference. Also, as with all online resources, you are free to link to the items on the site.
Michigan - BlueLink. A high quality comprehensive educational anatomy website covering the complete undergraduate anatomy. It contains:
- hundreds high quality dissection photo's, labeled and unlabeled, all downloadable,
- hundreds high quality labeled anatomical drawings, all downloadable,
- over 300 video lectures (10 sec - 14 min.),
- over 100 3D models of bones, the brain and some organs, downloadable, under CC BY NC ND license,
- 30 dissection lab manuals with dissection photo's (LabLinks),
- 7 sets with each 15-25 labeled radiology images,
- 30 self-test pdf files with in each 10 to 30 click-to-reveal labeled dissection photo's (QuizLink), all downloadable,
- 30 self-test sets with each 15-80 textual questions with answers with extensive feedback (Practice Questions),
- 10 self-test sets with each 15-25 dissection photo's with click-to-reveal structure name questions (Practice Practicals)
All images, videos, 3D models, questions or files can be individually linked directly.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE (with exception: the 3D models), but it states you are allowed to use materials from it for educational purposes with credit and notification to authors. Also, as with all online resources, you are free to link to the items on the site.
'The Noted Anatomist' is the name of a series of 120 anatomy tutorial videos (3-35 min) created by Dr. David Morton (Univ. of Utah School of Medicine). Main subjects: Locomotor system (Upper limb, Lower limb, Back), Neuroanatomy (Brainstem, Cranial nerves, Spinal cord and nerves, Autonomic nervous system), Cardiovascular system (Heart, general cardiovascular system), Digestive system, Anterior thoracic wall, Anterior abdominal wall, Female and male reproductive systems. They are organised by topic on the playlists page.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. However, as with all online materials, you are free to link to them.
Collection of anatomical resources intended for students at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centre in El Paso including:
- Over 200 dissection videos covering the common gross anatomy dissection lab (no neuroanatomy).
- 15 Textual tutorials (under 'Learning modules').
- Over 30 gross anatomy interactive modules and 8 radiology interactive modules.
- Over 30 quizzes containing total hundreds of questions.
- Over 110 labeled radiology images
The site's design and functioning (lots of popup windows) indicate its origins in the early web period, but the content is of good quality.
NOTE: THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. But, as all online items, you are free to link to them.
Wikimedia contains many anatomical resources. See:
- Category Human Anatomy Main category,
- Anatomical plates and drawings (includes: old Sobotta, Grant, Gray's images. Many images are also included individually on AnatomyTOOL),
- Books about human anatomy,
- Human anatomy by source,
- Human body (files relating to bodies but not relating to their scientific study, such as ordinary images of parts of the body)
License or or or
The items are all under an open license: either in the Public Domain (copyright expired or CC0) or under CC BY or CC BY SA license. Check the individual item for the specific license.
Neuroanatomy
This website that extensively details neuroanatomy contains:
- 35 tutorial videos explaining a topic with dissection materials, blackboard drawings and demonstrations of e.g. neurological examinations,
- over 30 3D models from segmentation reconstructions,
- 6 3D photogrammetry 3D models of plastinated brains,
- a complete series of 24 coronal gross, 20 horizontal gross and 17 histologic cross-sections (each with labels that can be switched on and off),
- over 30 interactive learning modules (in Flash! - in the URL replace 'story' by 'story_html5' to get a HTML5 version that works in present browsers.),
- a full set of coronal, horizontal and sagittal MRI scans (with labels that can be switched on and off),
- an extensive set of images and models showing perfusion areas of cerebral arteries and the effects of stroke,
- collections in regions of the brain of the previous items, plus dissection photo's on which structures can be highlighted and dozens of drawings
- a neuroanatomy syllabus, targeted at the own students.
Subjects (see regions of the brain): Basal ganglia, blood supply, brain stem, cerebelleum, cortex, cranial nerves, limbic system, pain, spinal cord, subcortical fibers, thalamus & diencephalon, ventricles, visible system.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
A series of 26 tutorial videos (6-32 min) about neuroanatomy, explaining mostly with demonstrations of dissection specimens, supported by images and models.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
The videos can be downloaded and reused but you need to request a password by filling out a form.
The NeuroLogic Exam: An Anatomical Approach contains over 250 tutorial videos explaining the anatomical foundations of the neurologic exam with schematic drawings, videos of live patient exams, normal and abnormal patient cases and self-test quizzes.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
The videos can be downloaded and reused but you need to request a password by filling out a form.
Educational website of dept. Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam University Medical Center.
Its main focus is on neuroanatomy. Contains beautiful dissection photo's, gross and histological, tutorials, a visible human viewer of the brain, MR scan pictures, medical cases and stills of 3D reconstructions. Some parts in Dutch, some parts in English.
NOTE: THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. But, as all online items, you are free to link to it.
Dissection
A presentation file of 162 slides with photographs of the dissection of the thorax. There is also a similar manual with 173 slides with photographs of the dissection of the abdomen.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
Over 200 dissection videos covering the common gross anatomy dissection lab (no neuroanatomy). The videos are not too big sized (mostly approx. 700 x 500 px) but show the topics well enough. They are well ordered and split into short steps of the dissection which allows for easier reuse. Each video can be individually linked to and has a transcript of the spoken text beneath the video.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. But, as all online items, you are free to link to them.
Section with hundreds high quality dissection photo's, labeled and unlabeled, all downloadable at Michigan - BlueLink website.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE, but it states you are allowed to use materials from it for educational purposes with credit and notification to authors. Also, as with all online resources, you are free to link to the items on the site.
Histology
A comprehensive website of digital histology with hundreds of high quality histologic images, a text book and quizzes, covering the complete human histology in clear way.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
A site primarily intended for histology education for Univ. of Michigan students by the University of Michigan containing hundreds of high-quality virtual histological sections, covering the entire human histology. A disadvantage is that the web virtual slide viewer is Flash based, that is increasingly being disabled in browsers, alternatively the slides can be downloaded and viewed in a locally installed Aperio slide viewer.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
An extensive digital histology website with hundreds of high-quality virtual histological sections from various German universities, covering the entire human histology. The virtual slides work directly in the browser.
NOTE: NO LICENSE IS STATED. SO YOU SHOULD ASSUME THE DEFAULT THAT THE MATERIALS ARE COPYRIGHTED. THE MATERIALS CAN BE OPENLY ACCESSED AND YOU MAY LINK TO THEM, BUT YOU MAY NOT COPY OR DISTRIBUTE ITEMS (E.G. IN TEACHING) WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE OWNERS.
A privately owned extensive website with 280 high quality virtual microscopy slides and 180 virtual electron microscopy slides and quizzes, that cover the complete human histology. The virtual slides work directly in the browser.
NOTE: THE SITE IS OPEN ACCESSIBLE BUT COPYRIGHTED. YOU MAY LINK TO THE MATERIALS BUT IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TO COPY, DISPLAY, MODIFY OR DISTRIBUTE (E.G. AS IN TEACHING) THE MATERIALS.
Embryology
A series of 14 interactive 3D pdf files with detailed 3D models of human embryos and their organ systems in Carnegie stages 7 to 23 (15-60 days of development).
License
You are free to copy and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and do not create derivative materials. Exact license text
Two interactive modules (Flash) on the embryology of weeks 1-4 and of the heart in the section 'Embryology' on the website Clinical Anatomy.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
A thorough website on embryology.
THIS MATERIAL IS NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. But, as all online items, you are free to link to them.
Radiology
The leading open licensed radiology website, containing imaging from over 35,000 cases.
License
You are free to use, adapt and distribute materials from this site if you give appropriate credit, don't use it commercially and apply this same license to materials you distribute. Exact license text
MedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images (mainly radiology), teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata including over 12,000 patient case scenarios, 9,000 topics, and nearly 59,000 images.
THE MATERIALS ON THIS SITE ARE NOT UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE!
You are allowed to use the materials on this site for your personal use and for local teaching at your institution.
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