Through the inclusion of insightful provenances and case histories, students are taken on a journey back in time to learn not only from the original donors, but also from the physicians and anatomists who treated and prepared the specimen, offering fascinating insights into the healthcare systems and the education values of the time. Careful consideration was given to which specimens were to be showcased. Specifically, those over a hundred years old, without identifying features or sensitive features such as developmental anomalies.

This initiative addresses Goal 3 of the Trinity Strategic Plan, 2020-25 ‘practicing next generation teaching and learning’. The project aims to enhance the Discipline of Anatomy’s blended offerings through the digitisation of historic anatomical teaching resources via the development of a novel interactive e-learning platform. The Old Anatomy Museum at Trinity College Dublin houses an extensive collection of historical teaching artefacts, many of which retain extraordinary pedagogical value. However, due to their delicate nature, repairs, and potentially sensitive content, these artefacts are rarely used for student learning. Artefacts include historic plaster casts, posters, cadaveric specimen, and wax models that visually describe the human form from unique perspectives revealing key insights into typical and pathological anatomy, and which are very difficult to model or prosect using donors. Learning from the past is also strengthened by the rarity of some specimens which gives students an appreciation of the dedication and skill required to prepare teaching tools of such exceptional quality. To exhibit these teaching artefacts to today’s anatomy students, using funding from the National Forum for Teaching and Learning’s ‘Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement’ (SATLE) fund, we have developed an interactive online platform which showcases digitized versions of these historical teaching tools.