The Anatomage Table, a 3D anatomy visualization and virtual dissection tool, is about the size and height of a traditional hospital bed.
桌子的顶部有两个集成的触摸屏玻璃显示器，连接到机器底部的一台功能强大的计算机. 乍一看，这些屏幕和其他电脑界面没什么两样，只是屏幕跨度为7英尺.
该学校于2019年秋季通过国家技术拨款获得了这张桌子. Trainings were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 学校在2021年秋季开始使用这张桌子.
Shelley Hunter, Ph.D., 教授解剖学和生理学的临床助理教授, 这位常驻专家对这项令人印象深刻的技术的内部工作原理了如指掌吗. 她说，尽管Anatomage为教职员工提供了广泛的培训, the technology was still daunting at first.
“一开始我真的很害怕，因为桌子太大了, and it can do so many things,” Hunter said. “The students, though, are immediately comfortable with it. 他们只是直接走上去，因为他们出生在这个科技时代，所以这不会困扰他们.”
According to Hunter, 这张桌子呈现的是一个比学生们在传统的尸体实验室里体验到的更“干净”的人体. With the Anatomage Table, if a student wants to see behind the kidneys, they just digitally move the organs out of the way. 对于尸体来说，同样的肾脏需要用相当大的力气用手切除. For Hunter, 虚拟解剖台的功能远远超过了传统解剖所缺乏的触觉.
“For the cardiovascular unit we were studying, we pulled up the heart and it pulled up an EKG,” Hunter said. “Right beside it, and we could see the muscles, 我们可以看到神经系统和瓣膜在做心电图的时候工作，学生们可以把电和机械联系起来.”
护理与健康研究学院院长乔伊·罗伯茨(Joy Roberts)认为，UMKC是堪萨斯城地区唯一一所向学生提供这项技术的大学. 罗伯茨还直接了解到，其他地区的学校也对这张桌子感兴趣.
“I was on the board for North Kansas City School District. 他们打电话说，‘我们听说你们有一台新机器，真的很酷，’”罗伯茨说. “Leadership came to UMKC to check it out. They were so impressed they got one for the district, 并计划在北堪萨斯城的所有四所高中开设这些课程.”
虽然这张桌子本身很贵，但它仍然比尸体实验室便宜得多.
“要经营一个尸体实验室，你必须让人们捐献他们的尸体，”罗伯茨说. “然后你必须储存尸体，将它们保存在甲醛中，并确保它们的安全. 这张桌子能让我们接触尸体而不会有甲醛灼眼的可怕气味.”
The school received the funding for the $80,从密苏里州护理委员会的护理教育激励计划中获得的补助金中获得了000张表格. According to Roberts, having access to cadavers, even if virtually, makes a world of difference for the students, 为他们提供的不仅仅是传统的塑料模型或书籍中的图片. For Roberts, those tried-and-true learning tools will always be useful, but the Anatomage Table provides a more complete picture.
Take, for example, the voice box. 亨特可以锁定那个器官并移除相关系统, such as circulatory or nervous systems, 提供一个不受阻碍的观点，让学生们在特定的课程中关注什么. 当亨特清楚地看到发声盒并旋转整个器官时，机器就会发光.
The ability to do this is critical, 因为与喉部相关的肌肉隐藏在喉部后面. 亨特可以向学生展示支撑喉咙的肌肉, the bone and cartilage, the Adam’s apple and the epiglottis, the flap that covers the windpipe. 对于未来的护士和他们的病人来说，充分的理解是很重要的.
“Because most nurses will have to intubate a patient, 我们观察那些控制皮瓣打开和关闭的肌肉,” Hunter said. “我们讨论的是，如果这些东西中的任何一个受到损害会发生什么. If the nerves or muscles aren’t functioning properly, 病人可能会死，因为空气无法通过.”
亨特的解剖学和生理学课程由护理预科学生和健康研究学生组成. Classes consist of 20-35 students each, 亨特让五人一组的人同时在桌子上工作. On any given review day, students can be found studying a unit, such as the cardiovascular system, watching the entire system work in real-time. 其他小组在等待轮到他们的时候互相测验术语, where they’ll see a fuller picture of how circulation works.
阿什莉·汉纳斯正在攻读健康研究学士学位, 她在亨特的课上花了两个学期的时间研究解剖桌. 汉纳斯从高中来到这个班，有一些解剖的经验, which she said was helpful in working with table. 虚拟解剖桌和她解剖的老鼠之间有一个关键的区别, however: the odor.
汉纳斯说:“化学物质和分解物的气味很强烈。. “It made a lot of my high school classmates nauseous.”
Instead, 汉纳斯很感激这张桌子消除了她的分心，使她能够专注于深入研究解剖学. 她说，她小组里的每个人在识别器官和系统方面都做得更好了, as well as dissecting and reconstructing those systems.
在亨特复习生殖系统的课上, 她向学生们展示了怀孕对准妈妈来说是多么不舒服. 学生们亲眼目睹了婴儿对周围器官施加的压力, 这个练习引起了学生们的各种反应, including, “This is so cool,” “That is kind of scary,” and “You can see the baby’s heart beating!”