The LSU Department of Kinesiology is offering cutting-edge training for students by providing access to cadaver-based anatomy courses through a collaborative effort between the LSU Health Sciences Center and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

“The minute these students graduate and enter professional schools, the first thing out of the chute is gross anatomy,” said Wanda Hargroder, a professor in the department and one of the visionaries behind the lab.

“There are other options. You can teach courses which use CDs and computer animated graphics to illustrate anatomy, but you cannot replace the detailed, in-depth, hands-on instruction that access to a cadaver lab provides students,” added Hargroder. “It gives our students a significant advantage.”

“I see it as a no-brainer,” echoed Kara Spinks, a sophomore in kinesiology who said she first learned of the class from Kinesiology Associate Professor Dennis Landin. “Why would you pass up an opportunity to have a hands-on experience like this, guided so closely by a faculty member?”

Spinks also remarked that she feels extremely prepared as an undergraduate, working one-on-one with the kinesiology faculty. “A lot of students tell us that once they are in grad school, you just get thrown right in. At least this way, we’ve been there, done that.”

“We want to know what to expect, to be prepared,” said Laura Roan, a graduate student in biological sciences.

“Having this on your resume, immediately separates you from the rest,” added zoology graduate student Courtney Cain.

Roan and Cain are also both research associates at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and beginning the long application process for medical schools.

The course “KIN 1999” is a special topics pro-section lab offered for the first time spring 2007. In addition, the course “KIN 4501” will allow 10-15 students the opportunity to actively dissect cadavers this summer.

The spring class immediately filled to capacity serving 40 students in its first semester. The summer section is also booked.

“We have the interest,” said Melissa Thompson, a kinesiology instructor. “Students are begging us to get in this class. We would love to allow more students access to this unique learning environment, but we are limited by funding and space issues.”

And, while these courses attract students from a variety of disciplines such as basic sciences, they also provide an opportunity for College of Education faculty to initiate research opportunities with other health sciences faculty on campus and nationally.

Along with Hargroder, kinesiology faculty members Landin, Thompson, and Ray Castle drove to New Orleans for professional training on teaching cadaver courses and developed solid relationships with members of the LSU Health Sciences Faculty.

The formation of the cadaver laboratory was one example of the department’s expanded mission. Department of Kinesiology Chair Amelia Lee summarized the breadth of the focus “to include the dissemination of knowledge on all aspects of physical activity and its effects on the human organism.”

The department uses cutting-edge technology in several laboratories to study muscle movement in live subjects. For example, students and faculty have access to Biodex and Flouroscopic machines, which use advance technology to measure muscle performance and visualize joint movements.

“If you pick up an issue of Grey’s Anatomy, you’ll see that descriptions of muscle activons haven’t changed much since the 1800s,” said Landin.“But, with the Biodex and other machines, we can offer a much deeper understanding and definitive descriptions of human movement,” added Landin.

“We conduct our research using live human subjects and then follow-up with the cadavers for educational and clinical instruction. Eventually we hope to make our cadaver lab available to the medical community for demonstrating and practicing new medical procedures such as disk repair or other high-demand surgeries.”

This technology paired with access to the cadavers is something that really sets LSU undergraduate students apart from the rest.

“Access to cadavers is critical to the development of three-dimensional view of human anatomy that is the cornerstone of understanding injuries for our athletic training students,” said Thompson.

During the final semester before graduation, athletic training students sit for their national medical board licensing exams concluding a total of six clinical education semesters.