Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

Fall 10-5-2026

Abstract

The brachial plexus presents a persistent instructional challenge in anatomy education because students must integrate its branching organization with its three-dimensional relationships to surrounding structures.[1,2] Understanding the plexus requires learners to trace neural contributions through roots, trunks, divisions, cords, and terminal branches while recognizing their spatial relationships to the axillary artery.[2] Conventional diagrams can clarify connections between named structures, but translating these schematics into an anatomically coherent spatial representation remains a recognized teaching challenge.[1,2] These difficulties occur within a broader pattern of challenges in learning neuroanatomy. In a national survey of 2,877 medical students across 25 UK medical schools, respondents perceived neurology as more difficult than the other specialties assessed and identified neuroanatomy as the leading contributor to that difficulty.[10] Although these findings are not specific to the brachial plexus, they provide empirical context for developing educational resources that help students organize complex neural structures. The educational objective extends beyond memorizing anatomical names. Applying upper-limb anatomy to lesion localization requires students to connect the site of nerve injury with expected motor, sensory, and reflex abnormalities.[3] This relationship provides a rationale for teaching approaches that integrate structural organization with functional consequences. However, the available evidence does not establish that difficulty learning the plexus from conventional diagrams causes persistent deficits in clinical reasoning. Studies of three-dimensional teaching resources provide a rationale for their use as supplements to established instruction, although their effects depend on the learning task and study design. Lefroy et al. reported favorable student feedback on a color-coded, three-dimensional pipe-cleaner model of the brachial plexus.[1] In a separate study involving first-year kinesiology students, Hoyek et al. found that students taught upper-limb anatomy using three-dimensional digital animations performed better on examination questions requiring spatial ability, although overall upper-limb examination scores did not differ between groups.[11] These findings support evaluating spatial understanding separately from general anatomical knowledge. More recently, Rao et al. evaluated an interactive three-dimensional upper-limb nerve-lesion simulation in a single session pilot study involving 35 medical students, with 33 included in the knowledge-gain analysis.[3] The simulation group demonstrated a larger median improvement despite lower baseline performance, but the difference in change scores between groups was not statistically significant (p = .274). Participants described the simulation’s spatial visualization and interactivity as helpful. These exploratory findings support further evaluation of interactive resources rather than a definitive claim of superior learning or long-term retention.[3] Building on this educational rationale, the present project aims to develop a computer-based, color-coded, interactive three-dimensional model of the brachial plexus and axillary artery. The model is intended to help students connect the plexus’s branching organization with its surrounding vascular anatomy and develop a coherent spatial representation of the region. It is designed to supplement diagrams and anatomical instruction. Whether the model improves spatial understanding, knowledge retention, or application to lesion localization remains a question for subsequent evaluation.

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