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The aim of this study was to evaluate the student's conception in reference to the teaching materials used for the practical assessment of the discipline of Human Anatomy. The study was quantitative and qualitative, exploratory and descriptive. The materials were industrialized synthetic anatomical models, models made of inexpensive material by students, human cadaveric material, photocopied images and software. The study included 97 students, who after analysis indicated cadaveric materials (35%) as the best educational tool to be applied for the practical assessments of Anatomy. The photocopied images (3%) were the material with which the students presented greater difficulty. The content analysis of the discursive questions showed 5 factors in learning Human Anatomy: little time per table; difficulty in identifying, locating and memorization of anatomical structures; the quality of material used; comparing these materials; and cadaveric material. The study proved to be relevant for the evolution of teaching quality, in addition to the cadaveric material as the best tool to be used in practical assessments of Human Anatomy. We suggest the use of this material the more frequent, in laboratories that have the same materials as analyzed here, because the corpse can never be substituted in teaching and learning of Anatomy.

The aim of the present study is to report an original, unusual, case of bilateral anatomical variation of the sciatic nerve, with low origin and high division.Anatomical dissection was performed on a 66 year-old female cadaver. The corpse was embalmed and conserved through our original embalming techniques.The particular anatomical variation was first detected during routine dissection classes for undergraduate students. The study was completed with contralateral dissection to unveil bilateral variation. In both hind limbs, the sciatic nerve had a low origin, deep below the mid-gluteal region, and suffered high division, near the lower margin of the gluteal region, after a short length of circa 8 cm, to divide into the common fibular and tibial nerves.We detect several cases of sciatic nerve high division, in the reports of the earliest anatomists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Vesalius, Da Cortona, or Eustachius. Such ancestral interest for these anatomical variations demonstrates the importance of their knowledge for health professionals of different areas.The accurate study of sciatic nerve anatomical variations bears evident surgical, anaesthesiology and clinical applications. As more meticulous as our anatomical studies may get, one will never reach the state of perfection to consider such studies as definitive.Introdução: O objectivo do presente estudo é o relato de um caso de variação anatómica do nervo isquiático, por origem baixa e divisão alta bilateral.Material e Métodos: Foi dissecado um cadáver feminino de 66 anos, conservado pelas técnicas originais desenvolvidas no nosso departamento.Resultados: No trabalho regular de dissecção cadavérica da disciplina de Anatomia Regional II detectou-se nervo isquiático, em ambos os membros, com pequeno trajecto, de aproximadamente, 8 - 10 cm, dividido em nervos fibular comum e tibial, ao nível da margem inferior do músculo glúteo máximo.Discussão: Casos semelhantes aos do presente estudo, foram descritos por alguns autores desde Leonardo da Vinci, Da Cortona, ou Eustachius, demonstrando a importância desse conhecimento, tanto em termos clínicos, como cirúrgicos ou anestesiológicos. Diversas ilações são possíveis, por revisão do presente caso, infrequente.Conclusão: Para além de proporcionar conhecimento prévio da anatomia loco-regional, o estudo das variações do nervo isquiático orienta o melhor seguimento de patologias, bem como acessos cirúrgicos e/ou anestésicos. Por mais meticulosos que sejam os nossos estudos anatómicos, jamais poderemos considerar terminada ou definitiva a investigação em anatomia humana.