The HSUS has compiled a comprehensive list of studies from a number of scientific journals comparing dissection and other animal use versus alternative methods. The studies are divided into three categories: those that demonstrate an equivalent performance on the part of students using alternative methods and traditional dissection methods; those in which students using alternative methods outperformed those performing dissections; and a single study that found students who conducted dissections performing better than students who used alternative methods.

Bauer, M.S., N. Glickman, L. Glickman, J.P. Toombs & P. Bill. 1992. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a cadaver laboratory during a fourth-year veterinary surgery rotation. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 19(2): 77–84.

Learning outcomes were similar between two groups of fourth-year veterinary students, one who were taught surgery using a terminal and cadaver laboratory format, the other taught using survival laboratories.

Cohen, P.S. & M. Block, 1991. Replacement of laboratory animals in an introductory psychology laboratory. Humane Innovations and Alternatives 5: 221–225.

Undergraduate students who studied feral pigeons in a city park scored equally well on evaluations as did students who studied operant conditioning with rats in a traditional lab.

Dewhurst, D.G. & A.S. Meehan. 1993. Evaluation of the use of computer simulations of experiments in teaching undergraduate students. British J. Pharm. Proc. Suppl. 108: 238.

Undergraduate students using computer simulations performed equally well as students using traditional approaches in physiology and pharmacology laboratories.

Dewhurst, D.G., J. Hardcastle, P.T. Hardcastle & E. Stuart. 1994. Comparison of a computer simulation program and a traditional laboratory practical class for teaching the principles of intestinal absorption. American Journal of Physiology 267 (Advances in Physiology Education 12/1): S95–S104.

Six undergraduate students working independently with a computer program gained equal knowledge, at one-fifth the cost, as did eight supervised students using freshly killed rats.

Downie, R. & J. Meadows. 1995. Experience with a dissection opt-out scheme in university level biology. Journal of Biological Education 29(3), 187–194.

Cumulative examination results of 308 undergraduate biology students who studied model rats were the same as those of 2,605 students who performed rat dissections.

Fawver, A.L., C.E. Branch, L. Trentham, B.T. Robertson & S.D., Beckett. 1990. A comparison of interactive videodisc instruction with live animal laboratories. American Journal of Physiology 259 (Advances in Physiology Education 4): S11–S14.

Use of interactive videodisc simulations yielded equivalent test performance and greater time efficiency in teaching cardiovascular physiology compared with instruction in a live animal laboratory.

Greenfield, C.L., A.L. Johnson, D.J. Shaeffer & L.L. Hungerford. 1995. Comparison of surgical skills of veterinary students trained using models or live animals. JAVMA 206(12): 1840–1845.

Surgical skills of veterinary students were evaluated following training with dogs and cats, or soft tissue organ models; performance of each group was equivalent.

Guy, J.F. & A.J. Frisby. 1992. Using interactive videodiscs to teach gross anatomy to undergraduates at Ohio State University. Academic Medicine 67: 132–133.

Performance of prenursing and premedical students using interactive videodiscs was not significantly different from that of students in traditional cadaver demonstration labs.

Jones, N.A., R.P. Olafson, & J. Sutin. 1978. Evaluation of a gross anatomy program without dissection. Journal of Medical Education 53: 198–205.

Learning performances of freshmen medical students using films, computer-assisted instruction and prosected human cadavers were the same as those of students taught by traditional lecture and dissection.

Leathard, H.L. & D.G. Dewhurst. 1995. Comparison of the cost effectiveness of a computer-assisted learning program with a tutored demonstration to teach intestinal motility to medical students. ALT-J 3(1): 118–125.

No significant difference was found in the performances of preclinical medical students who used a traditional live animal laboratory and those who used a computer simulation on intestinal motility.

Leonard, W. H. 1992. A comparison of student performance following instruction by interactive videodisc versus conventional laboratory. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 93–102.

In the use of videodisc or traditional laboratories, no significant difference was found for biology undergraduate students' laboratory grades. However, the videodisc group required one-half the time.

Lieb, M.J. 1985. Dissection: A valuable motivational tool or a trauma to the high school student? Unpublished Thesis, Master of Education, National College of Education, Evanston, Illinois.

Post-test scores were equivalent for high school students who dissected earthworms and those who received a classroom lecture on earthworm anatomy.

Marszalek, C.S. & J. Lockard. 1999. Which Way to Jump: Conventional Frog Dissectio, CD-Tutorial, or Microworld? Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Papers Presented at the National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Houston, Texas.

Seventh grade students who were taught frog internal anatomy via either traditional frog dissection or CD-Tutorial had significantly higher increases in pretest versus immediate post tests scores when compared to the same scores for students using the desktop Microworld. There were no significant differences in immediate versus delayed post-test scores for three learning methods, showing that students retain the information equally with an alternative versus traditional dissection.

Olsen, D., M.S. Bauer, H.B. Seim & M.D. Salman. 1996. Evaluation of a Hemostasis Model for Teaching Basic Surgical Skills. Veterinary Surgery 25: 49-58.

Veterinary students who practiced vessel litigation and division on a hemostasis model scored as well on evaluations as students who practiced on live dogs.

Pavletic, M.M., A. Schwartz, J. Berg, & D. Knapp. 1994. An assessment of the outcome of the alternative medical and surgical laboratory program at Tufts University. JAVMA 205(1): 97–100.

No difference was found in surgical confidence or ability of veterinary graduates who had participated in an alternatives course of study versus those who had participated in a conventional course of study.

Prentice, E.D., W.K. Metcalf, T.H. Quinn, J.G. Sharp, R.H. Jensen & E.A. Holyoke. 1977. Stereoscopic anatomy: evaluation of a new teaching system in human gross anatomy. Journal of Medical Education 52: 758–763.

Based on physician-assistant student learning performances, the authors concluded that use of labeled sequential slides of anatomical dissections provided a viable alternative to dissection.

Strauss, R.T. and Kinzie, M.B. 1994. Student achievement and attitudes in a pilot study comparing an interactive videodisc simulation to conventional dissection. The American Biology Teacher 56(7): 398–402.

Two groups of high school students performed equally on a test following either animal dissection or interactive videodisc simulation.

White, K.K., L.G. Wheaton & S.A. Greene. 1992. Curriculum change related to live animal use: a four-year surgical curriculum. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 19: 6–10.

After hesitancy in their first live tissue surgery, veterinary students from an alternative surgical laboratory program performed on par with students with a standard laboratory experience.

Dewhurst, D.G. & L. Jenkinson. 1995. The impact of computer-based alternatives on the use of animals in undergraduate teaching. ATLA 23:
521–530.

Use of computer packages saved teaching staff time, were less expensive, were an effective and enjoyable mode of undergraduate biomedical student learning, and significantly reduced animal use.

Erickson, H.H. & V.L. Clegg. 1993. Active learning in cardiovascular physiology. Pp. 107–108 in Modell, H.I., & Michael, J.A. (editors). Promoting Active Learning in the Life Science Classroom. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 701. New York, NY.

Of fourteen learning methods for basic cardiac teaching and ECG interpretation, computer-based active learning was rated the highest in veterinary student evaluations.

Fowler, H.S. & E.J. Brosius. 1968. A research study on the values gained from dissection of animals in secondary school biology. Science Education 52(2): 55–57.

High school students who watched films of animal dissections (earthworm, crayfish, frog, perch) demonstrated greater factual knowledge of these animals than did students who performed dissections on them.

Griffon, D.G., P. Cronin, B. Kirby & D.F. Cottrell. 2000. Evaluation of a Hemostasis Model for Teaching Ovariohysterectomy in Veterinary Surgery. Veterinary Surgery 29: 309-316.

Veterinary students who practiced ovariohysterectomy on an inanimate canine replica scored higher on skills tests and showed more improvement than students who practiced on cadavers.

Henman, M.C., & G.D.H. Leach. 1983. An alternative method for pharmacology laboratory class instruction using biovideograph videotape recordings. British Journal of Pharmacology Vol. 80: 591P.

Undergraduate pharmacology students using biovideograph performed significantly better on post-laboratory tests than those participating in the organ-based laboratories.

Huang, S.D. & J. Aloi. 1991. The impact of using interactive video in teaching general biology. The American Biology Teacher 53(5): 281–284.

Biology undergraduate students using a computer-assisted interactive videodisc system which included dissection simulations performed significantly better than students who had not used the computer-aided instruction.

Johnson, A.L. & J.A. Farmer. 1989. Evaluation of traditional and alternative models in psychomotor laboratories for veterinary surgery. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 16(1): 11–14.

Inanimate models effectively taught basic psychomotor skills, and had the advantage over live animals that they could be used repeatedly, enhancing the acquisition of motor proficiency.

Kinzie, M.B., R. Strauss & J. Foss. 1993. The effects of an interactive dissection simulation on the performance and achievement of high school biology students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 30(8): 989–1000.

Findings suggest that an interactive videodisc was at least as effective as actual dissection in promoting high school student learning of frog anatomy and dissection procedures.

Lilienfield, L.S., & N.C. Broering. 1994. Computers as teachers: learning from animations. American Journal of Physiology 11(1): Advances in Physiology Education, pp. S47–S54.

Medical and graduate students who used computer simulation achieved a significantly higher grade in the cardiovascular section of the final exam than their classmates.

McCollum, T.L. 1987. The effect of animal dissections on student acquisition of knowledge of and attitudes toward the animals dissected. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Cincinnati.

Approximately 175 high school biology students taught frog structure, function, and adaptation via lecture performed better on a post-test than did approximately 175 high school biology students taught by doing a frog dissection.

More, D. & C.L. Ralph. 1992. A test of effectiveness of courseware in a college biology class. J. Educational Technology Systems 21: 79–84.

Biology knowledge of about 92 undergraduate biology students using computer courseware increased more than did that of approximately 92 students using traditional animal-based laboratories.

Phelps, J.L., J.O. Nilsestuen & S. Hosemann 1992. Assessment of effectiveness of videodisc replacement of a live animal physiology laboratory. Distinguished Papers Monograph, American Association for Respiratory Care.

Nursing students who studied using an interactive video program on cardiac output principles performed better on a post-test than did students taught by lecture and live animal physiology laboratory.

Predavec, M. 2001. Evaluation of E-Rat, a computer-based rat dissection, in terms of student learning outcomes. Journal of Biological Education 35(2): 75-80.

First-year undergraduate students taught rat anatomy via computer-based instruction scored higher on average than students taught using conventional dissection, regardless of how much time each student spent on the class.

Samsel, R.W., G.A. Schmidt, J.B. Hall, L.D.H. Wood, S.G. Shroff & P.T. Schumacker. 1994. Cardiovascular physiology teaching: computer simulations vs. animal demonstrations. Advances in Physiology Education 11: S36–S46.

Medical students used both computer demonstrations and animal (dog) demonstrations, and rated the former higher for learning cardiovascular physiology.

Waters, J.R., P. Van Meter, W. Perrotti, S. Drogo & R.J. Cyr. 2005. Cat Dissection vs. sculpting human structures in clay: an analysis of two approaches to undergraduate human anatomy laboratory education. Advances in Physiology Education 29: 27-34.

Undergraduate students who learned human anatomy by building clay sculptures of each human body system scored significantly higher on both low- and high-difficulty questions than their classmates who performed cat dissections.

Kariuki, P. & R. Paulson. 2001. The Effects of Computer Animated Dissection versus Preserved Animal Dissection on the Student Achievement in a High School Biology Class. Unpublished Paper, Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Little Rock, Arkansas.

High school biology students taught earthworm and frog dissection via traditional dissection scored significantly better on a post-test than high school biology students taught using a CD-ROM. When the scores to the post-tests were separated and compared independently among males and females, the students performed equally.

Matthews, D. 1998. Comparison of MacPig to Fetal Pig Dissection in College Biology. The American Biology Teacher, 60(3): 228–229.

Eight biology undergraduate students who dissected fetal pigs scored significantly higher on an oral test with prosected fetal pigs than did twelve students who studied on a computerized pig (MacPig).