BioDigital Human – Anatomy and Health Conditions in 3D!

BioDigital Human provides users with a detailed, interactive interface for investigating the human anatomy. After launching and registering with the app, users are presented with a human body, stripped to its muscular and skeletal systems. Users are able to manipulate their view of the body by pinching and expanding their fingers or by dragging their finger across the screen. To further investigate the human body, users can tap the different buttons on the bottom of the screen. When the “Search” button is tapped, users are presented with an alphabetized list of body parts, and they can tap the body part on the list to view it on the body. The “Layers” button lets users choose if they want to view the integumentary, muscular, and/or skeletal system. The “Views” button allows users to see a standard or x-rayed view of the body. By tapping a body part and the “Isolate” option on the “View” menu, users can view just the body part they tapped. With the “Dissect” button, users can tap a part of the body, and the app will remove that body part. The “Draw” button lets users annotate the human body, and then share their annotations over social media, email, or as a message. The “Quiz” button presents users with a “Multiple-Choice” and a “Find Anatomy” option.

Instructional Ideas

1. When teachers are discussing different parts of the human anatomy, they can connect their iPad to a projector and use this app to show students where the different parts are located on the human body.
2. Teachers can assign each student in a class a body part to study. As part of that assignment, students will have to locate the body part using this app’s “Search” feature. Next, they can use the “Draw” feature to annotate the body part. Additionally, they can research information about that body part (e.g., the weight and size of the body part, how the body part functions, what would happen to the human body if the body part was removed, etc.) and write that information in their drawing/annotation. Once completed, students can share their work by taking a screenshot of their drawing and uploading it to a class website.
3. Students can use the “Quiz” feature to build their ability to identify the location of body parts.
4. Teachers can have students use the “Dissect” tool to remove body parts. For example, teachers can tell students to find the occipital bone and remove it from the body using this app’s “Dissect” tool. Students then use the “Search” feature to locate the bone, if needed, and then remove it using the “Dissect” tool. As they do so, teachers can make sweeps of the room. This activity will reinforce students’’ ability to locate body parts.

Screenshots