University of California, Irvine
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
Summer Gross Anatomy Academy
Summary of program: A summer certificate program in clinical anatomy
for individuals considering a career in the medical field. Individuals benefiting the most include
pre-medical, pre-dental and pre-allied health students, seeking to gain a better appreciation of
the anatomical and functional relationships of the human body.
Details: The program will run from mid-June through July and includes both classroom and laboratory
sessions led by Dr. Jamie Wikenheiser, Director of Medical Gross Anatomy and
Surgery at UC Irvine. This six-week program will meet 4 hours per day (9am-1pm), 5 days per
week (except holidays) on the UCI campus. It will involve a one-hour clinical anatomy lecture
followed by a three-hour laboratory that includes the complete dissection of a human cadaver.
Students will learn how to read CT, MRI, and X-ray radiography and will be taught suturing techniques.
The course will use human donors from the UCI Willed Body program and all individuals will
participate with the utmost respect shown at all times to these individual donors. The embalming fluid
used DOES NOT include formaldehyde making it a much safer approach to working with cadaveric tissue
since formaldehyde is a known carcinogen.
This is a certificate program and no college credit will be offered to participants. In addition,
individuals who complete the workshop will receive a letter of recommendation from the
academy director Dr. Wikenheiser.
Eligible Participants: Participants must be 18 years of age or older; a registered
undergraduate or graduate student from any academic institution; or a non-enrolled student
interested in applying to a professional program. A student set to graduate may also apply. Prior
anatomy course experience is not a requirement. The program is limited to 48 participants.
Registration and costs: Interested individuals should contact grossanat@uci.edu for
an access code to register. The fee to participate in this six-week workshop will be $2,800 plus a
third-party service fee of approximately $100.00. This fee includes a copy of a dissector, the Atlas of Anatomy
by Gilroy, MacPherson and Wikenheiser, an Anatomy Academy T-shirt, and all the tools and gloves needed for dissections.
Students are required to purchase their own scrubs (any color) and must have them on during all laboratory sessions.