Students in Ms. Anjel Guitroz’s Human Anatomy and Physiology Honors class had a class session with the SynDaver™ Surgical Model, the first time this school year due to COVID restrictions. Students listened as their teacher identified organs from the skeletal system, the muscular system, the endocrine system, the urinary system, and the female reproductive system. In preparation for this lab, the students completed worksheets that re-familiarized them with the structure and function of the organs of each system. As Ms. Guitroz identified the organs, she asked pointed questions to students about the function and or structure of certain organs “to get them prepared for the ‘tag test’ or practical,” she explained. Students spent two days studying the body in preparation for this test.

When Dominican acquired the SynDaver in 2015, it was the first high school in the United States to have one. The SynDaver™ Surgical Model is an elaborate and sophisticated full-body surgical simulator. The model is a 3D jigsaw body puzzle with every muscle, bone, vascular component and organs removable and replaceable. It is programmable to simulate the circulatory system and will be used in the senior and junior Human Anatomy and Physiology classes.