Changes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels are needed to reverse a decline in the teaching of anatomy in the United Kingdom, says a leading article in Surgery.

The article, which was published online on 14 December (www.sciencedirect.com, doi: 10.1016/j.mpsur.2006.11.002), cautions that the number of claims submitted to the Medical Defence Union associated with a lack of anatomical knowledge has increased hugely. “A large proportion of these relate to damage to underlying structures,” it says.

The article, by Andrew Raftery, …