Students at a top Midlands university will be able to study the human body with a new 3D anatomy model.

Anatomy students at the University of Warwick’s Medical School will now only need an internet connection to access animation showing the workings of the body.

The project, which is a collaboration between the university and its NHS Trust partner, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), allows learners to view a number of 3D images on a computer screen, rather than having to rely on plastinated models.

The resource was developed by Birmingham-born medical student Mark Mobley, who used his experience of working with 3D animation an operating theatre auxiliary into the 12-month project.

Mark worked closely with Brian Burnett, who manages the Surgical Training Centre at the UHCW, where much of the student’s teaching takes place, to get the project off the ground.

Access to the training centre’s existing collection of plastinated body parts is restricted due to the fragile nature of the specimens, which have to be kept at a certain temperature.

However, being able to observe knee joints, wrists or the detailed workings of the thorax is key to any budding surgeon’s studies.

Mark, 31, said of the animation: “As long as you can connect to the internet, you will be able to study anatomy. This means that whether you are at home or on the go, you will be able to pull up a knee joint or a lung on your smart phone or computer screen at the click of a mouse.”

Currently only medical students at the Medical School have access to the 3D learning aid, but plans are already underway for it to be made available to surgeons at UHCW as a revision tool.

Professor Peter Abrahams, Professor of clinical anatomy at the university, said the tool had already won praise after being presented to the American Association of Clinical Anatomists in Ohio.

He said: “This project highlights the calibre of the students who chose to study medicine at Warwick and demonstrates how we will support and nurture innovative thinking.

“This is a way of using the technology available to enhance our teaching so that it is truly geared towards 21st Century learning.”