New Study Shows Biolucida Supports Effective Online Anatomy Learning for Medical Students
A new study published in JMIR Medical Education found that medical students achieved comparable short-term learning outcomes whether they attended a microscopic anatomy course online or in person.
Researchers and educators Katharina Sternecker, Christoph Schmitz, and Markus Berndt at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich) evaluated 415 medical students who completed the full study, using Histologi@, LMU Munich’s virtual 3D slide box. The system uses MBF Bioscience Biolucida server software to deliver high-resolution, fully scanned histological glass slides through the Biolucida Viewer.
The study used a cross-over design across two course days focused on kidney and liver anatomy, so every student experienced both formats. Approximately half of the students attended the first session in person and the second online, while the other half participated in the reverse order. Online students joined the same live instruction through Zoom and used Histologi@ on their own devices, while in-person students used the system at workstations in the microscopy laboratory.
The researchers found no significant difference in learning outcomes between online and face-to-face participation. This suggests that, when students receive the same instruction and have access to the same virtual microscopy resources, synchronous online learning can be as effective as classroom-based instruction for microscopic anatomy.
Histologi@ includes 197 3D (focusable) virtual slides digitized from histological glass slides. Students can magnify specimens and move through focus planes, supporting an interactive learning experience that reflects key aspects of traditional microscopy, while making materials available from any location.
The study also examined whether characteristics such as students’ comfort with technology or self-organization affected performance. These factors had limited predictive value overall, although self-organization showed a small, consistent relationship with learning outcomes in both formats.
These findings suggest that digital microscopy can widen access to anatomy education without lowering short-term learning outcomes. With Biolucida Medical Education, institutions can securely provide students with browser-based access to large, high-resolution microscopy datasets, whether they are learning in the lab, classroom, or at home.
Histologi@ is freely available for your school
Medical schools interested in using Histologi@ for histology teaching may request a free copy of the complete 3D virtual slide package by contacting the paper’s corresponding author, Dr. Katharina Sternecker. The package includes approximately 4 TB of data, so institutions would need to arrange data transfer and use the Biolucida server and client software required to view the proprietary file format. Several medical schools in Europe already use these slides in their teaching.
Histologi@ is also supported by a comprehensive, 600+ page script that helps students learn histology and microscopic anatomy using the virtual slides. The German version is available free of charge through LMU Munich’s repository, and a free English version will be available soon.
Read the study
Sternecker K, Schmitz C, Berndt M. Students’ Learning Outcomes in a Virtual Microscopic Online and Face-to-Face Anatomy Course: Cross-Over Comparative Study. JMIR Med Educ 2026;12:e82012. URL: https://mededu.jmir.org/2026/1/e82012. DOI: 10.2196/82012
The paper was published in JMIR Medical Education, which ranks #1 of 89 journals in Education and has an Impact Factor of 13.9. Learn more about the journal’s indexing and impact factor.
