Abstract: Objective To investigate the application of novel 3D printing model in the teaching of nasal anatomy for eight-year program medical students. Methods The study selected 55 students from the 2020 class of eight-year program at Peking University Health Science Center, who participated in an ENT internship at Peking University Third Hospital from October to November 2023. The students were divided into four groups according to natural grouping. Two groups (28 students) were randomly selected as the experimental group, and the other two groups (27 students) served as the control group. Students in the experimental group used 3D printing model as teaching aids for nasal anatomy, while those in the control group used traditional teaching aids. The teaching effectiveness of the two groups was compared through questionnaires, and theoretical assessments. Results In the knowledge examination, the scores of the experimental group students in nasal anatomy-related content (19.3±2.0) were significantly higher than those of the control group students (17.3±3.8), with statistically significant differences (P =0.019). The questionnaire results showed that the scores of the experimental group students in terms of ″fidelity of the nasal anatomy model″ and ″mastery of theoretical knowledge in nasal anatomy″ were significantly higher than those of the control group students[(8.7±1.6) vs. (7.4±2.7), (7.1±2.7) vs. (5.8±2.3)], and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Conclusions The application of novel 3D printing model in assisting nasal anatomy teaching in otolaryngology contributes to improving the learning efficiency and teaching effectiveness of eight-year program medical students.

Key words: Students, medical, 3D printing, Otolaryngology, Anatomy, Teaching effect