Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of animal skin and artificial skin in clinical suture skills training.Methods Forty-eight medical students who received standardized training were enrolled in this study.The students were asked to perform 3 suturing tasks on the animal skins or artificial skins:neat wound suture (station 1);irregular wound suture (station 2);deep tissue suture (station 3).The skill and general performance were assessed by the Objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) scoring tool.The service lives of 10 animal skins and 10 artificial skins were investigated.Results In station 1,the scores were 14.8±2.1 in animal skins group and 14.6±1.8 in artificial skins group,there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P=0.666).In station 2,the scores were 13.9±1.9 in animal skins group and 12.1±2.1 in artificial skins group,and the score of animal skins group was significantly better than that of artificial skins group (P<0.01).In station 3,the scores were 12.8±2.0 in animal skins group and 11.4±2.1 in artificial skins group,and the score of animal skins group was better than that of artificial skins group (P=0.03).The service life of animal skin was (4.5±1.2)hours,and that of artificial skin was (13.5±2.6)hours.The difference was significant (P<0.01).Conclusions In neat wound,the suture skills training in animal skins and artificial skins have the same effect.In suture training of irregular wound and deep tissue,the animal skins are better than artificial skins.

Key words: Suture, Animal skins, Artificial skins, Clinical skill simulation training, Residents