Italy’s medieval universities established the study of human anatomy for physicians. To heighten their art, Renaissance masters clandestinely examined anatomy through human dissection. The Italian peninsula connects art and anatomy…
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MenuKevin Petti, Ph.D. is a professor in the departments of science and health at San Diego Miramar College, adjunct faculty at San Diego State University, and president-emeritus of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS). He teaches courses in human anatomy and physiology, human dissection, and health science, as well as study abroad in Italy. He is also a co-author on several anatomy and physiology textbooks.
As an innovative science educator, Dr. Petti employs interdisciplinary teaching strategies that connect anatomy with art, culture and history. Students are told the story of how anatomy as a science developed in medieval and Renaissance Italy, and how the painters and sculptors of that era studied anatomy to better portray the human body.
As a dual U.S./Italian citizen, Dr. Petti has lived this history with students and colleagues in a variety of study abroad programs. He visits the very lecture halls and dissection theaters where both anatomists and Renaissance masters discovered the secrets of the human body. Dr. Petti is often invited to speak about his interdisciplinary teaching strategies at conferences, museums and Italian-American groups.