The School of Biomedical Sciences anatomy department facility has now doubled in size, from 24 student spaces to 48.
Over the past 15 years, the department has offered a postgraduate diploma in surgical anatomy for junior doctors moving into clinical practice specialisation after graduation.
The one-year course combines distance learning with two hands-on training blocks in the surgical skills training suite.
Clinical and surgical anatomy lecturers and visiting surgeons teach a range of skills at each of the intensive two-week practical courses which cover everything from detailed anatomy related to surgery, to surgical approaches like stitching and robotic surgery.
But growing demand for the course meant major improvements to the space were needed.
Clinical anatomy lecturer Prof George Dias said the course was consistently oversubscribed.
"We started with a lab space for eight, but very quickly became a product of our own success and the teaching space became very squeezed."
Prof Dias said the Otago programme had become the model for training in New Zealand and it was on a par with the best in Australia.
"We meet the need of training junior doctors because of the practical component and because the teaching uses cadavers, which offers a level of training that simply can’t be matched by practising on anatomy models as many global teaching programmes do.
"We are indebted to the generosity of those involved in the bequest programme.
"It means we are able to train our junior doctors to a very high level."
Doctors on campus for the recent practical training course were impressed with the newly developed facility.
Course participant and Waitemata District Hospital Dr Victoria Murphy said she was "incredibly grateful" for the opportunity to learn in a state-of-the-art dissection facility as part of the University of Otago postgraduate surgical anatomy course.
"Hands-on experience is the best way to develop our understanding of 3D anatomy beyond the textbook, and also gives us the opportunity to enhance our technical skills with surgical instruments.
"Most importantly, the donors and families entrust us with their care, which is a privilege that deepens our connection with, and respect for, the human body."
