Response to: "Clarifying the position of Iran in global anatomy education: Historical development, curriculum integration, and professional practice"

To the Editor,

We very much appreciate the Letter to the Editor by Dr. Hassanzadeh and his colleagues ¹ and their positive assessment of our overview outlining the current state of global anatomical science education that was published in the 2026 January issue of Anatomical Sciences Education. ² The authors of the letter bring up two valid points. Including West Asian/Middle Eastern countries such as Iran in the South Asia segment was an organizational choice to keep our manuscript manageable and organized. This classification was not intended to imply a shared geographic, cultural, historical, or educational identity across the countries discussed in that and other sections. As we are pointing out in our manuscript, there are considerable differences in how the anatomical sciences are taught within continents and often within single countries. With over 210 different countries and territories recognized by the United Nations, ³ , ⁴ it was beyond the scope of our review to report details about anatomical education for more than a few selected examples.

We are glad that the authors added more information about the status of anatomical education in Iran. Persia, now Iran, has been an important contributor to the anatomical sciences for more than a millennium, and without Persian and Arab scholars during the Islamic Golden Age, like Abu Bakr al‐Razi aka Rhazes, Ibn Sina aka Avicenna, Mansur ibn Ilyas Shirazi, and others, a lot more anatomical knowledge from antiquity might have been permanently lost. ⁵ , ⁶ As Dr. Hassanzadeh and colleagues are pointing out in their letter, this pioneering legacy now extends to the educational system in present day Iran. ⁷ , ⁸ , ⁹

Also, we tried to include references to non‐English language publications in our review whenever that was possible. Not having a Persian/Farsi‐speaking author on our team, we were limited in evaluating this segment of the published literature. There are likely to be more non‐English language publications featuring anatomical education that were not mentioned in our overview. This should be a call to action for colleagues in those countries to add missing pieces to our review by submitting a letter to the editor or a full manuscript. In addition, education in the anatomical sciences is an ever‐changing topic and our snapshot findings will need updates in the future.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

M.H.: conceptualization of the manuscript and original draft. The other authors performed reviews and editing, as well as approved the final version of the manuscript.

FUNDING INFORMATION

This work received no funding.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools were used for the generation of this manuscript.

Biographies

Michael Hortsch, PhD, is professor in the Departments of Cell and Developmental Biology and of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Since 1991, he has taught histology to medical, dental, and undergraduate/graduate students. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Anatomy, and its 2023 recipient of the Henry Gray Distinguished Educator Award.

Virginia Claudia Carneiro Girão‐Carmona, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Morphology at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) in Fortaleza, Brazil, and a faculty member in the Graduate Program in Morphological Sciences at UFC. Since 2001, she has taught histology and embryology to students across medical, dental, veterinary, and undergraduate/graduate programs. Additionally, she serves as the coordinator of the Innovation and Research Laboratory in Morphology (iLAB‐UFC).

Ana Caroline Rocha de Melo Leite, PhD, is a professor at the Institute of Health Sciences at the University for International Integration of the Afro‐Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB) in Redenção, Brazil. Since 2013, she has taught pathology and immunology. She is also a faculty member in UNILAB's Graduate Program in Nursing.

Ilias P. Nikas, MD, is an assistant professor of histology at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia, Cyprus. He teaches histology to medical students, and his research interests include molecular pathology of cancer and medical education.

Margaret K. Gatumu, PhD, is a reader in anatomy at Brunel Medical School, Brunel University of London in Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK. She teaches gross anatomy and histology to medical and biomedical science students. She has led the design and setup of the anatomy department of two new medical schools in the United Kingdom.

Nii Koney‐Kwaku Koney, PhD, is senior lecturer in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences in Accra, Ghana. He has taught gross anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy, embryology, and cell biology to graduate and undergraduate medical, dental, and allied health students since 2010. His research interests include the introduction of technology and to enhance students' learning experiences in anatomy.

Benjamin Arko‐Boham, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences in Accra, Ghana. Since 2010, he has taught gross anatomy, histology, embryology, and neuroanatomy to graduate and undergraduate medical, dental, and allied health sciences students. He is a founding member of the West African College of Morphologists.

Doris George Yohannan, MD, is a lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School in Exeter, UK, and was previously an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT) in Kerala, India. He has taught anatomy to medical students for 13 years. His interests include teaching neuroanatomy, clinically oriented anatomy, and the introduction of modern technologies to medical education.

Aswathy Maria Oommen, MS, is an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy at Government Medical College, Idukki in Kerala, India. She has taught anatomy to medical students for over 20 years. Her interests focus on improving the standard of medical education and on teaching methods that motivate students to learn.

Yan Li, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Science at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She has taught histology and embryology for 22 years. Her goal is to improve teaching and student learning experiences with the help of new teaching strategies and technologies.

Jian Yang, PhD, is the principal lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. He teaches gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, and histology to medical, biomedical sciences, pharmacy, dentistry, and nursing students. He is also the coordinator of the University of Hong Kong Body Donation Program, Deputy Director of Education Technology, and the lead in anatomy education at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

Alexandra F. Trollope, PhD, is an associate professor in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She has over a decade of experience in teaching anatomy to undergraduate students in allied health, medicine, pharmacy, and biomedicine. Her research focuses on stroke as a major worldwide health concern with devastating effects for patients.

Amanda J. Meyer, PhD, FHEA, is a senior lecturer in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She has taught neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, and histology to allied health, biomedical science, and medical students for 14 years. Her research interests include student motivation and anxiety, assessment, and evidence‐based teaching.

Sonya E. Van Nuland, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA. She teaches medical gross anatomy and histology. Her research interests are medical education and e‐learning tool effectiveness.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.