Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Spatial visualization ability refers to the human cognitive ability to form, retrieve and manipulate mental models of spatial nature. Visual reasoning ability has been linked to spatial ability. There is currently limited information about how entry‐level spatial and visual reasoning abilities may predict veterinary anatomy performance or may be enhanced with progression through the veterinary anatomy content in an integrated curriculum. The present study made use of two tests that measure spatial ability, and one test that measures non‐verbal general reasoning ability in female veterinary students: Guay's visualization of views test, adapted version (VVT), mental rotations test (MRT), and Raven's advanced progressive matrices test, short form (APMT). Tests were given to female veterinary medical students immediately before commencing the integrated veterinary medical curriculum (T0), at week 32 (T1) and, at week 64 (T2) into the program.</jats:p><jats:p>Results showed that first‐year female veterinary medical students exposed to an integrated curriculum for 64 weeks improved their spatial visualization ability as measured by VVT and MRT. A long‐term improvement of their non‐verbal general reasoning ability as measured by APMT was also observed. Spatial ability scores measured by VVT and MRT showed a long‐term positive correlation with non‐verbal general reasoning ability scores (APMT) establishing that these abilities are linked.</jats:p><jats:p>This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in <jats:italic>The FASEB Journal</jats:italic>.</jats:p>