Anatomy is one of the basic medical science’s departments providing opportunity for comprehensive learning of the structural aspects of human body. The beginners of the medical curriculum have to spend nearly half of the time period in their first professional year in various sections of the department.

With establishment of AIIMS Nagpur way back in GMC campus in the year 2018, the department started its teaching learning activity utilising the teaching aids available with GMC and gradually acquired the independent labs and equipment being in Ayush and Dharmashala building of AIIMS in 2019. With designated academic block of the institute becoming fully functional the department shifted to its stipulated place in Academic block in July 2020 wherein it started acquiring all the necessary facilities of teaching, learning and research.

 Almost an year of hybrid online offline mode of teaching / learning activities were conducted during Covid lockdown in the year 2020-21 and faculty of Anatomy department efficiently transited from the offline to online mode of teaching and did the online assessment as well. The dedicated teaching and support staff of the department full heartedly dedicated themselves for the Covid care in the institute in various capacities. Covid dead body removal team members were felicitated in the hands of Medical Supt.

Academic activities remained priority of the department and never hampered in any kind of adversities. Third batch of undergraduates joined in the period of covid-19 restricted activities in December 2020. Contemplating another lockdown with the second wave of Covid, the newly admitted MBBS students were primed by guest speaker Dr Yuvaraj Bhosale, Additional Professor, Department of Anatomy, Topiwala National Medical College Mumbai, with online session on “the Study skills” on 5^th February 2021.

Department of Anatomy in collaboration with Psychiatry Department, conducted a patient support initiative “INSPIRE” for Covid patients in 2021. Patients’ perspective about the Covid care facility at AIIMS, and issues faced by them were speedily addressed through this initiative. Department faculty served in various administrative committees of the institute since the very beginning such as the Assistant Controller of the Examinations and are serving  at present also, as the Registrar, document scrutiny committee for recruitment, LPC, student’s welfare, security, Faculty development and Medical education etc. As a Critical appraisal of research paper for the faculties of AIIMS Nagpur Dr Gugapriya, then Addl. Professor of the department, organised online series of sessions in March-April 2021.

The department took initiative to celebrate International Anatomy Day which is held on 15^th October worldwide. In the year 2020, the very first such celebration was conducted with e-poster competition, wherein medical students from all over India participated. Subsequent years were celebrated with Anatomy drawing competition, e-posters and Rangoli and street plays for promotion of body donation. Department also does felicitation of families from where body donations were received in past years, The family members are also asked to express their views on circumstances during decision making for donation.

The department also encouraged students to participate in Vigyan Bharti organised Science promotional programme as exhibitions held in VNIT in February 2021, Bhandara in 2022 and NEERI in 2023. Besides this many high school children also visit department to update their scientific background with the exposure to the academic labs of Anatomy.

The availability of the most important learning resources in the department being the Cadaver, was questionable during Covid and the subsequent period.  Department took initiative for body donation campaigning by arranging street plays in screening OPD of AIIMS and nearby PHC and increasing public contact via exhibitions, news paper and mass media. IMA Nagpur and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) together organised a public awareness talk concerning organ and body donation in which Dr A M Tarnekar, Professor and HOD, shared a session in August 2021. Embalming service for commercial (transportation) as well as donation purpose took pace after 2021.

Department has established a Cytogenetics lab which is presently under quality check wherein with inclusion of some modern equipment, the service of peripheral blood lymphocyte culture will be made available for Karyotyping purpose soon. Museum of the department is also being set at present and will be ready by summer 2024.

Doctoral research work has been taken up in the department by two scholars, both joined as tutors from the department. Research activities of the department expanded with combined efforts of faculty, SRs, JR and doctoral work that resulted in scientific presentations in conferences as well as publications in renowned journals for the last couple of years

Extra mural research grant has also been awarded recently to Dr Gayatri Muthiyan (Addl professor) as PI of the integrated health research with Ayush, from ICMR.