3D animals at hand: teaching aids produced by SRuCT and rapid

prototyping
T. Hörnschemeyer1, F. Beckmann2,S. Büsse1 and R. Klug1, F. Wilde2

1Georg-August-Universität, Institut für Zoologie & Anthropologie, Berliner Str. 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
2Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany

Background
The aim of the project was to produce virtual and real 3D-models of important animal species as
teaching aids for zoological university lectures and practical courses. As the “Visible Human
Project” has shown for education in medical sciences [1, 2, 3], the three dimensional visualization
of complex structures of human anatomy significantly advances the learning success. The insights
and experiences from this medical project can be transferred directly to teaching and learning in
zoology. The models (plastic or wood) presently available for such courses only represent a few
“standard” species and are extensively simplified, rendering them nearly useless for advanced
courses.

The first step of our project is to produce highly detailed virtual three dimensional models for some
evolutionary and biologically important species possessing especially complex structures that are
very difficult to communicate with two dimensional images.

Material, and specimen preparation and preliminary results

During our session at BW2 in November 2010 we were able to acquire tomography data for the
following species:

Anopheles stephensi (Diptera) - this mosquito is an important vector for the Malaria agent
(Plasmodium spec.). Our intention was to demonstrate the morphology of the mosquito as well as
the tissues in its body where the development of stages such as the sporocysts and sporozites of the
Malaria agent takes place. This is an especially difficult task since single Plasmodium specimens
are extremely small. We are not yet sure whether we succeeded in producing sufficiently well
resolved data to display them within the mosquito.

Ixodes ricinus (Acari) - this tick is an important ectoparasite on vertebrates including humans with
specially adapted mouthparts enabling it to dig into the skin of its host. Ticks are vectors for some
important human diseases, among them Lyme disease (borreliosis) and tick-borne
meningoencephalitis). The Ixodes dataset shows the morphology of the mouthparts, tracheal
openings, legs and genital openings in great detail. We are looking forward to producing rapid-
prototyping models of this specimen for use in advanced zoology courses and parasitology courses
for students of human medicine.

Hirudo medicinalis (Annelida: Hirudinea) - this leech is an ectoparasite also on humans with three
characteristic cutting jaws to cut through the skin of its host in order to gain access to the blood. It
is often used for medical purposes in treating hematomas, etc. Hirudo specimens are regularly used
in zoology courses to demonstrate the anatomy of advanced Annelida. The data we acquired are of
very good quality, thanks to the special characteristics of the radiation at BW2.

Cynomya spec. (Diptera); this blowfly usually feeds on dead organic material, often on corpses and
is very important in the context of forensic investigations. We produced a dataset of a full-grown
larva that will be used in advanced courses on forensic entomology demonstrating very well the
characters that are important for species determination.
Currently we are working on the datasets to produce virtual models that can be used in student
courses. Due to the extremely detailed data this work will take a couple of months until the first
working model can be presented. In parallel the Ixodes-data are prepared for production of a real
three dimensional model via rapid prototyping.

Eventually, the models will be used to demonstrate the function and morphology of all important
parts of these animals. The real models are crucial for communicating the proportions and
interactions of mouthparts, attachment devices, etc., thus facilitating a thorough understanding of
their function.

Figure 1: A. Ixodes ricinus, ventral view. B, C. Hirudo medicinalis. B. Longitudinal section

showing jaws (k), pharynx with muscles (ph), intestine (i), genital duct (gd), nervous system (ns),
etc. C. 3D-rendering with cross section in posterior area, showing musculature, intestine (i) with
diverticles (di), genital duct (gd), etc.

References

[1] Ackerman, M. J. (1998) The visible human project. – Proceedings of the IEEE 86(3): 504-511.
[2] Ackerman, M. J. (1999) The visible human project: a resource for education. - Acad Med 74(6):
667-670.
[3] Vernon, T. & Peckham, D. (2002) The benefits of 3D modelling and animation in medical teaching.
Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine 25(4): 142-148.