The Vesalius Project is an attempt to apply information technology to the educational process, particularly with regard to anatomy. We focus on the use of information technology for both teaching and learning in cases when and where it makes a positive and unique contribution to the educational process. Our objective is to be innovative and not use the computer as another form of a book or as a slide projector but as a distribution mechanism, as an interactive tool capable of adapting to varied learning methods, and as an integrator of media [Figure 1].

     The Vesalius Project operates under a number of principles.  First, the project is based on education research that points out strengths and weaknesses of our current teaching/learning environment and establishes targets for our work. Second, we conduct basic research in image processing and 3D visualization, in particular, we aim at designing the best visualization tools for modeling 3D anatomy from the Visible Human data sets. Third, we ground our work in standards such as the UMLS while at the same time trying to extend those tools to meet educational needs.  For example, our work with the University of Washington's Digital Anatomist Project will test their vocabulary in our setting by using it to capture and encompass the needs of faculty and students to navigate images, find related information and link information across courses. Fourth, the Project operates on the forefront of technology but delivers its work in established formats and technologies. Fifth, the work is team-based and highly interdisciplinary [Figure 2]. Program content is provided by faculty, mainly anatomists. Educational research and evaluation is provided by the Center for Curriculum Evaluation and Faculty Support which is a part of the Office of Scholarly Resources, and electronic instructional design and multimedia development is provided by the Curriculum Design Studio.  The web site for the project resides at [4].