How to use Virtual Animal Anatomy (VAA)

Getting Started

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll be able to launch VAA from your LMS and switch between the four anatomy programs.

VAA runs in your browser. No installation is required. Use Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox for the best experience. This guide uses VCA screenshots; all other programs work the same way.

Starting the program

1. 1

   Open from your LMS

   Click the Virtual Animal Anatomy link inside your course to launch the program.

2. 2

   Splash screen

   You'll see the splash screen with development credits at the bottom. Click Start Program to proceed to the navigation page.

   

3. 3

   Switch anatomy programs

   To switch between Canine, Equine, Feline, or Bovine anatomy, click Change Anatomy Program in the top-right corner of the splash screen or navigation page.

   

Navigation

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll know how to move between anatomical sections and open a specific region.

After starting the program you'll land on the Navigation Page. This is your home base. It gives you access to every anatomical section, region, and quiz in the program.

Anatomical sections

Tabs across the top of the navigation page represent each major anatomical section. VCA includes:

Selecting a region

Click any section tab to see thumbnail images of its anatomical regions grouped by category (Directional Terms, Osteology, Dissection, Radiology, Surface Anatomy). Click a thumbnail to open its Structure Selection Page.

Structures

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll be able to highlight structures, read their descriptions, and use the navigation bar and zoom controls.

The Structure Selection Page is where you'll spend most of your time. It displays a large specimen image alongside a full list of labeled structures, with text descriptions and pronunciation audio for each.

Structure list & overlays

1. Click any structure name

   The structure list appears to the right of the main image. Clicking a name highlights that structure with a color overlay on the specimen image and displays its anatomical description below.

2. Click directly on the image

   You can also click anywhere on the specimen image to identify and highlight the nearest labeled structure. The structure name and description will update automatically.

3. Read the description & listen to pronunciation

   The anatomical description appears in the textbox below the image. Click the speaker icon next to the term to hear its pronunciation.

   

Understanding overlay colors

Each overlay color indicates the tissue type of the selected structure. Use this as a quick reference, not something to memorize.

Selecting a specific sub-feature, like the temporal process of the zygomatic bone, adds a second overlay color on top of the first. The pairing follows the same tissue-type logic above, so you don't need to memorize a separate list.

Zooming into images

To zoom into the main specimen image on the Structure Selection Page:

1. 1

   Find the zoom slider

   The zoom slider is located below the small thumbnail image at the lower-right of the screen.

   

2. 2

   Drag the slider to zoom

   A white boundary box appears on the thumbnail, showing the area now visible in the main image.

3. 3

   Move the zoom box

   Click and drag the white box on the thumbnail to pan around the zoomed view.

Navigation bar controls

1. Home

   Returns you to the main Navigation Page so you can access any other anatomical region.

2. Change Page

   A drop-down that lets you jump to any dissection layer or image in the current sequence. You can also step through pages using the gray arrow buttons below the main image.

   

3. Alternate Views

   Access different viewing angles (cranial, caudal, dorsal, ventral) as well as alternate dissections and miscellaneous overlays. Also contains the Rotate Specimen button.

4. Search bar

   Type any structure name to find every page in the program where it appears. Click a result to jump directly to that page with the structure already highlighted.

5. Settings

   Click the gear icon next to the search field to open the Settings panel. Here you can:

   

   1. Background color

      Switch between a white or black background.

   2. Structure naming

      Toggle between Latin names (default, following Nomina anatomica veterinaria, 6th ed. 2017) and common English names where available.

   3. Outline highlighted structures

      Turn on Outlines On to add a white-and-black outline around the selected structure, in addition to its color overlay. This makes the highlighted area easier to see, which helps anyone who finds color alone hard to distinguish. Not supported in Safari.

      

   

Rotating the specimen

1. 1

   Open Alternate Views → Rotate Specimen

   The specimen opens in a new browser tab in a 3D viewer.

   

2. 2

   Click and drag to rotate

   Drag in any direction to orbit around the specimen.

3. 3

   Use the on-screen controls

   Below the viewer, four arrow buttons rotate the specimen left, right, up, or down, and the + and – buttons zoom in and out. These give you precise, click-based control as an alternative to dragging. Note: overlays are not available in Rotate mode.

   

Quizzes

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll know the three quiz types available and how to take and score a quiz.

All VAA programs include self-assessment quizzes. Click the Quizzes tab on the Navigation Page to see quiz options organized by anatomical region. Scores are displayed at the end of every quiz.

Quiz types

Taking a quiz

1. 1

   Select a quiz

   From the Quizzes tab, choose an anatomical region and quiz type. For example: Head → Practice Identifying → Osteology.

2. 2

   Answer each question

   For identification quizzes, the prompt appears below the image (e.g., "Please click on the cerebellar fossa"). Click the correct location on the specimen, or click Show Answer to see where it is.

3. 3

   Continue and review your score

   Click Continue after each question to advance. Your final score is displayed at the end. Use this for periodic self-assessment. Quizzes can be retaken as many times as you like.

Dissection

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll be able to find and follow dissection videos and step-by-step instructions.

VCA includes step-by-step dissection instructions and video demonstrations. Dissection content can be accessed in two ways: from the Dissection Movies tab on the Navigation Page, or directly from Structure Selection Pages.

Dissection movies

1. 1

   Open from the Navigation Page

   Click the Dissection Movies tab (the last tab on the Navigation Page). A list of available dissection videos is organized by anatomical region.

2. 2

   Select a video

   Click any link to open the corresponding dissection video.

Dissection instructions on structure pages

This is different from the dissection movies above: instead of a video, the specimen image itself gets labeled overlays that walk you through dissection steps.

1. 1

   Open a dissection structure page

   Navigate to a dissection region from the Navigation Page.

2. 2

   Click "Dissection Instructions"

   At the top of the structure list, click the Dissection Instructions link. This displays step-by-step instructions in the description textbox below the image, and activates structure overlays showing each muscle referenced in the steps.

3. 3

   Follow along with the image

   As you read each numbered step, the overlays on the main image indicate exactly which structures are being described.

Troubleshooting

GoalBy the end of this section, you'll be able to diagnose and resolve the three most common launch errors on your own.

Most errors occur during launch. All three errors below share the same solution: the program must be opened through your LMS, in a new tab. If you continue to have trouble, see the contact link at the bottom of this section.

---

Recommended browsers

VAA is tested and supported on: