3D Invertebrate Models Now Available in Visible Biology

[Update: All of Visible Body's biology content is exclusively available in VB Suite!]

Visible Body, the provider of best-selling 3D visual and interactive learning software for human anatomy and general biology, is pleased to announce the release of fully-dissectible 3D models of an earthworm and a sea star. This is part of the company’s growing visual content library for biology courses and labs.

Visual Biology, the company’s flagship product for general biology, is a visual guide to biological concepts and processes. It leverages interactive 3D models to make it easier for instructors to teach and students learn by exploring internal structures. Visible Biology’s model library covers prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, monocot and dicot plant structure, energy, genetics, and blood cells, and now students can now explore invertebrate anatomy in engaging 3D without extra equipment or cleanup.

“Instructors have been asking for interactive, 3D models to help them teach animal form and function,” said Andrew Bowditch, CEO of Visible Body. “The earthworm and the sea star are our first models. A fully dissectible frog and pig are coming later this fall.”  

The team at Visible Body worked with biology instructors to develop these models with the goal of removing barriers to invertebrate dissection. There is a lot of learning in a wet lab dissection—but it also requires a lot of extra time and energy to set up and clean up, and students aren’t always precise with dissection tools. With Visible Biology’s new models, it’s easy for students to compare and contrast animal structures with distinct, easily-labeled 3D structures alongside or as a replacement for a wet lab dissection. 

The models include the main body systems so instructors can focus on similarities and differences between the structures, homologous structures, and the interaction between form and function. 

The earthworm and sea star models will soon be available to assign to students in Courseware, Visible Body’s online teaching and learning platform that can be used as a standalone LMS or integrate with Blackboard or Canvas.

The user can select a structure to add a tag or learn more about it via the info box. The models can be annotated with notes, drawings, shapes, and arrows with the 3D annotation tool and the notes tool, and students and instructors can create Flashcards using the models.

Instructors are already excited to teach with the earthworm and sea star models! Robert Archibald, instructor at Maize Career Academy, said of one model, “This is honestly BETTER than a dissection just because worms are so small and the details are hard to see—but with this 3D product, it really makes things easy to understand.” 

About Visible Body

Visible Body®'s 3D models and animations make learning and teaching anatomy, physiology, and biology visual and engaging. We invent apps that advance the way students learn, instructors teach, and healthcare professionals practice.

For more than a decade, Visible Body has been working with educators to create interactive 3D anatomy, physiology, and biology products that give instructors the tools they need to help students excel. Visible Body uses a huge visual library—centered around 3D models, animations, and simulations of important processes—to create innovative course content and study tools such as interactive quizzes, virtual dissections, flashcards, and seamless LMS integration. Over a million people use our products across a variety of desktop and mobile devices. Learn more here.