Manga and anime as a fun way to teach biomedical foundations in medicine - Original article - 129-131

Aug 21, 2026

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An interdisciplinary approach supports application of knowledge through communications arts and technology in health sciences education. Medical cartoon-like illustrations have long been used to convey intricate information, and manga (Japanese comics) and anime are suggested as motivational tools, helping learners—especially novices—grasp difficult biomedical material using visual aids. Because manga functions as an educational medium, it may be used to teach medicine effectively. Medical educators should select appropriate materials and revise story content when integrating manga and anime into medical curricula.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Evidence

Implications

Background

Educational role of comics and animation

Evidence

Graphic medicine and learning outcomes

JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY& HEALTH EDUCATION, Vol. 5. No. 1 (Jan.–Jul), 2023, Pages 129-131. [http://journalmhe.org](http://journalmhe.org) Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee by JM&HE. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) ORIGINAL ARTICLE / ARTICULO ORIGINAL Manga and anime as a fun way to teach biomedical foundations in medicine Manga y anime como una forma divertida de enseñar fundamentos biomédicos en medicina Jorge Cervantes, M.D., Ph.D. * Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, 3200 S University, Dr. Fort Lauderdale, 33328, FL, United States Article history: Received 1 Mar 2023 Received in revised from 16 May 2023 Accepted 18May 2023 Available online 30 Jun 2023 * Corresponding author: Jorge Cervantes, M.D., Ph.D. Electronic mail address: [jcervan1@nova.edu](jcervan1@nova.edu) A B S T R A C T Issue. An interdisciplinary approach that provides opportunities for application of knowledge in communications arts and technology would be beneficial in health sciences education. Evidence. The use of medical illustrations in cartoon-like style is an old method of conveying intricate information. Manga (Japanese comic) and anime have been suggested as potentially useful in motivating learning, helping novices learn particularly difficult material through visual aids. Given their accepted function asan educational medium, manga could be used to teach medicine. Implications. Medical educators should carefully choose the material to be used in lessons, and must revise the story’s content when considering using manga and anime in medical education. Keywords: Manga; anime; biomedical; medicine R E S U M E N Asunto. Un enfoque interdisciplinario que brinde oportunidades para la aplicación del conocimiento en las artes y la tecnologíade la comunicación sería beneficioso para la educación en ciencias de la salud. Evidencia. El uso de ilustraciones médicas en estilo tiras cómicas o dibujos animados es un método antiguo para transmitir información compleja. Se ha sugerido que el manga es potencialmente útil para motivar el aprendizaje, ayudando a los novatosa aprender material particularmente difícil a través de ayudas visuales. Dada su función aceptada como medio educativo, el manga podría usarse para enseñar medicina. Trascendencia. Los educadores médicos deben elegir cuidadosamente el material que se utilizará en las lecciones y deben revisar el contenido de la historia al considerar el uso de manga y anime en la educación médica. Palabras clave: Manga; animado; biomedicina; medicina BACKGROUND The use of medical illustrations in cartoon-like style is an old method of conveying intricate information. However they are relatively absent in medical classrooms today.1 Most Animation is increasingly being incorporated into medical schools learning materials.2 Despite enthusiasm about animation among learners and medical educators, evidence of its effectiveness is still limited. I was a visiting medical student at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC) when I attended a ground rounds lecture where a Professor talked about the benefit of using cartoons to teach immune processes, while showing an image of adventure hero Buck Rogers punching and shooting rays against invading pathogens. Not only I was impressed by the lecture, but also by the fact that UTSWMC had a Medical Illustration JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY& HEALTH EDUCATION, Vol. 5. No. 1, 2023 Department, and it was the first school in the world to offer a graduate degree in medical illustration. 3 Such program was designed to be an interdisciplinary approach that provided opportunities for development of the skills and knowledge needed in the application of communications arts and technology to the health s

FAQs

Why do manga and anime help in teaching biomedical foundations?

They can motivate learning and help novices understand difficult content through visual aids and cartoon-like medical illustrations.

What does the paper suggest medical educators should do when using manga and anime?

Carefully choose lesson materials and revise the story content to ensure it fits educational needs in medical education.

How does the article explain the concept of “Graphic Medicine”?

It describes medical graphic narratives (comics) as teaching tools to foster empathy, improve observational skills, and cultivate awareness of medical-related issues.

Aug 21, 2026

Upload by Jiven