At most institutions, education in the anatomical sciences has undergone several changes over the last decade. To identify the changes that have occurred in gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, neuroscience/neuroanatomy, and embryology courses, directors of these courses were asked to respond to a survey with questions pertaining to total course hours, hours of lecture, and hours of laboratory, whether the course was part of an integrated program or existed as a stand-alone course, and what type of laboratory experience occurred in the course. These data were compared to data obtained from a similar survey in 2002. Comparison between the data sets suggests several key points some of which include: decreased total hours in gross anatomy and neuroscience/neuroanatomy courses, increased use of virtual microscopy in microscopic anatomy courses, and decreased laboratory hours in embryology courses. (Contains 1 table and 8 figures.)