The history of the Department of Human Anatomy of Vinnytsia National Medical University began with the Vinnytsia branch of the All-Ukrainian Medical Institute (1930) and the Evening Industrial Medical Institute (1932) where the course of human anatomy was taught to evening and correspondence students by doctor S. M. Gaevsky. With the establishment of the Vinnytsia Medical Institute in 1934, associate professor A. Ya. Pivovonsky was invited from the Kyiv Medical Institute to organize the Department of Normal Anatomy, who together with the teaching staff organized the Department of Anatomy which was located in a cramped room on the territory of the regional hospital named after M. I. Pirogov.
In 1949, Professor A. A. Othelin was elected as the head according to the competition.
In 1951, the department was headed by Associate Professor V. G. Ukrainskiy who transferred from the Kishinev Medical Institute. It was thanks to his activities at the department that the planned research work began, the teaching staff was formed, medical drugs were provided and an anatomical museum was created. Associate Professor V. G Ukrainskiy was the founder of the comparative anatomical direction of research, actively involved young teachers in scientific research. In 1954 he defended his doctoral dissertation on “Adaptive Variability of the Synovial Sheath of the Human Hand and the Front Limb of Vertebrates”. V. G. Ukrainskiy was awarded the title of Professor in 1956.
Among the graduate students of Professor V. G. Ukrainskiy were P. P. Shaparenko, A. P. Krisiuk, V. V. Slobodyanyuk, S. M. Razin. In 1966 the second doctoral dissertation was defended at the department by an associate professor A. M. Martirosyan: “Study of the Beginning and Attachment of Groups of Flexors of the Muscles of the Forearm and Lower Leg in Age and Comparative Anatomical Lighting”. The third doctoral dissertation was defended by associate professor N. M. Kozyr in 1969: “Morphology of the Pancreas in Various Animals and the Results of the Study of the Development and Structure of this Organ in Humans”.
From 1967 to 1973 the department was headed by Professor N. M Kozyr, from 1973 to 1974 — Associate Professor V. A. Korniychuk, and in 1974-1977 — Professor E. P. Cvetov.
From 1977 to 1990 the department was headed by Professor O. Yu. Romensky. During this period moved to another job M. A. Bereznyak, B. Y. Kogan, Yu. M. Kovalev, A. M. Melehov, С. М. Razin, Y. Leschuk. Along with research on the impact on the body of extreme factors, under the guidance of prof. O. Yu. Romensky, a number of new employees of the department began to study reaction of vascular walls, the structure of the microcirculatory tract in connection with the altered hemodynamics and the influence of some drugs — V. O. Kovalenko, O. A. Shviryov, L. V. Fomina, O. D. Malashchuk, I. D. Palamarchuk, Yu. Y. Huminsky, S. I Gricenko, В. А. Logvinenko, Yu .G. Shevchuk. Their research has shown that the stress response is vasospasm which is then replaced by their adaptive expansion accompanied by redistribution of blood with its accumulation in the venous part of the bed. It is proved that the adaptation of the bloodstream is more active with the early use of vasodilators. Candidate’s dissertations of V. O. Kovalenko, Yu. Y. Huminsky, L. V. Fomina, O. D. Malashchuk, V. A. Logvinenko, Yu. G. Shevchuk were successfully defended at meetings of scientific councils of Kyiv, Simferopol and Moscow.
Since 1958, employees of the department have taken an active part in all conferences on age morphology held by the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the former Soviet Union, conferences of morphologists of Ukraine, congresses of the All-Union Society of Anatomists, Histologists and Embryologists, I, II, III Ukrainian rides of this society. The Department of Anatomy of the Institute became the basis for the First Ukrainian Congress of Anatomists, Histologists and Embryologists (1980), the X All-Union Congress of Anatomists, Histologists and Embryologists (1986).
Since the end of 1990, after defending his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Regularities of Proportional Shaping of Parts of the Human Body in Postnatal Ontogenesis”, the department is headed by MD, Professor P. P. Shaparenko.
The department participated in the creation of a new curriculum in anatomy. Out of the 15 teachers of the department, 12 have a degree (80%).
Under the guidance of Professor P. P. Shaparenko defended their doctoral dissertations V. O. Fishchenko, L. V. Fomina, Yu. G. Huminsky, as well as 7 candidate dissertations.
The staff of the department is constantly working to improve teaching skills, the plans of the department include work on staffing through graduate and doctoral studies.
From 2006 to 2015, the department was headed by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of VNMU, Professor Yu. Y. Huminsky. Under his leadership, 8 candidates of sciences and 3 doctors of sciences were trained. In 2016, Assoc. Shkolnikov V. S. defended doctoral dissertation on the topic “Patterns of Development of Human Spinal Cord Structures in the Prenatal Period of Ontogenesis and Malformations”. In 2017, doctoral dissertations were defended by Assoc. Andriychuk V. M. on the topic “Regularities of the Formation of Indicators of Physical Development of Young People During their Studies in Higher Educational Institutions” and by Assoc. Tiholaz V. O. “Patterns of Development of Human Medulla Oblongata in the Prenatal Period of Ontogenesis and Malformations”.
Since 2015, the department is headed by prof. Tiholaz V. O. At the end of 2018, the department had 7 doctors of sciences — prof. Tiholaz V. O., prof. Huminsky Y. Y., Fomina L. V., prof. Shkolnikov V. S, prof. Gunas I. V., prof. Kuhar I. D., Assoc. Andriychuk V. M.; 13 candidates of sciences — Assoc. Kovalenko V. O., docent Smolsky L. P., Assoc. Logvinenko V. A., Assoc. Gritsenko S. I., docent Bashinska O. I., Assoc. Shevchenko V. M., docent Shipitsina O. V, Assoc. Stryi V. V., Assoc. Shpakova N. A., docent Skoruk R. V., docent Bulko I. V., assistant. Radyoga R. V., assistant Ocheretna N. P. Candidate’s dissertations are planned and carried out by a senior lector Nazarova O. S., senior lector Stelmashchuk P. O., senior lector Lopatkina O. P., senior lector Rutska I. A., senior lector Zalevsky L. L., assistant. Grishchenko Yu. V., assistant Hodak T. V., as. Damzin O. S., assistant Antonyuk T. V., assistant Danilevich V. P., assistant Prikhodko S. O., as. Condor Yu. Yu.