At first, she wanted to be an astronaut.
The world of anatomy is very glad that Dr. Meadow Campbell is not wearing a space suit today.
And so are the thousands and thousands of students who follow her on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and via the vast array of content on her blog—all branded under the umbrella “AnatomyLove.”
Yes, Meadow Campbell went to Space Camp as a youth. Twice! She was doing, as she puts it, “that nerdy thing.”
Thankfully, she got detoured.
Today, she’s an assistant professor at the Center for Anatomical Science and Education within the Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine at Saint Louis University. She teaches anatomy and histology.
Her goal? To “bring joy” to students of anatomy. She wants her passion about anatomy to come through for her students because “it kind of wins them over a little bit. And I think that’s half the battle.”
Dr. Campbell teaches first-year medical students, allied health students (physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training) who are taking their first graduate anatomy class. She teaches physician assistant students, too.
Originally from Wichita, Campbell’s introduction to anatomy came about through a side door. She took an “Introduction to Anthropology” class in high school. “I got sucked in right away,” she recalls.
Campbell enrolled in Wichita State University and took classes with the “captivating” Dr. Peer Moore-Jansen. He later offered Meadow Campbell an assistantship in his lab while she pursued a masters in biological anthropology. Dr. Moore-Jansen included his students in cases when local police asked for help identifying and sorting bones from crime scenes.
Dr. Moore-Jansen would give the students a tray of bones and ask students to provide an inventory and sort them. Is this male or female? Tall or short? “It just came to me very naturally,” says Campbell.
Campbell earned her master’s degree in biological anthropology (“very osteo-centric,” she says) and realized she wanted to be professor. She headed to graduate school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Soon, she found herself doing bio archaeological field work in Poland, excavating a cemetery that was eroding out of a farmer’s field.
She earned a Certificate of Anatomy at the SIUC School of Medicine, quickly realizing that her favorite courses were gross anatomy and histology. Since earning her Ph.D., Dr. Campbell has taught at Logan University and, today, at Saint Louis University.
“I’ve been very lucky,” she says.
During the pandemic, she was approached by TikTok to create a series of educational videos to support the shift to online learning. But Campbell is also sharing with the world—through the web and through her social media channels (which are robust). Campbell has more than 6,000 followers now on TikTok, for instance, where she regularly posts to her ever-growing collection. The inspiring—and highly detailed—short videos take a look at everything from the maxillary artery to the palmaris longus, from what’s involved in a runner’s “side stitch” or a racquet player’s “tennis elbow.”
Her TikTok channel is definitely worth a visit!
And her AnatomyLove website includes a thoughtfully-produced blog with graphics and details that are both inspiring and deeply (in the best way) distracting. Links galore. Fun facts everywhere.
Campbell was recently a guest on our podcast and we recommend viewing that conversation on YouTube here or checking out the Anatomy in Clay® Learning System podcast (available wherever you get your podcasts).
You will no doubt agree that Meadow Campbell probably would have done well at NASA, too, but those of us who love anatomy are glad she changed her mind.
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