A&P Labs in Action: Bringing Urinalysis, Blood & Gross Anatomy of the Muscular System to Life

A&P labs look different today than they did even a few years ago. Courses now run fully online, fully on campus, or in hybrid formats, often within the same program. What hasn’t changed is the need for students to engage deeply with real biological systems and develop confidence applying what they learn.

The most effective college anatomy and physiology labs balance hands-on experiences with virtual reinforcement. Hands-on labs give students the chance to work with real materials, collect data, and connect structure to function in meaningful ways. When paired with virtual labs, students have the opportunity to repeat labs in a lower stakes environment, reinforce key concepts, and feel more prepared. Together, this approach allows A&P labs to deliver consistent rigor and outcomes across online, on-campus, and hybrid courses.

From Theory to Practice: How A&P Labs Work in Practice

Delivering high-quality anatomy and physiology labs comes down to fit and focus. Instructors need labs that align with their existing course goals, support meaningful student engagement, and maintain academic rigor without adding prep time or logistical complexity. The most effective A&P lab programs are flexible where they need to be, structured where it matters, and designed to support teaching, not compete with it.

Step 1: Select College Anatomy and Physiology Labs Aligned to Outcomes
With ready-made kits that align with A&P courses, we offer 28 peer-reviewed A&P labs that instructors can customize based on their course objectives.

Step 2: Prepare Students With Virtual Labs
Virtual labs and pre-lab activities introduce procedures, reinforce safety, and support readiness. The majority of students (84%) who completed required pre-labs said they felt more prepared, and 91% said doing a trial experiment virtually further improves readiness.

Step 3: Deliver Hands-On Labs Wherever Students Learn
Hands-on labs are completed using lab kits shipped directly to students or your campus. Students work with lab-grade materials and collect authentic data regardless of location.

Step 4: Teach, Assess, and Support
Streamlined lab management portals with built-in OpenStax textbooks and LMS integrations reduce grading and prep time, allowing instructors to focus on feedback, analysis, and student growth.

80% of instructors said hands-on labs were easy to incorporate in their courses

What Anatomy and Physiology Labs Look Like in Practice

Blended lab design allows instructors to match modality to learning objectives. For example, in blood labs, students conduct hands-on experiments to examine components and blood typing. Nutrition labs combine physical testing with analysis to explore dietary impact.

This balance allows A&P labs to remain rigorous while managing cost, access, and feasibility. To give you an idea of the kinds of hands-on and virtual anatomy and physiology labs your students could be conducting, let’s look a little more closely at three of our most popular hands-on and virtual A&P labs.

Urinalysis

In this hands-on anatomy and physiology lab, students will examine the appearance, concentration and content of urine.

Blood 

In this hands-on lab, students will explore the composition of human blood and understand the difference between different blood types.

Gross Anatomy of the Muscular System

In this virtual anatomy and physiology lab, students will examine the muscles of the head, neck, torso, and limbs.

Want to get a real feel for our A&P kits? Request a sample kit.

Supporting Rigor and Readiness Across A&P Labs

When anatomy and physiology labs are designed with intention, modality stops being a limitation. By pairing virtual preparation with hands-on experimentation, instructors can focus less on logistics and more on helping students observe, analyze, and apply complex concepts.

Labs like Senses, Blood, and the Gross Anatomy of the Muscular System demonstrate how A&P instruction can stay rigorous, accessible, and engaging regardless of where students learn. This kind of blended lab design supports preparedness, protects instructional time, and gives students repeated opportunities to build confidence through real scientific investigation.

The result is an A&P lab experience that works in practice, not just in theory, and scales across online, on-campus, and hybrid courses without compromise.

Check out our A&P labs here