Chennai will play host to the 73rd National Conference of the Anatomical Society of India (NATCON-73) from November 26 to 29, 2026, with Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital, under the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, organising the four-day scientific gathering at its campus on Service Road, Maduravoyal, Adayalampattu.
The conference, held under the theme “Anatomical Diversity and Variability: Foundations for Precision in Clinical Practice,” is being positioned as a platform for anatomists, clinicians, surgeons, radiologists, medical educators and researchers from across the country to examine anatomy beyond conventional textbook teaching. Organisers say the event will integrate cadaveric studies, imaging, embryology, population-based anatomical variations and their clinical correlations, with a stated goal of sensitising clinicians and students to the relevance of normal anatomical variants in everyday practice.
The programme opens on November 26 with a pre-conference workshop, followed by the main conference sessions from November 27 to 29. Each conference day is structured around plenary sessions, orations, symposia, invited lectures, panel discussions, and parallel tracks of oral scientific presentations and e-poster sessions, reflecting the scale of academic participation expected from anatomy departments nationwide.
Among the invited speakers are several senior academic figures associated with the discipline. Dr. Ashok Sahai, a surgeon associated with Cornell University Medical College, New York, and recipient of the conference’s Lifetime Achievement Award, is expected to speak on biophotons in plants and human health alongside meditation and neuroscience. Dr. Sudha Seshayyan, former Vice Chancellor of The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, will address the conference’s central theme directly, while Dr. P. Vatsala Swamy, Director (IQAC) at Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, will deliver a session titled “Unseen Blueprint: Anatomy in the Age of Precision Medicine.”
The scientific programme also features sessions on emerging themes in the field, including digital twins and their ethical implications, artificial intelligence applications in clinical cytogenetics and anatomy teaching, gender-inclusive approaches to morphometry, forensic anatomy, and competency-based medical education. A dedicated panel discussion titled “Embracing Anatomical Variations: Redefining Competencies for the 21st Century” is also listed on the agenda, drawing panellists and moderators from medical colleges and institutes across several states.
The conference is being conducted under the aegis of the Anatomical Society of India, whose current office bearers include Dr. Anupama Mahajan as President, Dr. S. L. Jethani as General Secretary, and Dr. C. S. Ramesh Babu as Editor-in-Chief of the society’s journal. The event’s patrons include the chancellor, vice chancellor, registrar and dean of the parent educational institute, with the organising committee drawn from the Department of Anatomy at Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital.
Registration for the conference is open in tiered slabs. According to details published by the organisers, delegate fees range from ₹5,000 under the early “Early Tortoise” slab (closing August 16, 2026) to ₹7,500 for spot registration, with separate, slightly lower fee categories for associate delegates and postgraduate students. A separate fee of ₹1,500 applies for the pre-conference workshop. The organisers have also announced that delegates above 70 years of age are exempted from the registration fee, subject to submission of an Aadhaar card copy at the time of registration.
Researchers intending to compete in the award paper sessions have been asked to route their abstracts directly to the Secretary of the Anatomical Society of India rather than to the local organising committee, with a submission deadline of September 30, 2026.
Further details on registration, the scientific programme and workshop schedules are available on the conference website, natcon73.in, while queries can also be directed to the organisers via phone or email as listed on the official portal.
Source: https://natcon73.in/
