This study is focused at nursing education in the biological and health sciences field, specifically in terms of knowledge of anatomy and the application of dissection as a teaching practice in the light of active pedagogies. The objective was to assess the importance of the practice of dissection to teach anatomy in a graduation course in nursing. The hypothesis that the students would be more interested in discipline if the teaching methodology used was based on creative and constructivist methods, in relation to traditional teaching methods. The sample comprised 37 students, among those who actually had the practice of dissection and those who had not in a federal university. The mediation of the teacher and the contact with classmates during the discussions in the course of “learning to learn”, are important factors in the training of the academic in the view of the active methodology. The performance of the student as active subject in the teaching process allowed the construction of a concrete knowledge. The constructivist methodology associated with dissection enabled the construction of know-how and greater interactivity between students and teachers involved in the teaching-learning process.