Viewer Engagement with Cranial Nerve Anatomy Videos on YouTube: Associated Instructional and Video Characteristics

Purpose: YouTube has become a widely used supplementary tool in anatomy education; however, the factors associated with viewer engagement with educational videos remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate cranial nerve–related YouTube videos from an educational perspective and to identify video and instructional characteristics associated with viewer engagement. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 1411 English-language YouTube videos related to cranial nerve anatomy was conducted. Videos were assessed based on content type, lecturing style, duration, presence of subtitles and animations, video description length, and channel-related metrics. Engagement was primarily measured using like rate (L%), with subscriber-to-view ratio (S/V) as a secondary metric. Non-parametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis) and multiple linear regression analysis were performed. Results: Anatomy lecture and clinical anatomy videos constituted the majority of content. In multivariable analysis, lecturing style remained significantly associated with engagement (p < 0.001) and was the strongest modifiable instructional factor. The model explained 36.0% of the variance in log-transformed Like Rate ( R 2 = 0.360; adjusted R 2 = 0.302). Video duration was positively associated with engagement (p = 0.003), whereas video age showed a negative association (p < 0.001). Subtitles, animations, and exposure-related metrics were not independently associated with engagement. Conclusion: Lecturing style was independently associated with viewer engagement and emerged as the strongest modifiable instructional factor. Video duration was positively associated with engagement, whereas subtitles, animations, and exposure-related metrics showed no independent associations. These findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional design and the use of Like Rate as a platform-based proxy for viewer engagement rather than a direct measure of learning outcomes. Keywords: anatomy, YouTube, engagement, cranial nerves, instructional design, digital learning