Because of the visual complexity of medical images and the intensive tutorial experience required to develop image recognition expertise, professional training programs have concentrated on educating limited numbers of experts. Videodisk and CD-ROM (compact disk read only memory) image storage media now make it possible for a microcomputer workstation to provide a learning environment substantially equivalent to that of conventional time-consuming tutorial methods. A demonstration hypermedia program on echocardiography was constructed that provides a user-controlled learning environment with instant access to 54,000 video frames encompassing 1,200 clinical items. The instructional module is controlled by a microcomputer, which provides electronic linkage to relevant graphics, animations, text, categorized data bases, and digitized sound. The system has been successfully used in a residency program as the primary instructional tool for achieving an intermediate level of clinical expertise. Hypermedia offer substantial advantages over conventional books as a clinical reference source.