Premedical anatomy experience and student performance in medical gross anatomy

Gross anatomy is considered one of the most important basic science courses in medical education, yet few medical schools require its completion prior to matriculation. The effect of taking anatomy courses before entering medical school on performance in medical gross anatomy has been previously studied with inconsistent results. The effect of premedical anatomy coursework on performance in medical gross anatomy, overall medical school grade point average (GPA), and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination Level 1 (COMLEX 1) score was evaluated in 456 first‐year osteopathic medical students along with a survey on its perceived benefits on success in medical gross anatomy course. No significant differences were found in gross anatomy grade, GPA, or COMLEX 1 score between students with premedical anatomy coursework and those without. However, significant differences and higher scores were observed in students who had taken three or more undergraduate anatomy courses including at least one with cadaveric laboratory. There was significantly lower perceived benefit for academic success in the medical gross anatomy course (P<.001) from those students who had taken premedical anatomy courses (5.9 of 10) compared with those who had not (8.2 of 10). Results suggest that requiring any anatomy course as a prerequisite for medical school would not have significant effect on student performance in the medical gross anatomy course. However, requiring more specific anatomy coursework including taking three or more undergraduate anatomy courses, one with cadaveric laboratory component, may result in higher medical gross anatomy grades, medical school GPA, and COMLEX 1 scores. Clin. Anat. 30:303–311, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Student views on the introduction of anatomy teaching packages into clinical attachments

Following the implementation of the GMC document Tomorrow's Doctors in 1993 the amount of time dedicated to anatomy in undergraduate curricula has been reduced. This has resulted in considerable disquiet among physicians and surgeons with regard to the anatomical knowledge of newly qualified doctors, and also amongst students. This study aimed to assess the perceived student need for anatomical teaching packages to support clinical attachments in the later years of the undergraduate medical curriculum. The views of two groups of students were obtained: Group A were at the beginning of their clinical attachments, whereas Group B had completed all clinical attachments and had sat the final examination. The majority of students indicated that there was a need for the development of a teaching package for anatomy (and other basic sciences) in the later stages of the undergraduate medical curriculum. A high proportion stated that the completion of these packages should be in a self‐directed manner with a staff member available. There was a difference between both groups in response to the best time to offer the packages, and in the clinical areas which might be prioritized in such a development. We conclude that the vertical integration of anatomy—perhaps through clinically focused teaching packages—would be welcomed by students as part of their clinical attachments. Clin. Anat. 22:267–272, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

临床应用解剖学带教体会

为了加强基础医学与临床的对接,培养研究生的动手能力,参加了北京协和医学院研究生院临床应用解剖学课程的带教课程。经过几年的教学实践,对所获得的经验及存在的问题进行总结,以期为未来的教学提供借鉴。     

Evaluating the knowledge acquisition of lower limb anatomy among medical students during the post-acute COVID-19 era

Anatomy is the foundation of many medical and surgical specialties yet knowledge acquisition and retention among medical students is questionable. Over the years the anatomy teaching environment and teaching modalities have changed, even more so with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to a virtual environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge acquisition of applied musculoskeletal lower limb clinical anatomy among first year medical students in Malta following the transition back to face-to-face lectures. The Kahoot online game-based quiz platform was used through a best out of four multiple-choice setting across four sessions. Scores generated by the platform along with frequencies of correctly answered questions were utilized to measure knowledge acquisition. The average scores for each question across sessions were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and student's t-test accordingly. Across the four sessions, the positive percentage response for clinical based questions remained higher than for pure anatomy questions. Anatomy knowledge acquisition appears to be subjective to clinical based knowledge rather than pure anatomy. There may be a plethora of reasons as to this outcome including the misconception that anatomy is not essential for clinical practice as well as the potential aftermath of the COVID-induced virtual learning environment. Further research is merit to ensure that students are provided with the best tools to enhance their knowledge acquisition, both as students and as future doctors.     

Workshop in clinical anatomy for residents in gynecology and obstetrics

A workshop in the clinical anatomy of the female pelvic viscera has been part of the training program for the first year residents in Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University of Padova since the 1999-2000 academic year. The purpose of the workshop is to offer a direct experience of practical anatomy despite a shortage of cadavers. It is designed for six residents who work in three teams on three specimens. The anatomical specimens are unembalmed, unfixed, female pelvic visceral blocs that are harvested from the cadavers 24 hr after death. They are stored at -12 degrees C and removed from the freezer 12 hr before the workshop. The workshop is 3 hr in length and has two parts: one on theory and one practical. In the theoretical section (30 min), the teacher presents the topographical anatomy of the specimens and the residents analyze a clinically oriented worksheet. In the practical section (2 hr), the residents identify viscera, vessels, and nerves through inspection and palpation, and then a step-by-step dissection is carried out. In the last section (30 min), the workshop includes presentations on the three specimens that illustrate anatomical variability and assess knowledge of topographical anatomy. For many residents, this is the first practical experience of the anatomy of the female pelvic viscera because the anatomical courses for medical students do not include direct dissection by students. The unfixed viscera preserves the natural characteristics of the different tissues that exhibit the aspects of living organs, such as color, softness, and pliability, enhancing the knowledge of anatomy. The worksheet is structured as a guide to the anatomical basis of physical examination through inspection and palpation of the viscera. It also introduces the residents to the surgical anatomy of the female pelvis through a brief and selective dissection focused on the relationship between the different regional systems.     

A clinical anatomy curriculum for the medical student of the 21st century: Gross anatomy

Human anatomy forms the foundation for clinical medicine: thus its place in the medical school curriculum deserves careful attention. In an attempt to provide guidance to decision-makers involved in clinical anatomy curriculum development at the medical school level, the Educational Affairs Committee of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) developed this document, which defines the contours of a gross anatomy curriculum leading to the M.D. or D.O. degree. The main body of the document sets forth the anatomical concepts as well as the subject matter a student should master prior to graduation from medical school. The AACA seeks to ensure that all medical students receive thorough training in clinical anatomy and that each student, regardless of the institution attended, will be exposed to a curriculum that will provide a fundamental level of competence required for the practice of medicine. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The anatomy of the clinical examination

“The Anatomy of the Clinical Examination” is a newly introduced component of the anatomical teaching of medical undergraduates at Glasgow University. It comes in the final term of the anatomy course and aims to lead students readily from the study of dissecting room cadavers to the examination of the living body. The organization of the course is explained; it is hoped that this course will be of interest to other anatomists involved in the training of medical students.     

上颌窦窦口的形态观察及其临床意义

目的：为了指导鼻内窥镜下功能性上颌窦手术。方法：对６０个头部标本（男３４，女２６）１２０侧进行了上颌窦口及其毗邻结构的观察测量。结果：上颌窦鼻通道的鼻开口口径为平均３．８ｍｍ，上颌窦通道长度为５．６ｍｍ，鼻内开口到前鼻棘连线与鼻底平面夹角为４５．２°，前鼻棘至鼻内开口的距离为３７．０ｍｍ，下鼻甲前端至鼻内开口距离为１９．５ｍｍ，中鼻甲前端至鼻内开口距离为１４．６ｍｍ。结论：上颌窦窦口为管状通道，该处的病变可以导致窦腔炎症，可以进行内窥镜下窦口扩大术，术中应避免损伤眼眶及鼻泪管。     

A clinical anatomy curriculum for the medical student of the 21st century: developmental anatomy

An understanding of human developmental anatomy provides a fundamental framework for the accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of patients with congenital clinical entities, a significant population of any medical practice. Therefore, the regard afforded the study of developmental anatomy in the medical curriculum deserves thoughtful attention. In an effort to provide guidance in designing an undergraduate medical curriculum that properly addresses developmental anatomy, the Educational Affairs Committee of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) developed this clinical anatomy curriculum in developmental anatomy. It outlines the subject matter and principles that will not only allow the physician to recognize and treat congenital diseases, but will also provide a solid basis for the incorporation of future discoveries, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of molecular developmental anatomy. The AACA seeks to ensure that all medical students receive thorough training in developmental anatomy and that each student, regardless of the institution attended, will be exposed to a curriculum that will provide the necessary competence and confidence for the effective practice of medicine in the 21st century.     

The clinical anatomy of several invasive procedures

This paper by the Educational Affairs Committee of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) is a sequel to one published earlier, A Clinical Anatomy Curriculum for the Medical Student of the 21st Century (Clin. Anat. 9:71–99). In that curricular document a number of invasive procedures that apply gross anatomy to current medical practices are cited. The present paper describes several of these invasive procedures in detail to demonstrate 1) that gross anatomy forms the foundation for their safe, efficient, and effective performance and 2) that such a foundation in gross anatomy is delineated in our previously published curricular document. Furthermore, the AACA Educational Affairs Committee hopes this paper will serve as a valuable resource for incorporating these and other invasive procedures into a clinical anatomy curriculum for students of medicine. Clin. Anat. 12:43–54, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The anatomy demonstrator of the future: an examination of the role of the medically-qualified anatomy demonstrator in the context of tomorrow's doctors and modernizing medical careers

In 1993, the UK General Medical Council published Tomorrow's Doctors leading to a nationwide restructuring of undergraduate medical courses. Traditional courses with distinct pre-clinical and clinical phases gave way to a more integrated approach to undergraduate medical education, with an emphasis on the quality and variety of teaching provided. More than a decade after Tomorrow's Doctors, postgraduate medical training is being transformed. Modernising Medical Careers is leading to the introduction of a two-year Foundation Programme, with subsequent streamlined specialist training. In the context of these changes, we consider how the creation of posts for medically-qualified anatomy demonstrators would present an opportunity to fulfil needs in both undergraduate education and postgraduate training. We outline the threats facing established posts, and how these problems may be resolved. We hope that this overview of the challenges facing undergraduate and postgraduate education in the UK, with particular reference to anatomy, may offer some useful insight to teachers and learners in other countries. We conclude that the role of the medically-qualified anatomy demonstrator has proved valuable in the context of Tomorrow's Doctors, and that this role can evolve and expand as part of the 21st century "modern medical career."     

Comparisons between the attitudes of medical and dental students toward the clinical importance of gross anatomy and physiology

Marked changes are occurring within both the medical and dental curricula and new ways of teaching the basic sciences have been devised and traditional methods (e.g., dissection for gross anatomy and of bench‐based animal preparations for physiology) are increasingly no longer the norm. Although there is much anecdotal evidence that students are not in favor of such changes, there is little evidence for this based on quantitative analyses of students' attitudes. Using Thurstone and Chave attitude analyses, we assessed the attitudes of first year medical and dental students at Cardiff University toward gross anatomy and physiology in terms of their perceived clinical importance. In addition, we investigated the appropriateness (“fitness for purpose”) of teaching methodologies used for anatomy and physiology. The hypotheses tested recognized the possibility that medical and dental students differed in their opinions, but that they had a preference to being taught gross anatomy through the use of dissection and had no preference for physiology teaching. It was found that both medical and dental students displayed positive attitudes toward the clinical relevance of gross anatomy and that they preferred to be taught by means of dissection. Although both medical and dental students displayed positives attitudes toward the clinical relevance of physiology, this was greater for the medical students. Both medical and dental students showed a preference for being taught physiology through didactic teaching in small groups but the medical students also appreciated being taught by means of practicals. Overall, this study highlights the expectations that students have for the basic science foundation teaching within their professional training and signals a preference for being taught experientially/practically. Differences were discerned between medical and dental students that might reflect the direct association between systems physiology and pathophysiology and the application of this knowledge within the medical field in comparison to the dental field, which is heavily skill‐based. Clin. Anat. 27:976–987, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

以创新为理念的临床应用解剖学教学改革

为了适应21世纪解剖教学改革的趋势,培养研究生的动手能力、创新意识和创新能力,北京协和医学院研究生院临床应用解剖学课程从2010年开始改革,经过5年的教学实践,对所获得的经验及存在的问题进行总结,以期为未来的课程发展提供借鉴.     

Testing knowledge of human gross anatomy in medical school: An applied contextual-learning theory method

The traditional gross anatomy laboratory experience, with modifications in evaluations that we outline later, meets the criteria of contextual-learning theory, expands the repertoire of core objectives we identify for our students, and may increase the likelihood of cognitive permanence of anatomical data. Our subjects included approximately 54 first-year medical students from each of three sequential class years (1996, 1997, 1998). As an alternative to more typical written and practical exams, examinations in a major portion of our gross anatomy program consist of two approximately 30 minute oral expositions by each student to his or her peers and a faculty member. Students demonstrate specific detail on cadaver, x-ray, cross sections, or a model. Clinical applications, spatial relationships, nomenclature, and functions are strongly emphasized. The results of this teaching approach to the utilization of anatomical knowledge in clinical situations requires further assessment; however, new attributes have been afforded our students with implementation of the present program: First, students learn anatomical detail equally well as the students of the more traditional system (based on board exam results). Second, students who completed the program indicate that this approach provides a useful simulation of what is expected later in their training. Third, students gradually gain confidence in verbal presentation, they demonstrate cognitive synthesis of separate conceptual issues, they retain information, and they are quite visibly more enthusiastic about anatomy and its importance in medicine. Our program demonstrates that the learning of applicable human anatomy is facilitated in a contextual-learning environment. Moreover, by learning anatomy in this way, other equally beneficial attributes are afforded the medical student, including, but not limited to, increases in communication skills, confidence in verbal presentation, synthesis of anatomical concepts, appreciation of the clinical importance of anatomy, and the general development of professionalism. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

眶上裂区临床应用解剖研究进展

眶上裂区是眼眶与颅中窝沟通的重要通道,动眼神经、滑车神经、展神经、三叉神经第一支(眼神经)、眼上静脉、眼下静脉等诸多重要神经、血管从中穿行,并且与视神经、颈内动脉、海绵窦等结构关系密切.眶上裂区解剖对于颅底手术至关重要,手术时如损伤眶上裂区的神经、血管结构将导致严重的并发症.现就眶上裂区的大体、显微及内镜临床应用解剖作...     

Perception of medical students towards the clinical relevance of anatomy

Recent developments worldwide in medical curricula have often led to major cuts in the teaching of human anatomy. Indeed, it is perceived by some that gross (topographical) anatomy has an exaggerated importance in the initial training of doctors. The value of anatomy consequently has frequently been considerably diminished within medical curricula that have reduced factual content. To date, however, there have been no objective studies into the perceived relevance of anatomy to clinical medicine that have aimed to quantify the attitudes of medical students. On the basis of responses to an attitude analysis questionnaire devised according to the precepts of Thurstone and Chave (The Measurement of Attitude: A Psychophysical Method and Some Experiments with a Scale for Measuring Attitude Toward the Church. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1951), we investigated the perception of medical students at Cardiff and Paris towards the importance of gross anatomy to clinical medicine. This was undertaken during the early stages of their studies (when they were newly-admitted to university and were about to commence anatomy courses), immediately after finishing their anatomy courses, and later in the final year of medical studies. The results suggest that, even where there might be geopolitical and cultural backgrounds, students at all stages of their medical course share with professional anatomists the view that anatomy is a very important subject for their clinical studies. Thus, contrary to the unquantified beliefs of those who are sceptical about the purpose and value of anatomy in an undergraduate medical curriculum, the students themselves do not appear to share such beliefs.     

Curriculum developments in Australasian anatomy departments

This article explores the nature of the 12 anatomy departments in Australian and New Zealand medical schools. The transformation of these departments from medically oriented to science-oriented ones is examined. Contemporary trends in staffing, research emphases, and teaching methodologies are discussed, and recent developments in medical curricula reviewed. The relationship between medical courses and the teaching of science and health science students in Australasian departments is discussed. Finally, the state of anatomy as a discipline and possibilities for its future development are explored. Clin. Anat. 11:401–409, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

人体解剖学workshop教学实践

为了激发学习兴趣、提高教学质量,人体解剖学引入workshop教学模式。根据课程教学计划有系统的阶段性安排workshop教学,每次由1个解剖小组与临床带教老师合作,在标本上完成1个常见的临床模拟手术操作,以加深对局部解剖结构的理解。经过几年时间的探索和试验,workshop教学实践现在已经正式成为人体解剖学教学的一部分,成为一种新的教学模式,受到学生们的普遍欢迎。     

Outcomes of the gross and developmental anatomy teaching assistant experience

During the first-year Gross and Developmental Anatomy Course at Mayo Medical School, third-year medical students volunteer as teaching assistants (TAs). Their responsibilities include preparing for dissection, instructing students during dissection, writing examination questions, and giving a lecture. To evaluate the academic and professional impact of this experience on former TAs, a survey instrument was developed, and was sent to former TAs from the past 17 years. Seventy-two percent of the surveys were returned. Most respondents (84%) indicated that the TA experience was beneficial during their third-year surgical rotation. Over 60% identified benefits during Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Internal Medicine rotations. The majority (62%) indicated they regularly use the knowledge gained from the TA experience. Communication was the most highly ranked area of skill development, with 86% of respondents indicating gains in lecture effectiveness and 97% in one-on-one teaching. Among respondents, 32% entered surgical or radiological fields, roughly paralleling the non-TA medical student population. All respondents indicated that they would repeat the experience and recommend it to other medical students. Although benefits for long-term career development have not yet been established, the Gross and Developmental Anatomy TA experience had perceived short-term benefits with respect to clinical rotations and teaching skill development.