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Describes the development of a strategy for assessing undergraduate research projects by students and faculty at an Irish university. Its key elements include: (1) submission by students of three interim progress reports and provision of written and oral feedback by faculty; (2) a project logbook; and (3) a self-evaluation exercise to encourage students to reflect on their learning. (EV)

Background: There is ongoing debate concerning the best way to teach anatomy. Computer-assisted learning (CAL) is one option for teaching anatomy and these resources are increasingly available. Aims: To assess the use of such resources in undergraduate medical student anatomy tuition. Method: Literature review. Results: Eight quantitative studies were found and these tended to report favourably. Though these educational packages can show improvement in knowledge, the studies tended to cover small areas of anatomy or were assessed in short courses. There were also several assessments of learner's attitudes to CAL which tended to report favourably in terms of educational satisfaction and enjoyment. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to show that these resources have a true place for replacing traditional methods in teaching anatomy. Further research should be conducted to determine how to use these resources in conjunction with current teaching methods or how their use can be integrated into the current anatomy curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, following the publication of Tomorrow's Doctors, the undergraduate medical curriculum in most UK medical schools has undergone major revision. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the time allocated to the teaching of the basic medical sciences, including anatomy. However, it is not clear what impact these changes have had on medical students' knowledge of surface anatomy. This study aimed to assess the impact of these curricular changes on medical students' knowledge of surface anatomy. Medical student intakes for 1995–98 at the Queen's University of Belfast, UK. The students were invited to complete a simple examination paper testing their knowledge of surface anatomy. Results from the student intake of 1995, which undertook a traditional, ‘old’ curriculum, were compared with those from the student intakes of 1996−98, which undertook a new, ‘systems-based’ curriculum. To enhance linear response and enable the use of linear models for analysis, all data were adjusted using probit transformations of the proportion (percentage) of correct answers for each item and each year group. The student intake of 1995 (old curriculum) were more likely to score higher than the students who undertook the new, systems-based curriculum. The introduction of the new, systems-based course has had a negative impact on medical students' knowledge of surface anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The teaching of anatomy to medical undergraduates continues to develop. Medical imaging can accurately demonstrate anatomy. 'disect' is a computer program which manipulates and reconstructs real CT images in 3-D. Aim: To implement and assess a novel computer-based imaging resource. Methods: Third-year undergraduate medical students at the University of East Anglia were randomised to different methods of delivering the program - either self-directed use or guided use with worksheets. Knowledge of gastro-intestinal anatomy was assessed using a 20-item test. Attitudes to using 'disect' were evaluated using Likert scales. Results: Most students reported the program was easy to use and a valuable resource for learning anatomy. There was no difference in scores between guided use and self-directed use (10.7 marks versus 10.6 marks, p¼0.52). Students who undertook the anatomy special study module, which involved dissection of the digestive system, performed best (12.8 marks versus 9.9 marks, p¼0.005). Conclusion: Students can adequately use a computer program to see major anatomical structures derived from CT scans. Students reported that learning anatomy can be aided by the imaging-based resource. Learning anatomy is a multi-modal activity and packages like 'disect' can enhance learning by supplementing current teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anatomical education in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland has long been under scrutiny, especially since the reforms triggered in 1993 by the General Medical Council's "Tomorrow's Doctors." The aim of the current study was to investigate the state of medical student anatomy education in the UK and Ireland in 2019. In all, 39 medical schools completed the survey (100% response rate) and trained 10,093 medical students per year cohort. The teachers comprised 760 individuals, of these 143 were employed on full-time teaching contracts and 103 were employed on education and research contracts. Since a previous survey in 1999, the number of part-time staff has increased by 300%, including a significant increase in the number of anatomy demonstrators. In 2019, anatomy was predominantly taught to medical students in either a system-based or hybrid curriculum. In all, 34 medical schools (87%) used human cadavers to teach anatomy, with a total of 1,363 donors being used per annum. Gross anatomy teaching was integrated with medical imaging in 95% of medical schools, embryology in 81%, living anatomy in 78%, neuroanatomy in 73%, and histology in 68.3%. Throughout their five years of study, medical students are allocated on average 85 h of taught time for gross anatomy, 24 h for neuroanatomy, 24 h for histology, 11 h for living anatomy, and 10 for embryology. In the past 20 years, there has been an average loss of 39 h dedicated to gross anatomy teaching and a reduction in time dedicated to all other anatomy sub-disciplines., (© 2021 The Authors. Anatomical Sciences Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Anatomy.)

Background: Tendon lengthening is an important cause of morbidity after Achilles tendon rupture. However, direct measurement of the tendon length is difficult. Ankle dorsiflexion has, therefore, been used as a surrogate measure on the assumption that it is the Achilles tendon that limits this movement. The aim of this investigation was to assess the relationship between Achilles tendon length and ankle dorsiflexion. The primary question was whether or not the Achilles tendon is the structure that limits ankle dorsiflexion. The secondary purpose was to quantify the relationship between Achilles tendon lengthening and dorsiflexion at the ankle joint., Methods: Five cadaver specimens were dissected to expose the tendons and capsular tissue of the leg and hindfoot. Fixed bony reference points were used as markers for the measurements. In the first specimen, the Achilles tendon was intact and the other structures that may limit ankle dorsiflexion were sequentially divided. In the other specimens the Achilles tendon was lengthened by 1 cm intervals and the effect upon ankle dorsiflexion movement was recorded., Results: Division of the other tendons and the capsular tissue around the ankle joint did not affect the range of ankle dorsiflexion. When the Achilles was divided the foot could be dorsiflexed until the talar neck impinged upon the anterior aspect of the distal tibia. There was a mean increase of 12 degrees of dorsiflexion for each centimeter increase in tendon length., Conclusion: The Achilles tendon is the anatomical structure that limits ankle dorsiflexion, even when the tendon is lengthened. There was a linear relationship between the length of the Achilles tendon and the range of ankle dorsiflexion in this cadaver model. Ankle dorsiflexion would appear to be a clinically useful indicator of tendon length.

Transverse lines were examined in 633 long bones from 73 individuals exhumed from two burial sites in the Republic of Ireland: Waterford City and Tintern Abbey. The burials cover four distinct periods between the 11th and 17th centuries. Lines were most numerous in the tibia, especially in the distal segment, and were not seen in the humerus nor the proximal part of the femur. The number of lines varied between the proximal and distal segments of each long bone, and though apparently equal in number across the midline, there were significant differences in the incidence of lines between corresponding pairs of bones. Thus, it is unwise to rely on the results of a single bone or one type of long bone alone either to indicate the health status of an individual, or as the basis for assessing the health status of a small population. Such results should be used only in association with other indicators.

This anatomic study examines the attachment of the lateral pterygoid muscle to the capsule and disc of the temporomandibular joint. The anatomy of the temporomandibular joint and its surroundings, in particular the insertion of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle, was studied by dissection and conventional histologic techniques. The material consisted of 16 cadaver specimens from individuals 60 years or older. The results showed that only a part of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle is attached to the anterior portion of the capsule, which, in turn, is firmly attached to the disc, giving the impression that the muscle and the disc are directly connected. All specimens showed attachment of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle to the anterior medial portion of the capsule, but they showed varying degrees of attachment to the lateral aspect of the temporomandibular joint capsule. The remaining part of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle attached to the mandibular condyle. Serial sectioning in no instance showed direct insertion into the disc of the fibers of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle.

Dissection of the thoracic inlet was performed on 22 cadavers to determine the relationship of the phrenic nerve to the internal mammary artery as it passes from lateral to medial behind the first rib. On the left the nerve was found to cross superior to the artery and then medial to it in 14 of 22 specimens; on the right this was found in ten of 22 specimens. In all other specimens, it crossed inferior to the internal mammary artery. These findings demonstrate that there is no constant relationship between these structures, and emphasize the need for caution when dissecting the internal mammary artery at or above the level of the first rib.

To evaluate the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) in healing of chronic varicose ulcers, 19 patients with this condition were included in a double-blind controlled clinical trial. All patients received standard ulcer therapy throughout the duration of the study and were randomly divided into two groups to receive either active or inactive PEMF therapy. Active therapy was provided by the use of a pait of helmholtz coils on a twice weekly basis over a five week period and inactive therapy was provided on an identical regimen with identical coils wound so that no magnetic field was produced when an electric current was passed through them. The clinician and patients were unable to distinguish the active or inactive coils. No statistically relevant difference was noted between the two groups in the healing rates of the ulcer, change in the lower leg girth, pain or infection rates. However there was a trend in favour of a decrease in ulcer size and lower leg girth in the group treated with active PEMF. As PEMF is a novel treatment for chronic varicose ulcers, more work needs to be done to establish treatment parameters and its usefulness in the treatment of this condition.

The ligamentous attachments of the lumbar spinous processes were studied by dissection and histological examination in seven dogs, three cats and six baboons. Unlike man, the lumbar spines of these animals do not possess a supraspinous ligament and there is no decussation of the erector spinae tendons in the lower lumbar region. In the baboon the lumbar interspinous ligaments are thick bilateral structures composed of elastic fibres running in a direct craniocaudal direction (Fig. 5). In the dog and cat the interspinous ligaments are rudimentary, with very thin ventral and middle parts, but with a somewhat better developed dorsal part, most of whose fibres run obliquely dorsocranially as in man, but with some elastic fibres in addition which run directly craniocaudally as in the baboon. The baboon is clearly intermediate between man on the one hand and the dog and cat on the other in these respects, and this would appear to reflect the intermediate requirements of the baboon in relation to the control of flexion of the lumbar spine during locomotion.