Radiology in the Teaching of Anatomy

Abstract

THE progress made by radiology in the examination of the human body has led to its increasing use in the diagnosis of disease, so that to-day every general practitioner must have some knowledge of the normal radiographic appearances of the body if he is to understand the meaning of the radiologist's report. The time has passed when it was sufficient only to read the report, as was so prevalent some years ago, without understanding, from an examination of the film, the reasoning on which the report was based. In the final qualifying examinations it has been the custom now for many years to examine candidates on the appearances shown by radiographs of pathological conditions. The clinical examiner has already recognized that radiological appearances are playing an ever-increasing part in the detection, study, and control of many diseases. It entitles him to expect from the candidate for examination a fair knowledge of radiological diagnosis, much in the way as a knowledge of morbid histology is expected from students in every qualifying examination. In many schools there has been no attempt to teach the student the appearances of the normal radiograph, so that he has attempted to learn the interpretation of radiographs of pathological conditions while he has had only a very superficial knowledge of the normal. It is plain that any attempt to teach students the meaning of radiographs showing abnormal conditions without first teaching them to interpret radiographs of the normal is like trying to teach morbid histology without having first a knowledge of normal histology. To remedy this, the Board of Examiners for Anatomical Study of the University of London, in April, 1938, decided that students presenting themselves for examination in anatomy must show some knowledge of the radiological appearance of the human body. As a result, the teaching of radiological anatomy, which had been in progress only at certain schools for a number of years, has now become general. The radiological teaching in most schools is carried out by a radiologist appointed as demonstrator of normal radiology to the department of anatomy. It is necessary that a radiologist should carry out the teaching of radiology in close co-operation with the teachers of anatomy, because in most cases the demonstrator of anatomy has not the necessary technical knowledge. Radioscopy, in particular, should be carried out only by a radiologist, because of the injuries which may occur from overexposure to x-rays by inexperienced operators. The teaching of normal radiology in the anatomy department, as well as making the subsequent teaching of radiographs of pathological conditions easier, also exerts a favorable influence on the student's approach to his anatomical studies.