The Vetvip consortium of the EU‐Lifelong Learning Programme presents: “Death by Broken Heart” (618.4)

Abstract

Teaching of basic sciences, such as biochemistry, is necessary for medical education and is crucial for supplying students with competent knowledge for professional practice. However, most often the teaching is limited to a presentation of facts with poor correlation to the clinical practice. A close integration between basic and clinical science would improve the teaching quality in veterinary medicine, especially with respect to memory effects and learning motivation of the students. Therefore, an interdisciplinary team of teachers and scientists of biochemistry from different veterinary faculties initiated the project “Use of virtual problems/virtual patients in veterinary basic sciences (Vetvip)” which is funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission. Innovative computer‐based case studies that teach basic scientific concepts with tangible clinical applications have been prepared.The here presented case is about the deadly heart attack of a chimpanzee and incorporates several teaching aims such as the crucial role of oxygen for energy metabolism, the different energy metabolism pathways with particular emphasis on oxidative phosphorylation and the processes which trigger the damage of the myocardial tissue.This project will help to improve veterinary education, boost student motivation and result in increased and long‐lasting learning success rates. www.vetvip.eu