Anatomical Sciences Research Articles

Op. Dr. İlhami Güneral (1914–2006), author and illustrator of the first original dissection manual in Turkish and his contributions to anatomy

Objectives: İlhami Güneral was a Turkish physician and surgeon whose contributions to anatomy education and medical illustration remained under-appreciated until this day. This study aims to outline his achievements throughout his career and acknowledge his unreported contributions to anatomical sciences in Türkiye. Methods: A series of interviews were conducted with his surviving family, relatives, and friends. Additional documents were also collected from various national and international institutions. Results: İlhami Güneral was born in 1914 in Anadolu Kavağı, İstanbul. He attended İstanbul University Faculty of Medicine and graduated in 1942. Upon graduation, he published his first book titled “Diseksiyon Atlası” which he also illustrated himself. His illustrations were later used in Prof. Dr. Zeki Zeren’s dissection handbook published in 1953. He visited and worked with renowned neuropathologist Philipp Schwartz between 1958 and 1960 in Warren, Pennsylvania. During his stay, he co-constructed a detachable “Transparent Brain Model” for teaching brain anatomy which was awarded with the Billings Gold Medal at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association. After his return to Türkiye, he published his final illustrated anatomy atlas in 1972, the “Atlas Cerebri Humani”. He spent the remaining days of his life in his long standing home in Ödemiş, İzmir, as a private physician and surgeon. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1993, and passed away due to his illness in 2006. Conclusion: This interesting and unique dramatis persona is the author and illustrator of the first original dissection manual printed in Turkish.

Anatomical sciences education needs to promote academic excellence of ethnic minority students-Evidence from Pasifika students at the University of Otago.

The Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago offers anatomical sciences education for various programs, but currently, little information is available on how the academic performance of anatomy students differ based on ethnicities. Here, we aim to determine if there is an ethnic disparity in academic performance among anatomy students at the University of Otago. We conducted a 5-year review of academic performance of New Zealand European (NZE) and Pasifika students in 10 undergraduate anatomy courses, including clinical anatomy, neuroscience, reproduction, cell biology, and biological anthropology. NZE students achieved higher marks than Pasifika students in each academic year for four courses and in 3-4 of 5 academic years for the remaining courses. In eight courses, there were higher proportions of Pasifika students than NZE students who repeated the courses (in 4-5 of 5 academic years for two courses, in 1-2 of 5 academic years for six courses). Multiple regression analyses showed that Pasifika students were more likely to achieve lower marks than NZE students in all courses. Other predictors for academic marks included year of study for five courses, age for three courses, international student status for two courses, major specialization for eight courses, home location for one course, and gender for one course. Data from this research provide evidence that ethnic inequity may exist in anatomical sciences education, and can be used by institutions globally to justify evaluating their anatomy programs, with the aim to better support ethnic minority students who may be struggling academically.

Jean Pecquet (1622–1674). To the 400th anniversary of the birth

The article is dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding French anatomist, physician and philosopher Jean Pecquet (1622–1674). Pecquet’s biography is connected with the city of Dieppe, where the future scientist was born and got his primary education, and with Paris, where he made his main discoveries in anatomy. Throughout his life, Pecquet collaborated with many prominent scientists of that time (Jacques Mentel, Louis Gayant, Jean Riolan (the Younger)), including not only physicians and anatomists, but also physicists such as Blaise Pascal, Edme Mariotte, Marin Mersenne and Evangelista Torricelli. Pecquet’s most famous discovery is the chyle cictern, or cisterna chyli. The structure was named after of the scientist – “Pecquet’s reservoir (cistern)”. But more revolutionary discovery made by Pecquet is revealing and proving the fact that the lymphatic ducts flow into the superior vena cava indirectly through the venous angles and refuting the conventional opinion on the drainage of lymph into the liver. An important help in Pecquet’s anatomical research and experiments was his passion for the physical and mathematical sciences. In collaboration with Edme Marriott, Pecquet studied the structure of the eyeball and turned out to be more foresighted, because, unlike Marriott, he correctly understood the role of the retina in the functioning of the eye as an organ of vision. Pecquet was one of William Harvey’s supporters regarding his concept of blood circulation. He introduced cutting-edge at that moment technologies into the anatomy methodology, including animal experiments in vivo, and made a fateful contribution to the progress of anatomical science.

"Where is the spleen? Where are the lungs?"-An investigation of the level of anatomical knowledge of the Hong Kong public.

This article investigates the level of anatomical knowledge of the Hong Kong public and uses the data to help suggest public engagement activities and health campaigns to raise health literacy in the general population. In the annual public engagement event organized by the University of Hong Kong, 250 attendees took a survey assessing basic anatomical knowledge by putting organs/structures in their correct positions. Description analysis, correlation analysis, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA analysis were conducted by SPSS 27.0. Overall, a mean score of 6.5 out of 20 was achieved. Differences between various demographic parameters were analyzed, and the results showed that better performance on the survey was associated with younger age, higher educational levels, and having healthcare experience. There was also a statistically significant difference in correctly positioning the thyroid between males and females. Interestingly, some misconceptions were thought to arise from the bespoke use of the Chinese language in the survey. The data reflected room for improvement in the level of anatomical knowledge among the public, notably in the older age groups. This was attributed partially to a lack of public outreach initiatives and established anatomy-focused programs, which has restricted public exposure to anatomical knowledge and hindered the development of anatomical sciences in Hong Kong. In conclusion, the knowledge of the public on the human body needs to be improved and possible solutions to improve public awareness of health were raised.

Reply to Moulton et al.

Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States *E-mail address: [email protected] (N. Gao) Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Early prediction of medical students' performance in high-stakes examinations using machine learning approaches

IntroductionSince the advent of medical education systems, managing high-stakes exams has been a top priority and challenge for all policymakers. However, considering machine learning (ML) techniques as a replacement for medical licensing examinations, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak, could be an effective solution. This study uses ML models to develop a framework for predicting medical students' performance on high-stakes exams, such as the Comprehensive Medical Basic Sciences Examination (CMBSE). Material and methodsPrediction of students' status and score on high-stakes examinations faces several challenges, including an imbalanced number of failing and passing students, a large number of heterogeneous and complex features, and the need to identify at-risk and top-performing students. In this study, two major categories of ML approaches are compared: first, classic models (logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and k-nearest neighbors (KNN)), and second, ensemble models (voting, bagging (BG), random forests (RF), adaptive boosting (ADA), extreme gradient boosting (XGB), and stacking). ResultsTo evaluate the models' discrimination ability, they are assessed using a real dataset containing information on medical students over a five-year period (n = 1005). The findings indicate that ensemble ML models demonstrate optimal performance in predicting CMBSE status (RF and stacking). Similarly, among the classic regressors, LR exhibited the highest root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) (0.134) and coefficient of determination (R2) (0.62), whereas the RF model had the highest RMSD (0.077) and R2 (0.80) overall. Furthermore, Anatomical Sciences, Biochemistry, Parasitology, and Entomology grade point average (GPA) and grades demonstrated the strongest positive correlation with the outcomes. ConclusionComparing classic and ensemble ML models revealed that ensemble models are superior to classic models. Therefore, the presented framework could be considered a suitable alternative for the CMBSE and other comparable medical licensing examinations.

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 4, 2023 Cover Image

Anatomical Sciences EducationVolume 16, Issue 4 p. C1-C1 Cover ImageFree Access Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 4, 2023 Cover Image First published: 21 June 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2194AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume16, Issue4July/August 2023Pages C1-C1 RelatedInformation

Implementation of Ultrasound in Preclinical Education at Osteopathic Medical Schools: A Scoping Review.

Ultrasound (US) is recognized as a practical and safe form of medical imaging that utilizes ultrasound waves to develop images for diagnostic and procedural purposes. The clinical use of US has dramatically increased over recent years, secondary to the ease of use, portability, and functionality of US. The success of point-of-care ultrasound implementation into residency curricula has further underscored the importance of US education and its potential for use earlier in medical instruction. Osteopathic medical education places a significant emphasis on anatomy, thus a scoping review of the literature regarding the use of US in osteopathic preclinical years is warranted. The goal of this scoping study is to assess the current literature regarding the implementation and benefit of US instruction in preclinical osteopathic medical curricula. Four resources were utilized for the review, including PubMed, Google Scholar, JOM (formerly JAOA), and AMED, each with contiguous criteria for applicable literature. The searches were performed before the end of January 2023. Inclusion criteria for researched literature focused on osteopathic preclinical utilization of US technologies. Articles were subsequently evaluated using thematic and contextual analysis. Of the 2,968 articles evaluated, 22 articles met the inclusion criteria. There were several themes associated with the implementation of US within osteopathic curricula, including positive student perceptions of the modality, improved learning outcomes, and adaptations of US instruction into anatomical sciences courses. There is a need for continued research regarding US implementation in preclinical osteopathic medical school education, including within anatomical sciences. A minority of osteopathic schools have published details regarding how US has been applied in their curriculum.

Visualization in Anatomical Sciences for Effective Teaching and Learning

Anatomy is one of the basic subjects of medical science. Medical students gain detailed knowledge of human body by dissecting cadavers. Hence, cadaveric dissection has become an essential tool in teaching and learning anatomy. In anatomy, visualization plays an important role in understanding the spatial orientation of structures. Due to technological advancement and a shortage of cadavers, there is a need to look for various complementary tools which can provide an adequate visualization of bodily structures. This issue was very well understood and reflected during the recent pandemic when cadaveric dissection was substituted by experimenting with various teaching tools. In this paper, we have tried to briefly describe the various options that can complement/supplement dissection and assist in self-directed learning.

A core syllabus for histology within the medical curriculum - The cardiovascular and lymphoid systems, the respiratory and digestive systems, and the integument.

Medical courses worldwide are undergoing significant curricular changes, including the teaching and learning of histology. In order to set international standards for the anatomical sciences, the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) is developing core anatomical syllabuses by means of Delphi panels. Already published is a core syllabus for the teaching of the cell and the basic tissues within medicine. Here, we record the deliberations of an IFAA Delphi panel commissioned to develop core subject matter for the teaching within a medical histology course of the cardiovascular and lymphatic circulatory system, the lymphoid, respiratory, and digestive systems, and the integument. The Delphi panel was comprised of academics from multiple countries who were required to review relevant histological topics/items by evaluating each topic as being either "Essential," "Important," "Acceptable," or "Not required." Topics that were rated by over 60% of the panelists as being "Essential" are reported in this paper as being core topics for the teaching of medical histology. Also reported are topics that, while not reaching the threshold for being designated as core material, may be recommended or not required within the curriculum.

The relationship between visual memory and spatial intelligence with students’ academic achievement in anatomy

IntroductionAcademic achievement is influenced by various factors. Spatial intelligence and visual memory are among the factors that seem to be related to learning anatomy. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between visual memory and spatial intelligence with students’ academic achievement in anatomy.MethodsThe present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. All medical and dental students who had chosen anatomy courses (Semester 3 medicine and 2 dentistry) were the target population (n=240). The study tools were Jean-Louis Sellier 's visual memory test to determine visual memory and ten questions from Gardner Spatial Intelligence Questionnaire were employed to assess spatial intelligence. The tests were performed at the beginning of the semester and its relationship with the academic achievement scores of the anatomy course was examined. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression.ResultsData of 148 medical students and 85 dental students were analyzed. The mean score of visual memory in medical students (17.1±5.3) was significantly higher than dental students (14.3±4.6) (P-value <0.001). But the mean score of spatial intelligence (31.5±5.9) was not significantly different between medical and dental students (31.9±4.9) (P-value=0.56). Pearson correlation coefficient showed that in medical students there was a direct relationship between visual memory score and spatial intelligence score with scores of anatomy courses (P-value<0.05). Moreover, in dental students, there was a direct relationship between the score of anatomical sciences with the score of visual memory (P-value=0.01) and the score of spatial intelligence (P-value=0.003).ConclusionThe results of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between spatial intelligence and visual memory with learning anatomy and planning to enhance these characteristics can be fruitful in students. It is suggested that Visual memory and spatial intelligence should be considered for student admission, especially in the fields of medicine and dentistry.

Anatomical Sciences from a translational perspective: Bibliometric analysis

In the field of human morphology, despite its growing interest in translational anatomy research, its contributions are often unknown. Scientific articles and patents are highly reliable sources of knowledge for measuring scientific progress and technology transfer. The aim of this article is a bibliometric study of the potential of anatomical translational research. Our methodological framework has consisted of a combination of the analysis of two variables: 1) academic papers, and 2) patents of anatomical scientific achievements. The established time range has been 2000-2020 and the database used The Lens (https://www.lens.org), establishing “anatomical science” as the keyword. In the systematic analysis, 11,547 scientific documents and 1,511 patent registrations have been carried out; inclusion criteria were applied to both groups to identify their quantitative and qualitative trends. Our results identified that scientific articles on translational anatomical achievements have an exponential growth rate similar to the growth of patent applications for translational anatomical sciences. The maximum number of contributions of journal articles and patents corresponds to the temporal range of 2010 and 2020, with 2020 being the most productive year; academic documents represented 54.90% and patents produced represented 45.08%, which are significant data if they are compared with the year 2000, when the respective percentages were 76.40% and 23.50%, an indicator of a clear increase in the culture of patentability and the growing interest in translational anatomical research. The records of granted patents were 747 and 487 patent applications, which are significant data for the growth of the culture of patentability as well as the quality of the patents, since those granted represent 60.40%. These results identify the strong growth of anatomical science and its interest in the transfer of scientific achievements.

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2023 Cover Image

Anatomical Sciences EducationVolume 16, Issue 3 p. C1-C1 Cover ImageFree Access Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2023 Cover Image First published: 09 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2192AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume16, Issue3May/June 2023Pages C1-C1 RelatedInformation

Plastination: A Novel Way of Preservation of Cadaveric Specimens for Teaching and Learning Human Anatomy

Plastination is a preservation method of anatomical specimens, which can be used for long-term educational purposes both in basic and clinical sciences. Dr. Gunther von Hagens first developed this technique in 1977 in Heidelberg, Germany. There are several plastination methods that are currently used in different countries. Room-temperature silicone plastination using ‘North Carolina technique’ is assumed as the best suited for our institutions considering our country’s climate and feasibility in terms of limited resources. In general, plastination methods involve four stages: i) fixation and specimen preparation; ii) dehydration and defatting; iii) plastic permeation or force impregnation by plastic material; and iv) hardening or curing. Fixation involves addition of formalin to the specimen for preventing decay and bacterial growth. Then dehydration is done by submerging the specimen in acetone baths. Thereafter, the specimen is kept in a vacuum chamber, where plastic permeation or forced impregnation occurs. Polymers penetrate the tissues of the specimen while removing acetone. After leaving the specimen in an airtight chamber maintaining a specific temperature, hardening or curing process follows. Plastination technique has several advantages like making cadaveric specimens easy to handle, easy storage of viscera, prolonged preservation, odourless, dry, non-irritant, nontoxic presentation and ability to present more anatomical details than ever before. Some important drawbacks are that the process is very costly, time consuming, limited size of the impregnation chamber, health and environmental hazards of the chemicals used. Plastination seems to have a great future in all fields of teaching, training and research not only in anatomy education but also in other disciplines in medical, biomedical, veterinary and health science institutions across the globe. Plastinates have opened several new windows to the world of anatomical sciences. Mediscope 2023;10(1): 31-37

Developing an Anatomy Unit in Rwanda: Overcoming Challenges

Rwanda, the historical background reveals that anatomy was introduced into the medical program 6 years after the beginning of medical education. The development of the clinical anatomy unit started in 2002. Initially, the anatomical specimen was collected from amputated limbs and body organs from an autopsy.Growing the field of anatomy in Rwanda has been a long journey guided by a constant commitment by the pioneers. The process was based on a guiding philosophy of delivering anatomy relevant to the clinical practice. The cadaver dissection practice is a gold standard for a challenging task. It needs strategies to build a system that facilitates the acquisition of cadavers, its processing, and the use and disposal of remains in human conditions. A law that regulates the use of human bodies, organs, and tissues in teaching and research was promulgated in 2010, and signed MoU on the supply of cadavers for teaching purposes with various hospitals in Rwanda.In 2020, the Society of Clinical Anatomy of Rwanda (S-CAR) was founded to promote the growth of anatomical sciences and create a community for anatomy in Rwanda. The regular organization of surgical anatomy dissection courses has positively impacted the surgical trainees’ skills and anatomy delivery. Despite the challenges, anatomy is alive in Rwanda, as testified to by the successful organization of the First Anatomy Annual Congress in October 2022.

Protocol Development for Digisection: Making a Case for Standardizing Educational Technology Use for Digital Dissection and Anatomical Studies.

The changes that have characterized advancements in anatomical sciences and medical education have significantly influenced pedagogies and the mode of delivery of teaching and training in the context of medical education. Another reality is the impact of educational technology (EdTech) penetration and integration into medical sciences and education. These events have undoubtedly influenced certain traditional practices and pedagogies including dissection. For example, EdTech and innovations have introduced virtual human images and three-dimensional (3D) human body representations for the purposes of teaching and dissection. Another instance includes the fact that the old dissection guides for gross anatomy, which follow the traditional regional anatomy approach, are often challenging to adapt to the relatively modern medical school curriculum that has embraced the integration philosophy. It is apparent that one practical and realistic way to provide an adapted and effective guide for anatomical dissections under various curricular philosophies and contexts would be to develop de novo protocols or adapt existing ones. Protocol development would be a vital component of the modern anatomist toolkit. This article presents the basic considerations and practical approach, including underpinning principles, to developing virtual dissection protocols using a digital 3D dissection facility, the Anatomage table (Anatomage Inc., California, United States of America), as a case study.

Substantial decrease in SARS-CoV-2 RNA after fixation of cadavers intended for anatomical dissection.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a problem arose with classic body donation programmes for obtaining cadavers for anatomical dissections, science and research. The question has emerged whether bodies of individuals who died of COVID-19 or were infected by SARS-CoV-2 could be admitted to Departments of Anatomy. To determine the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to employees or students, the presence and stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in cadavers after fixation agents' application and subsequent post-fixation baths over time were examined. The presence of viral RNA in swabs from selected tissues was assessed by the standardized routine RNA isolation protocol and subsequent real-time PCR analysis. To support the results obtained from the tissue swabs, samples of RNA were exposed in vitro to short and long-term exposure to the components of the injection and fixation solutions used for the bodies' conservation. Substantial removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed in post-mortem tissue following perfusion with 3.5% phenol, 2.2% formaldehyde, 11.8% glycerol and 55% ethanol, and subsequent post-fixation in an ethanol bath. In vitro experiments showed significant effects of formaldehyde on SARS-CoV-2 RNA, while phenol and ethanol showed only negligible effects. We conclude that cadavers subjected to fixation protocols as described here should not pose a considerable risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection while being handled by students and staff and are, therefore, suitable for routine anatomical dissections and teaching.

Editorial Board and Table of Contents

Anatomical Sciences EducationVolume 16, Issue 2 p. 183-186 Issue InformationFree Access Editorial Board and Table of Contents First published: 28 February 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2189AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume16, Issue2March/April 2023Pages 183-186 RelatedInformation

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 2, 2023 Cover Image

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 16, Issue 2, 2023 Cover Image

Practical anatomy classes: An alternative to improve the learning of middle school students.

Anatomy is the branch discipline focused on studying organisms' physical structures and parts. Although technological advances are broadening the anatomy study, the practices of prosection and dissection of human cadavers and animals remain a primary teaching method. Despite the large body of research supporting its benefits, in some countries, cadaveric prosection and dissection of vertebrate animals in secondary education have been banned. In the current study, to prevent a lack of access to anatomical sciences education, the use of plastinated biological specimens was proposed for teaching practical biology in middle and high schools. The study was conducted in the 2014 academic year. Eighty-seven middle school students participated in the experiment. Groups consisted of: (i) theoretical classes only; (ii) theoretical class plus prosection with fresh specimens class; (iii) theoretical class plus expository with plastinated specimens classes. A post-test grade method was used to assess the impact of such tasks on the learning experience of each group. An ANOVA test and multiple regression model were used to analyze the effects of the variables of interest. Our study highlighted that students who underwent the plastination practical class had higher overall performance and a higher mean post-test grade than those in the pure theoretical group. A favorable effect of a positive self-knowledge assessment on the students' performance was found, supporting the self-efficacy model of human behavior. Thus, the current study provides further evidence to support the use of plastinated specimens as an effective teaching method in countries where dissection is not feasible.