Anatomical Museum Research Articles

A 3D-Printed, High-Fidelity Pelvis Training Model: Cookbook Instructions and First Experience

Background: Since laparoscopic surgery became the gold standard for colorectal procedures, specific skills are required to achieve good outcomes. The best way to acquire basic and advanced skills and reach the learning curve plateau is by using dedicated simulators: box-trainers, video-trainers and virtual reality simulators. Laparoscopic skills training outside the operating room is cost-beneficial, faster and safer, and does not harm the patient. When compared to box-trainers, virtual reality simulators and cadaver models have no additional benefits. Several laparoscopic trainers available on the market as well as homemade box and video-trainers, most of them using plastic boxes and standard webcams, were described in the literature. The majority of them involve training on a flat surface without any anatomical environment. In addition to their demonstrated benefits, box-trainers which add anatomic details can improve the training quality and skills development of surgeons. Methods: We created a 3D-printed anatomic pelvi-trainer which offers a real-size narrow pelvic space environment for training. The model was created starting with a CT-scan performed on a female pelvis from the Anatomy Museum (Cluj-Napoca University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania), using Invesalius 3 software (Centro de Tecnologia da informação Renato Archer CTI, InVesalius open-source software, Campinas, Brazil) for segmentation, Fusion 360 with Netfabb software (Autodesk software company, Fusion 360 with Netfabb, San Francisco, CA, USA) for 3D modeling and a FDM technology 3D printer (Stratasys 3D printing company, Fortus 380mc 3D printer, Minneapolis, MN, USA). In addition, a metal mold for casting silicone valves was made for camera and endoscopic instruments ports. The trainer was tested and compared using a laparoscopic camera, a standard full HD webcam and “V-Box” (INTECH—Innovative Training Technologies, Milano, Italia), a dedicated hard paper box. The pelvi-trainer was tested by 33 surgeons with different qualifications and expertise. Results: We made a complete box-trainer with a versatile 3D-printed pelvi-trainer inside, designed for a wide range of basic and advanced laparoscopic skills training in the narrow pelvic space. We assessed the feedback of 33 surgeons regarding their experience using the anatomic 3D-printed pelvi-trainer for laparoscopic surgery training in the narrow pelvic space. Each surgeon tested the pelvi-trainer in three different setups: using a laparoscopic camera, using a webcam connected to a laptop and a “V-BOX” hard paper box. In the experiments that were performed, each participant completed a questionnaire regarding his/her experience using the pelvi-trainer. The results were positive, validating the device as a valid tool for training. Conclusions: We validated the anatomic pelvi-trainer designed by our team as a valuable alternative for basic and advanced laparoscopic surgery training outside the operating room for pelvic organs procedures, proving that it supports a much faster learning curve for colorectal procedures without harming the patients.

Lizard with a Double-Ended Tail—Is That All?

Specimen GLAHM:120240 (Fig. 1) has been on display in The Hunterian Anatomy Museum at the University of Glasgow for more than a century labelled as “Lizard with Double-ended Tail.” An interesting enough reason for display and being under the spotlight perhaps? Maybe not: examples of lizards being found with two, or even more, tips to their tails are not that uncommon and is possible due to their caudal autotomy behaviour, where a lizard can shed its tail when attacked by a predator to provide a distraction and a possible means of escape. However, if a tail is only partially shed during an incident then sometimes another tip may start to grow at the break point, eventually resulting in two tips to the tail. There are many examples of this phenomenon viewable from a quick online search, and specimens showing this can often be seen in museums, collected and displayed as curiosities. Is having a lizard on display in an anatomy museum reason enough for being in the spotlight? Possibly, but it's not that original, in fact the other Hunterian museum in London at the Royal College of Surgeons also has specimens of lizards with two tails in their collections and the inclusion of animal specimens alongside human remains is fairly common due to the teaching of comparative anatomy in the last century. However, the real reason I have brought this specimen to the spotlight talks is that I only recently identified it in a very serendipitous and timely way. I had seen the lizard before, when getting to know the Anatomy Museum but as it was displayed alongside other specimens with malformations I did not pay it much attention as a zoological specimen. Months later when I was conducting a tour of the Anatomy Museum, a visitor pointed out an error on a label on one of the human specimens on the same shelf, so I looked more closely at all the objects to work out what had been mislabelled. It was then that I realized that the double-tailed specimen was the same genus or possibly even species as another lizard in our zoology collection, which I had been photographing earlier in the week for another project. This is where it gets interesting, the lizard I had been photographing was not just any lizard, but an endemic species, only found in Jamaica. The Jamaican Giant Galliwasp (Celestus occiduus), which is presumed to have gone extinct in the 1800s due to loss of habitat, and invasive rats and introduced mongoose preying on them. There are only a handful of specimens, maybe fewer than 30, in collections in Europe and the USA, so to find a Celestus sp. sitting openly on a shelf was a fantastic moment. Further investigation of an old register (Reference Code: GB 247 MR 49/4 in the University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections), written by Prof Allen Thomson, who was head of Anatomy in the mid-1800s, provided a very tantalising clue as to its provenance: "Large lizard (?) The Galawasp from Jamaica given me by Dr Douglas Maclagan 19th Nov. 1853, found in the swamps on the S.W. part of the island, piebald colour much brighter during life as stated by Dr M's correspondent Dr Macfarlane of Montego Bay." However, I must say I am slightly wary of connecting this record with the specimen, as there is no mention of it having a double-tipped tail. Having said that, there are no other galliwasp specimens in Anatomy, so the odds are high that this entry is talking about the same specimen. Its discovery was very timely as it was made when the other Jamaican giant galliwasp in The Hunterian was in the process of being repatriated to Jamaica. This lizard had been in our zoology collections since 1888, but as part of the decolonization process and as a way of building relationships, I suggested offering the specimen back to a museum in its country of origin. The reasons being that it was endemic, more than likely extinct (so no new specimens could be collected), but mainly because at that time, there were no known specimens of this species in Jamaica. The repatriation went ahead in April 2024, when curators from Jamaica came for a knowledge exchange visit to Scotland and took the galliwasp back home with them. As we still have the "double-ended tail" galliwasp in the collection, we can continue to tell the tragic story of this species. Interesting and significant specimens can be hidden in plain sight in many collections, so keep your eyes open and who knows what you may find.

Realization of an Osteological Montage of Domestic Animals at the Museum of Anatomy of the Inter-State School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine of Dakar

Realization of an Osteological Montage of Domestic Animals at the Museum of Anatomy of the Inter-State School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine of Dakar

What Makes a Museum Interactive? An Overview of Education Activities in the Ankara Veterinary Anatomy Museum

ABSTRACT Museums operate and communicate ethically, professionally, and with the participation of their constituents, offering varied experiences for edutaintment and knowledge sharing. Today’s museums ensure relevance in national and universal development by considering, first and foremost, educational functions. Museums work in harmony with people in both neighboring areas and farther surroundings to create a participatory system under the guidance of cultural, environmental, ecological, and economic indicators and to develop heritage. The Ankara Veterinary Anatomy Museum (AVAM), provides regular education and outreach activities. Preparations of the anatomical specimens for education and exhibition purposes began with the establishment of the Chair of Anatomy. AVAM aims to be a scientific reference environment for postgraduate students, and researchers, but also a space for the public. This article evaluates the AVAM’s major educational programs and includes the opinions and suggestions of undergraduate students working as educators in the museum about the validity of these programs.

Frank Cockett and the story of the ancient anatomical wax model of the left iliac vein compression

In 1988, Professor Donini organized an international phlebo-lymphology meeting at the University of Ferrara in Italy. At that time, I was a young surgical resident with the task of picking up Professor Frank Cockett at the railway station. I recognized him immediately, introduced myself and, together, we crossed the station square to my car. I asked him where he wanted to be taken, and he asked me to go to the anatomical museum of the University. We arrived just before the closure time, and Mister Cockett was intrigued and enthusiastic about an anatomical wax specimen.

Scientific and practical contribution of Ksenia A. Koshkina to the development of the museum of the department of human anatomy at V.I. Razumovsky Saratov State Medical University

The article is dedicated to the Doctor of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Human Anatomy Koshkina Ksenia Alekseevna (1899-1945). The work describes the main stages of her scientific biography, as well as the history of the creation under her leadership and the direct participation of unique anatomical preparations "the corpse of an adult man with reconstituted vessels and nerves of the whole body" and "the corpse of an adult man with reconstituted muscles of the whole body". For 85 years, these drugs have been the central exhibits of the fundamental educational and anatomical museum of the Department of Human Anatomy of Saratov State Medical University named after V. I. Razumovsky.

Windows on the Womb and Guiding Trains of Light: Figuring the Real in Plate XXVI of William Hunter's Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus

AbstractEschewing the symbolic in favour of commitment to the unmediated replication of exactly that which is actually observed, Hunter's attitude to the images in his Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus embraces a juridical ideal of scientific representation: images should tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Contemporary scholars have questioned this appeal to objectivity, maintaining representation always exists inside culture and arguing gender frequently inflects purportedly neutral scientific vision. I extend that debate via a reading of Plate XXVI, which is frequently misunderstood as representing something completely different to what it actually depicts. Its sequence of images, I argue, chart a narrative of enlightenment wherein folk mythologies of the uterus are subdued by the controlling scientific gaze. I also suggest a previously unrecognised correspondence between Plate XXVI and one of the plaster casts of the dissected bodies preserved in the University of Glasgow's Anatomy Museum.

Cadaverous Rhetorics and Affective Regulation at the Anatomical Museum

ABSTRACT This article explores cadaverous rhetorics with a focus on public displays of human remains at anatomical museums. The article has two primary components: First, it advances a theory of cadaverous rhetoric grounded in a blending of rhetorical, feminist, and psychological affect theory. The article argues that combining Casey Boyle’s transductive rhetoric with Sara Ahmed’s cultural politics of emotion and the psychology of extensive affective regulation offers a great deal of insight into the public display of human remains. Second, the article explores the cadaverous rhetorics at three museums: the Mütter Museum, Surgeon’s Hall, and the Museo de la Medicina. The article traces how the practices of acquisition, preparation, preservation, display and contextualization aim to blunt negative affective responses and to catalyze positive visitor experiences. The article closes with a rumination on the limited success of cadaverous rhetorics in the face of visitor tendencies anchored in attachments to justice-oriented frameworks.

Life and Scientific Achievements of an Outstanding Pathologist. To the 150th Anniversary of Georgy V. Shor’s Birth

“Thanatology is the study of the signs, dynamics and statics of death,” this is a definition given by Georgy V. Shore to the science, to which he devoted his career. The professor was the father of the autopsy in Russia, made a huge contribution to the development of medical education, and strived for constant improvement of diagnostic and treatment options. His unique approach to the study of medicine was based on the intersection of clinic and morphology and attracted many followers. Georgy V. Shore devoted a significant part of his work to developing techniques for preserving anatomical museum specimens. As a dissector, Georgy V. Shore contributed greatly to the invention of new autopsy techniques to facilitate and improve the work of pathologists; and today we use the approaches he developed. The ideas presented in his “Teaching of Death” are the quintessence of the scientific thought of Georgy V. Shor and are still discussed by the medical community. Where people saw only death, G.V. Shor was discovering something new for life. This year is the 150th anniversary of Georgy V. Shor’s birth; it is worth remembering the significant events associated with the name of this brilliant scientist

Disseminating "hidden" scientific collections: the medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals at the Museo di Anatomia Comparata "Giovanni Battista Grassi", Roma, Italy.

The dissemination of specimen data in scientific collections is a crucial step in making them available to the scientific community. However, even today, especially in some countries, little or nothing is known about the contents of the naturalistic collections of some museums. This is regrettable, especially in cases where the collections include historic specimens and endangered species. The Museum of Comparative Anatomy "Giovanni Battista Grassi", situated in Rome, Italy, houses historical anatomical and didactic collections, with specimens gathered from 1600s and almost worldwide. The collection holds 444 specimens of medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals, comprising 25 fossils, 40 skins, 186 skulls, 70 skeletons and 123 anatomical pieces, representing 63% of recent mammal orders, mainly from localities of Africa and Europe. A list of this material, indexed by the orders and families, is provided, as well as comments on the conservation status of the species. Remarkable data are summarised, including new data on a hippopotamus specimen from an extinct population and the record of three rhinoceros species from 1600s. Besides comparative anatomical studies, the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of Sapienza University emerges as a source of important material for biodiversity genomics.

Radiographic Imaging and Osteometric Analysis Os Penis in Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

The aim of this study was to determine the macroscopic features of the os penis of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), as well as radiographic images and morphometric measurements using a digital electronic caliper. In this study, 4 adult male red fox os penises, which were previously brought dead from nature by students and whose skeletons were exhibited in our anatomy museum, were used. Macroscopic and morphometric measurements were taken and anatomical structures were analysed by radiographic imaging. Os penis is thicker at the proximal end and tapers towards the distal end, terminating in a cartilaginous tip. There are three margins, one dorsal and two ventrolateral to the sulcus urethiralis. The dorsal edge forms a crista on the median of the bone, extending from proximal to distal. The crista becomes shallow at the distal 1/3 of the bone and disappears completely at the cartilaginous end. Sulcus urethralis is found on the ventral side Os penis of the Red Fox measured as, length of the os penis 56.70mm, Distal diameter 2.96mm, Proximal diameter 3.85mm, length of the sulcus urethralis 35.13mm, width of sulcus urethralis 2.95mm, length of the fibrous cartilaginous tissue 5.70, width of the fibrous cartilaginous tissue 1.77mm. As a result, it has been observed that the os penis of the red fox, which is a part of wildlife, is similar to the other members of the team, the dogs, and radiographic images have been combined with new techniques and a literary contribution has been made. Wild animal anatomy has been supported by more detailed examination of these species. It is thought that the data obtained in the study can be used in future morphometric, zoo-archaeological and taxonomic studies.

The Birth of Athena: A Teratological Approach

The birth of Athena, the Patron Deity of Athens, praised for her wisdom and craft skills, as an adult from Zeus’ head after a severe headache, is an abnormal and biologically impossible event that challenges traditional gender roles. This narrative takes to the extreme the impossibility of Nature to change the essentially feminine function of giving birth and the worldview previously embodied by the great Goddess or great Mother, the dominant figure during the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages. There have been significant historical shifts in societal values and power dynamics since the Bronze Age. The onset of agriculture, animal domestication, and the discovery of metals allowed the manufacture of more powerful and effective weapons that led to the flourishing of male hegemony and patriarchy, establishing the prevalence of masculine over feminine values. This essay highlights the role of Nature Sciences and Medicine in understanding mythological creatures and narratives. Approaching the natural phenomena, the aforementioned disciplines can sometimes shed light on ancient narratives, since records of congenital malformations, which came down to us in worldwide artworks, often present images similar to those from the shelves of Anatomical Museums and Pathological Anatomy books. This essay discusses this possible relationship in the case of Athena’s birth, presenting a olivine stone head of Zeus from the Archaeological Museum, D. Diogo de Sousa in Braga (Portugal), which presents the crack from which Athena was born.

Augusto Bonome and his revolutionary studies on leprosy in the early 20th century.

Augusto Bonome (1857-1922), professor at the University of Padua until 1922, was involved in a study about a particular kind of pulmonary leprosy, being the first to testify the lepromatous alterations also in the deepest parts of the respiratory tract, even though the same Gerhard Hansen (1841-1912) had denied the possibility that lungs could host Mycobacterium leprae. It is necessary to reevaluate the research done by Bonome to also demonstrate how it can still be relevant today in further comprehension of leprosy. Bonome's advances in leprosy studies are testified by some specimens from the Morgagni Museum of Pathological Anatomy of the University of Padua. Among the specimens, there is a peculiar case of advanced tuberous leprosy in an adolescent, who died in 1908, of which the face, the larynx, the hands and genitals are still preserved today in the Museum. Through autoptic and histological analysis of this specimen, Bonome succeeded in identifying a peculiar case of bone toxoid-infectious dystrophy besides characteristic leprous laryngitis, which caused the death of the young leprosy patient. The results confirmed the innovative research carried on by Bonome during his medical career, being among the first to offer an important contribution to improving and revolutionary knowledge on leprosy which could still be useful today.

Qualitative Evaluation of Modified Polyvinyl Alcohol Gel Used as A Preservative Medium Compared to Traditional Modified Kaiserling Iii Solution in Pathology Museum

Pathology and anatomy museums preserve body tissues and organs traditionally in modified Kaiserling III solution and display in transparent glass jars, which serve as valuable teaching materials for students. Other techniques tried in preserving specimens are embedding in molten wax, embedding in epoxy resin, and plastination techniques. Modified Carbopol-940 gel has been tried recently as a preservative mounting medium in pathology museum. However, the use of modified Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel as a preservative medium is not mentioned in the literature. Gel preservative medium can prevent leakage, toxic vapors, and irritation of eyes and skin. Aims: Qualitative evaluation of modified Polyvinyl alcohol gel as a preservative medium for specimens in pathology museums compared to modified Kaiserling III solution over one year. Objectives: 1) To qualitatively evaluate physical integrity of mounted tissue specimens stored in modified Kaiserling III solution and modified Polyvinyl alcohol gel for one year. 2) To qualitatively evaluate physical, chemical and microbiological parameters of modified Kaiserling III solution and modified Polyvinyl alcohol gel for one year. Materials and methods: In this qualitative cross-sectional study, six different organs, two sets each, were preserved in jars containing modified Kaiserling III solution and modified Polyvinyl alcohol gel. The media were evaluated for stability by physical tests, chemical test, and microbiological test, before and after the study. The specimens were assessed for physical disintegration by observing for tissue shredding, and evaluated for histopathological appearances, before and after the study. Results showed mild variability in stability of the preservative media but good tissue integrity of the specimens over a period of one year. 

THE EXPOSITION OF THE GREAT FATHERLAND WAR GUNSHOT WOUNDS ANATOMICAL PREPARATIONS AS A LEARNING AND MATERIAL BASE FOR MILITARY DOCTORS TRAINING

In the initial period of the Great fatherland war, one of the reasons for significant sanitary losses was the insufficient staffing of army units with experienced military medical specialists. Civilian doctors urgently mobilized in the first days of the war did not have sufficient knowledge in the field of military field surgery. There was a need to generalize the experience acquired by military doctors when providing assistance at the stages of medical evacuation, as well as by military field surgeons who performed surgical interventions in medical battalions and hospitals. To study the morphology of gunshot wounds of various parts of the body and organs, it was necessary to create an equipped educational and material base, including preparations with wounds of almost all parts of the body and organs. To study them, by order of the main military sanitary department of the army, mobile pathological anatomical laboratories were created, whose employees collected and documented a large collection of pathological anatomical preparations, which were transferred to the Military Medical Museum in St. Petersburg. After the end of the war, for several decades, a significant part of the exhibits lost their demonstration qualities, and some exhibits fell into disrepair. In 1988, thanks to the efforts of Professor Ivan Guyvoronsky, these exhibits were transferred to the Department of Normal Anatomy of the Kirov Military Medical Academy, where under the guidance of Professor Pavel Pashchenko were restored using a specially developed method. The essence of the method consisted in several sequential stages of drug recovery. At the first stage, mechanical manual cleaning of the preparations from mold was carried out, removing decayed and torn fragments and giving it the proper form for display. At the next stage, thorough washing was carried out, followed by bleaching of the preparations in solutions of hydrogen peroxide of various concentrations and special solutions. By 1990, a special “Exhibition of gunshot wounds” was created, which is part of the fundamental anatomical museum of the department. Currently, the materials from this exhibition are used as unique visual material in the process of training and educating military doctors.

Hypoglossal canal: an osteological and morphometric study on a collection of dried skulls in an Italian population: clinical implications

BackgroundThe hypoglossal canal is a dual bone canal at the cranial base near the occipital condyles. The filaments of the hypoglossal nerve pass through the canal. It also transmits the meningeal branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery, the venous plexus and meningeal branches of the hypoglossal nerve. The hypoglossal nerve innervates all the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue except the palatoglossal and is fundamental in physiological functions as phonation and deglutition. A surgical approach to the canal requires knowledge of the main morphometric data by neurosurgeons.MethodsThe present study was carried out on 50 adult dried skulls: 31 males: age range 18–85 years; 19 females: age range 26–79 years. The skulls came from the ''Leonetto Comparini'' Anatomical Museum. The skulls belonged to people from Siena (Italy) and its surroundings (1882–1932) and, therefore, of European ethnicity. The present study reports (a) the osteological variations in hypoglossal canal (b) the morphometry of hypoglossal canal and its relationship with occipital condyles. One skull had both the right and left hypoglossal canals occluded and, therefore, could not be evaluated. None of the skulls had undergone surgery.ResultsWe found a double canal in 16% of cases, unilaterally and bilaterally in 2% of cases. The mean length of the right and left hypoglossal canals was 8.46 mm. The mean diameter of the intracranial orifice and extracranial orifice of the right and left hypoglossal canals was 6.12 ± 1426 mm, and 6.39 ± 1495 mm. The mean distance from the intracranial end of the hypoglossal canal to the anterior and posterior ends of occipital condyles was 10,76 mm and 10,81 mm. The mean distance from the intracranial end of the hypoglossal canal to the inferior end of the occipital condyles was 7,65 mm.ConclusionsThe study on the hypoglossal canal adds new osteological and morphometric data to the previous literature, mostly based on studies conducted on different ethnic groups.The data presented is compatible with neuroradiological studies and it can be useful for radiologists and neurosurgeons in planning procedures such as transcondilar surgery. The last purpose of the study is to build an Italian anatomical data base of the dimensions of the hypoglossal canal in dried skulls..

Chicken plastination: its role in teaching avian anatomy

This paper describes the preparation of six plastinated chicken dissections for Veterinary Anatomy teaching at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Specimens were fixed in 10% formalin for seven to ten days, depending on the size of the specimen. Room temperature acetone baths were used for dehydration over a period of six weeks. Impregnation in S10 took place over a period of three weeks at -16 °C. The specimens were cured with S6. A peristaltic pump was used during preparation to ensure the intestines were rinsed properly, and the chemicals penetrated the whole specimen. In the curing phase, a compressor was used to inflate the duodenum and small intestines to show the digestive and reproductive tracts. The plastinated specimens were then labelled. Three chicken hearts in different stages of dissection (one intact, one from the ventrum/cranial, one from the dorsum/caudal aspect) were prepared. A muscle dissection was carried out on a whole chicken with its intestines intact. It was found to be preferable to carry out the dissection while the specimen was stored in the acetone bath. When the dissection was complete, the body wall of the chicken was cut through with an oscillating saw before impregnation in S10. Another adult chicken was used for the skeleton. All the muscle was removed, and the skeleton placed in formalin for fixation. After a week, the skeleton was placed in acetone for dehydration. The aim with this skeleton was to show how the ligaments maintain skeletal integrity. The ovary and reproductive tract were also dissected. The plastinated specimens are now available to the students in the anatomical museum. Now students, at their own pace, may study and learn the anatomy of the chicken more intensely.

The tannization of human tissues: A nineteenth‐century educational preservation technique at the Morgagni Museum

AbstractLodovico Brunetti (1813–1899), professor of pathological anatomy at the University of Padua and founder of the Museum of Pathological Anatomy, believed that anatomical preparations were essential for the practice and teaching of pathological anatomy. At his arrival in Padua in 1855, there were around 300 made by other professors of medicine, including some by Giovanni Battista Morgagni, preserved either in liquid or dry. These conservation methods did not satisfy Brunetti, as they drastically altered the shape of the anatomical pieces (reduced by mummification and dilated in liquid); thus, he decided to create a new method called “tannization,” for the use of tannic acid. Brunetti's new method was based on dissection and injection techniques, and it had the substantial advantage of maintaining unchanged the shape and texture of the anatomical specimens, even microscopically, as well as being not so expensive. Another important advantage consisted in the fact that the different stages of the preparation could be put into practice even at different times and at a considerable distance from each other. His specimens seemed to be mummified, but they maintained a remarkable elasticity and softness, as well as almost completely unaltered proportions. Today, the Morgagni Museum of the University of Padua still preserves several tannized preparations attributable to Brunetti and his successors. The current study aims to show the educational value of this method showing the results of Brunetti's tannization nowadays.

Anatomical studies at Universidad Central de Venezuela during 1763-1963

In Venezuela, Medical studies began in 1763 at Real and Pontifical University of Caracas, conducted by Lorenzo Campins y Ballester. Afterward, José María Vargas, as the first rector of the successive University of Caracas, 1827 reformed the studies of Medicine, Surgery, and Anatomy. He gave lectures and performed anatomical dissections for 25 years. Vargas wrote Curso de Lecciones y demostraciones Anatómicas in 1838. Even under precarious conditions for medical education, a saga of anatomists managed to persist in anatomical studies in Venezuela. In the 20th century, a progressive development in anatomical studies began, led by Luis Razetti and extended by José Izquierdo. Subsequently, these improvements were promoted and developed in both medical schools of the Central University of Venezuela by Jesús Yerena, founder of the Anatomical Museum, and by Francisco Montbrun, founder of “José María Vargas” Medical School and its chair of human anatomy.

Визуальные технологии в формировании профессиональных компетенций студентов медвуза. Анатомический музей кафедры топографической анатомии и оперативной хирургии ФГАОУ ВО РНИМУ им. Н.И. Пирогова

The article is devoted to the collection and methods of making preparations of the anatomical museum of the Department of Topographic Anatomy and Operative Surgery named after Academician Yu. M. Lopukhin, Institute of Anatomy and Morphology named after Academician Yu. M. Lopukhin, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education Russian National Research Medical University named after. N.I. Pirogov Ministry of Health of Russia founded in 1989. The museum's fund consists of natural preparations made by employees and students of the department at different periods of time since 1906, when the Department of Operative Surgery and Topographic Anatomy under the leadership of Professor F. A. Rein was founded at the Faculty of Medicine of the Moscow Higher Women's Courses. Among the exhibits of the anatomical museum of the department there are preparations with visual topography of various areas of the body in normal conditions and in the presence of various diseases, with examples of variant anatomy, congenital malformations and visualization of changes in the normal topographic-anatomical relationships of organs and structures after surgical operations. The museum's preparations are traditionally used by the department's teachers in the educational process of mastering topographic anatomy and operative surgery by students in the specialty programs "General Medicine", "Pediatrics", "Dentistry", "Fundamental Medicine". The positive experience of conducting training cycles for residents in the specialties “Ultrasound Diagnostics” and “Forensic Medicine” using museum preparations is described in order to improve topographic and anatomical knowledge for making and substantiating a diagnosis, detailing the features of the course of pathological processes and solving assigned professional tasks. The anatomical museum of the department has not only educational significance, but also instills in every student a sense of pride and patriotism, strengthens the inextricable connection between all generations of teachers and students of the university.