Review of The Atlas of Erotic Anatomy and Arousal

The Atlas of Erotic Anatomy and Arousal is online video education that explores sexual pleasure and sexual anatomy from a sex positive perspective. Written and presented by a sex educator and therapist, Cyndi Darnell, this video is an excellent resource for adult individuals interested in learning about their bodies and having fulfilling sexual experiences with their partners. The video series provides scientifically accurate and pleasure-based information about the anatomy of the vulva, the penis, and the anus, and the physiology of orgasm and ejaculation, in an entertaining manner.     

Development of a didactical training concept for peer tutors in gross anatomy

Even though peer tutors are often used in gross anatomy courses, research in the field is rather a subject of the last two decades. This is especially true about the didactical challenges these types of peer tutors experience during their tutorials and about how they are prepared for the task. The aim of the presented study was to learn about the training needs of the tutors, and to subsequently design, implement, and evaluate a didactical training concept. A qualitative design was chosen to examine how tutors can best be prepared for tutorials of gross anatomy. To do so, focus group interviews were conducted. The data were analyzed and grouped into various concepts, using semi‐structured interview questions as guidance. It was found that peer tutors are in need of training in the following aspects: Dealing with students who are experiencing difficulties during or as a result of dissection, dealing with group dynamics, that is, at the dissection table, keeping students motivated, time management, and staying confident as a tutor. In order to be regarded as useful and relevant in the eyes of tutors, a preparatory training course should include all these aspects in addition to general didactical training elements. Training needs of peer tutors of gross anatomy go beyond the content of standardized didactical curricula; therefore, tutors should be prepared with a curriculum that is specifically geared toward the many challenges associated with teaching gross anatomy to first year medical students which are already so well documented in the research literature. Anat Sci Educ 10: 495–502. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

中国假鹰爪属和皂帽花属植物叶的形态结构及其分类学意义

 利用扫描电镜技术、叶片离析法和石蜡切片法研究了假鹰爪属Desmos 4种植物和皂帽花属Dasy-maschalon 3种植物叶片的形态结构。结果表明：假鹰爪属植物叶片近轴面表皮具大型球状含晶簇细胞和不含晶簇的表皮细胞两种类型，远轴面表皮细胞均具一较小的晶簇；叶肉组织明显分化为栅栏组织细胞和海绵组织细胞，油细胞分布于第2层的栅栏组织和海绵组织内，单位毫米叶宽油细胞数为4～6个；主脉维管组织被薄壁细胞分隔成束状。皂帽花属植物叶片近轴面表皮细胞形状相同，均具一晶簇，远轴面表皮细胞的晶簇和近轴面表皮细胞的晶簇相似；靠近上、下表皮的叶肉组织均分化为栅栏组织细胞，在两层栅栏组织细胞之间分化为一至几层海绵组织细胞，油细胞分布于海绵组织内，单位毫米叶宽油细胞数为2～3个；主脉维管组织形成连续的环状。由此可见两属叶的结构具有明显的差异，因而支持假鹰爪属和皂帽花属为两个独立属的观点。     

Familiarity with Latin and Greek anatomical terms and course performance in undergraduates

Commonly used technical anatomy and physiology (A&P) terms are predominantly rooted in Latin and Greek vocabulary, so it is commonly inferred that a solid grounding in Latin and Greek roots of medical terminology will improve student learning in anatomy and related disciplines. This study examines the association of etymological knowledge of A&P terms and A&P course performance among 446 undergraduates in their first semester of the study of human gross anatomy and physiology, with a more detailed analysis of the characteristics of 52 students who filled out surveys about their prior knowledge and experiences related to medicine or anatomy. In both data sets, there was only a weak positive correlation between the performance on a quiz of Latin and Greek medical terms and the students' performance on regular assignments. The presumption that familiarity with Latin and Greek word roots has a strong influence on successful learning of anatomy is not supported by these data. Future research should address whether or not there are particular skills associated with using etymological knowledge in improving A&P course performance.     

Attitudes to cadaveric organ donation in Irish preclinical medical students

There is a worldwide shortage of organs for transplantation. It has been shown that the attitude of healthcare professionals can improve the rates of organ donation, and that educational programs aimed at improving both attitudes and knowledge base of professionals can have positive outcomes. Although there has been research carried out on this topic, there has been none in Ireland. Anatomy dissection can be a stressor to medical students-we investigate the attitudes of Irish students to organ donation and how they change with exposure to anatomy dissection. A questionnaire was administered to first year students in the School of Medicine in University College Dublin, Ireland, three times over a nine-week period at the commencement of classes in an academic year. The attitudes of the students were positive throughout regarding organ donation by a stranger, a family member, or themselves. There was, however, a significant decrease in support for the donation of a family member's organs in a minority of students. Irish students' attitudes to postmortem organ donation are positive and are not changed by exposure to the dissecting room. There is support for the donation of organs, and willingness among students to donate their own organs and support donation by family members.     

Learning of musculoskeletal ligament stress testing in a gross anatomy laboratory

Human anatomy in physical therapy programs is a basic science course serving as a foundation for subsequent clinical courses. Integration of anatomy with a clinical emphasis throughout a curriculum provides opportunities for reinforcement of previously learned material. Considering the human cadaver laboratory as a fixed cost to our program, we sought opportunities to add value to the resource via vertical integration into a clinical skills course taught later in the curriculum. We designed an opportunity for second-year physical therapy students to revisit the human anatomy laboratory to study select clinical musculoskeletal tests and the associated anatomy in a clinically relevant context. Students performed select orthopedic ligament test on human cadavers, then incised specific structures and repeated the tests. Students were able to feel and visualize the function of pertinent anatomy associated with the clinical tests. Ninety-five percent of respondents reported that the ligament stress testing experience enhanced their understanding of orthopedic clinical tests with 91% reporting an enhanced understanding of anatomy related to specific clinical tests. Likewise, the experience was perceived as enjoyable and valuable with 86% of respondents reporting the experience as enjoyable and 100% responding the experience should continue as part of the curriculum.     

Surgeons as medical school educators: an untapped resource

Despite extensive experience teaching residents, surgeons are an untapped resource for educating medical students. We hypothesized that by involving surgeons as teachers earlier in the medical school curriculum, medical students' interest in surgery will increase and their opinions of surgeons will improve. Five programs designed to involve surgeons as educators in the medical school curriculum were implemented. The first program, started in 2008, introduced surgical faculty into the first-year medical student anatomy dissection laboratories. Other programs initiated in 2008 included: Surgical Clinical Correlates in Anatomy, which involved faculty teaching through cadaver surgery; Clinical Pathologic Conferences in Anatomy, a surgeon-led conference based on clinical cases; and a women's faculty-student mentorship program. Table Rounds, a surgeon-led anatomy review that used clinical scenarios to quiz students was begun in 2009. All five programs were successfully integrated into the medical school curriculum. While student opinion of surgeons as educators improved, there were no significant changes in student interest in surgery as a career nor change in performance on written examinations over the Anatomy content covered by the surgeons. Surgical faculty and trainees can be integrated into the medical school curriculum. Involving surgeons as educators earlier in the medical school curriculum may have longer term effects than could be observed in this study. At a minimum, the experience improved student opinion of surgeons as educators.     

Use of the one-minute preceptor as a teaching tool in the gross anatomy laboratory

The one-minute preceptor (OMP) is a time-efficient technique used for teaching in busy clinical settings. It consists of five microskills: (1) get a commitment from the student, (2) probe for supporting evidence, (3) reinforce what was done right, (4) correct errors and fill in omissions, and (5) teach a general rule. It can also be used to address structure-identification questions in gross anatomy laboratory small-group settings. The OMP is an active learner-centered teaching approach that prepares students for a style of learning that they need to master in clinical settings, provides novice anatomy teachers with an efficient and effective teaching strategy, and moves anatomy learning beyond mere name tagging to active knowledge construction.     

Resident perceptions of anatomy education: a survey of medical school alumni from two different anatomy curricula and multiple medical specialties

In 2004, the University of Michigan Medical School reduced its gross anatomy curriculum. To determine the effect of this reduction on resident perceptions of their clinical preparedness, we surveyed alumni that included residents from the original and new shortened curricula. A Likert-scale survey was sent to four classes of alumni. Respondents were compared in old curriculum (OC) and new curriculum (NC) groups, surgical specialty (SS) and nonsurgical specialty (NS) groups, and subgroups of SS and NS were compared for differences between OC and NC. Mean response scores were compared using independent samples T-tests. As a single population (n = 110), respondents felt their anatomy education prepared them well for residency, that a more robust anatomy curriculum would be helpful, that dissection was important to their residency preparation, and that a 4th year anatomy elective was effective in expanding their anatomy education and preparing them for residency. No significant difference existed between OC and NC groups, neither as a whole nor as SS and NS subgroups. The SS group felt dissection was more important to their residency preparation than the NS group (P = 0.001) and that a more robust anatomy curriculum would have better prepared them for residency (P = 0.001). Thirty percent of SS respondents who did not take a 4th year elective commented that they wish they had. Fourth year anatomy electives were highly valued by residents, and respondents felt that they should be offered to students as a way of revisiting anatomy following the 1st year of clinical training.     

The trend of body donation for education based on Korean social and religious culture

Until a century ago, Korean medicine was based mainly on Oriental philosophies and ideas. From a religious perspective, Chinese Confucianism was prevalent in Korea at that time. Since Confucianists believe that it is against one's filial duty to harm his or her body, given to them by their parents, most Koreans did not donate their bodies or organs for education in the past. However, by the end of the 20th century, a unique fusion of Western and Oriental medicines were produced on the Korean Peninsula, revolutionizing traditional perspectives on the human body, mortality, and the relationship of medical science to society. Koreans began to think about others' lives as well as their own by realizing the importance of donating one's organs and bodies for scientific purposes. Since then, the number of people donating their bodies to Korean medical and dental schools for the purpose of improving academic learning has increased dramatically. In response, Korean medical schools have begun to hold various types of funeral ceremonies to honor body donors. We have compared such ceremonies performed in Korea with those performed in the United States of America and Taiwan. These ceremonies are viewed as a suitable way to pay proper respect to the dead and to promote knowledge about body donation programs in Korea. Overall, the transition of religions and social ethics in Korea has greatly facilitated body bequeathal programs, benefiting both medical education and the Korean public health administration.