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Wu A, Xiao QY, McWatt S, Utomo R, Talis A, Saraci K, Brassett C, Sagoo MG, Wingate R, Chien CL, Traxler H, Waschke J, Vielmuth F, Yamada Y, Sakurai T, Zeroual M, Olsen J, El-Batti S, Viranta-Kovanen S, Keay K, Stewart W, Kunzel C, Bernd P, Kielstein H, Noël GPJC. The Anatomy Course During COVID-19: The Impact of Cadaver-Based Learning on the Initiation of Reflection on Death. MEDICAL SCIENCE EDUCATOR 2022; 32:1033-1044. [PMID: 36097588 PMCID: PMC9453724 DOI: 10.1007/s40670-022-01609-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person cadaveric dissection laboratories for teaching anatomy were omitted by many schools around the world. While knowledge domains can be easily evaluated via remote exams, non-traditional discipline-independent skills such as those encouraged through reflection on the topic of death are often overlooked. This study investigated how different anatomy course formats played a role in initiating students' reflections on death during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD In fall 2020, 217 medical, dental, premedical, and health sciences students from 13 international universities discussed differences in their anatomy courses online. Formats of anatomy courses ranged from dissection-based, prosection-based, hybrid (combination of dissection and prosection) to no laboratory exposure at all. Students' responses to the question, "Did/does your anatomy course initiate your thinking about life's passing?" were collected, and they self-reported themes that were present in their reflections on death using a multiple-choice prompt. Statistical analyses to detect differences between students with and without exposure to cadavers were performed using the chi-squared test. RESULTS When comparing students who had exposure to human anatomical specimens to those who had no exposure, the majority of students with exposure thought that the course did initiate thoughts about life's passing, compared to students without exposure (P < 0.05). Reflection themes were consistent across groups. DISCUSSION These findings indicate that anatomy dissection courses are important for the initiation of students' feelings about the topic of death. Omission of cadaveric dissection- or prosection-based laboratories will decrease the likelihood that students initiate reflection on this topic and gain important transferable skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anette Wu
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Que Yun Xiao
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Sean McWatt
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Rachel Utomo
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Austin Talis
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Kerstin Saraci
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Vegetative Anatomy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Cecilia Brassett
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mandeep Gill Sagoo
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Centre for Education, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Richard Wingate
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Centre for Education, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Chung-Liang Chien
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hannes Traxler
- Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jens Waschke
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Vegetative Anatomy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Franziska Vielmuth
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Vegetative Anatomy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Yukari Yamada
- Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Takeshi Sakurai
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
- Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Mina Zeroual
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jorgen Olsen
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Salma El-Batti
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Paris, Paris, France
| | | | - Kevin Keay
- Discipline of Anatomy and Histology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - William Stewart
- Anatomy Section, Department of Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Carol Kunzel
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Paulette Bernd
- Department of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Heike Kielstein
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
| | - Geoffroy P. J. C. Noël
- Anatomy Division, Department of Surgery, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA USA
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Johnston TD. The pre-Darwinian history of the comparative method, 1555-1855. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2021; 43:118. [PMID: 34782958 DOI: 10.1007/s40656-021-00474-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The comparative method, closely identified with Darwinian evolutionary biology, also has a long pre-Darwinian history. The method derives its scientific power from its ability to interpret comparative observations with reference to a theory of relatedness among the entities being compared (the comparates). Such scientifically powerful strong comparison is distinguished from weak comparison, which lacks such theoretical grounding. This paper examines the history of the strong comparison permitted by the comparative method from the early modern period to the threshold of the Darwinian revolution in the mid nineteenth century. It interprets the work of early pioneers such as Belon, Willis, Perrault, and Tyson from this methodological perspective, rather than focusing on their particular anatomical findings. Although these early writers made formative scientific contributions through their comparative investigations, the more theoretically grounded application of the comparative method by Geoffroy, Cuvier, and Owen was instrumental in laying the foundation for its later incorporation into Darwinian evolutionary theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy D Johnston
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27410, USA.
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Dogan E, Gungor A, Dogulu F, Türe U. The historical evolution of the fornix and its terminology: a review. Neurosurg Rev 2021; 45:979-988. [PMID: 34498223 DOI: 10.1007/s10143-021-01635-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The historical evolution of the fornix has not been sufficiently reviewed in the literature. In this article, we follow this evolution from the first mention of the fornix in animal dissections of the second century AD, to the legalization of cadaver dissection in the 1300 s, to the introduction of neural staining techniques and the microscope in the seventeenth century, to today. We summarize the focus of fornix studies on memory to reveal its relationship with the hippocampus. We then cover the detection of the fornix and its neural connections noninvasively with the advancement of radiological imaging techniques. Finally, we discuss the prominence of the fornix as a target for deep brain stimulation in Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic brain injury memory disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eray Dogan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yeditepe University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Abuzer Gungor
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yeditepe University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Health Sciences, Bakırkoy Research and Training Hospital for Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Fikret Dogulu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Uğur Türe
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yeditepe University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
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