: The cytologic and histologic features of 2 intracranial and 2 spinal (extramedullary cervical) canine meningiomas were compared. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis in 2 cases revealed mild, mixed cell ...pleocytosis, primarily composed of small lymphocytes and monocytoid cells, with a moderate increase in total protein concentration. Cytologic features suggestive of meningioma included cells with both epithelial and mes‐enchymal characteristics and a tendency towards cell clustering. Tumor location also was useful in making a diagnosis. The 4 meningiomas differed histologically from one another, and included angioblastic, psam‐momatous, meningotheliomatous, and microcystic anaplastic types, which conformed to a classification scheme for human meningiomas. The classification scheme could not be applied to cytologic specimens.
: Teaching introductory clinical pathology to veterinary students is a challenging endeavor that requires a shift in learning strategies from rote memorization to diagnostic reasoning. Educational ...research has identified discrete cognitive stages required to achieve the automated, unconscious thinking process used by experts. Building on this knowledge, we developed a case‐based approach to clinical pathology instruction that actively engages students in the learning process and links performance with positive reward. Simulated cases provide context and create a structure, or “schema”, which enhances the learning process by enabling students to synthesize facts and link them with their causal mechanism to reach a defensible diagnostic conclusion. Web‐based tools, including the “Problem List Generator” and tutorials, have been developed to facilitate this process. Through the collaborative Biomedical Informatics Research Group, we are working to further develop and evaluate Web‐based instructional tools and new educational methods, to clarify the diagnostic reasoning processes used by experienced clinical pathologists, and, ultimately, to better educate our future students to be effective diagnosticians.
Acute gastrointestinal bleeding is responsible for 1% to 2% of all hospital admissions in the United States annually. An awareness of common and uncommon pathologies will allow the clinician to ...develop a plan for the diagnostic evaluation that will lead to a diagnosis and localization of the bleeding site. Successful diagnosis and subsequent treatment are dependent on selecting the diagnostic tests that pinpoint the bleeding source accurately and in the most cost-effective manner.
