Of the many medical specializations to transform themselves during the rise of National Socialism, anatomy has received relatively little attention from historians. While politics and racial laws ...drove many anatomists from the profession, most who remained joined the Nazi party, and some helped to develop the scientific basis for its racialist dogma. As historian and anatomist Sabine Hildebrandt reveals, however, their complicity with the Nazi state went beyond the merely ideological. They progressed through gradual stages of ethical transgression, turning increasingly to victims of the regime for body procurement, as the traditional model of working with bodies of the deceased gave way, in some cases, to a new paradigm of experimentation with the "future dead."
One crucial component of the optical system is the ciliary body (CB). This body secretes the aqueous humour, which is essential to maintain the internal eye pressure as well as the clearness of the ...lens and cornea. The histological study was designed to provide the morphological differences of CB and iris in the anterior eye chambers of the following vertebrate classes: fish (grass carp), amphibians (Arabian toad), reptiles (semiaquatic turtle, fan‐footed gecko, ocellated skink, Egyptian spiny‐tailed lizard, Arabian horned viper), birds (common pigeon, common quail, common kestrel), and mammals (BALB/c mouse, rabbit, golden hamster, desert hedgehog, lesser Egyptian jerboa, Egyptian fruit bat). The results showed distinct morphological appearances of the CB and iris in each species, ranging from fish to mammals. The present comparative study concluded that the morphological structure of the CB and iris is the adaptation of species to either their lifestyle or survival in specific habitats.
The cover image is based on the Research Article India ink to 3D imaging: The legacy of Dr. Deepak “Dee” N. Pandya and his influence on generations of neuroanatomists by Gene J. Blatt et al., ...https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.25551.
Introduction
Acknowledging the fundamental role anatomy education plays in medical training and taking into consideration the nascence of online anatomy education in Nigeria, we evaluated the current ...and future perceptions of medical and allied‐health students towards online anatomy education during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Nigeria.
Methods
Google Form questionnaires were distributed via different social and academic platforms to medical and allied‐health students in Nigeria between September 28 –December 17, 2020, using a purposive sampling. 954 students responded to questions on what they felt about the online anatomy teaching including how it could affect their academic performance in anatomy. Additionally, they were asked to give their opinion of the future of e‐learning in anatomy in Nigeria. The data collected from the study were analyzed using descriptive and inferential techniques.
Results
Out of a total of 954 students who participated in the study, 947 valid responses were recorded. From the responses, most of the students (77.6%) had computer/IT skills. Unexpectedly, many of
the students (60%) did not favor online learning approaches as effective tools for instructions in the anatomical sciences while more than a half of the students (55%) did not find the online classes in anatomy interesting. On the other hand, a majority (84%) believed that physical classes would have improved their performance in anatomy. Almost all the students (91.5%) believed anatomy educators in Nigeria need advanced skills for online education and that anatomy online teaching needs more advanced technology to be implemented in Nigeria(94.2%).
Conclusion
After evaluating online anatomy education experience during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Nigeria from medical and allied‐health students’ position, it was observed that there was an inclusive negative perception about the suitability and effectiveness of online education with regards to the anatomical sciences in Nigerian medical/health training. Majority of the students indicated that there is need for the enhancement of online teaching and quality training of the anatomy educators. Addressing the challenges that were presented during online anatomy education at the heat of the pandemic is recommended. This will incline science education towards the development and implementation of a workable and sustainable online education model in anatomical sciences for Nigeria.
INTRODUCTION
Inequities faced by women in academic medicine before the COVID‐19 pandemic are well‐known, yet there are little formal data on exactly how the pandemic has affected faculty, ...particularly in academic medicine. The purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to elucidate the impact of the pandemic on faculty in academic medicine and identify whether it is disproportionately affecting populations, focusing specifically on responsibilities at home, work, and mental health according to gender identification, faculty rank, and faculty appointment.
METHODS
An online questionnaire was distributed in February 2021 to faculty at academic medicine centers. This questionnaire asked respondents to provide demographic data, answer questions about their responsibilities at home and work, and indicate whether and how the pandemic has affected both. Respondents were also asked questions on self‐care and mental health and to document how their institution(s) can assist faculty in mitigating struggles associated with the pandemic. Responses were analyzed via quantitative (Pearson’s chi‐square tests) and qualitative (thematic analysis) means.
RESULTS
Women, mid‐, and early‐career faculty were more likely to be responsible for the care of others (p=0.014), and the impact of the pandemic on caring for others was negative, especially for early career faculty (p=0.019). Research, teaching, and clinical practice were negatively impacted by the pandemic, with women feeling this more severely in clinical practice (p=0.003), as a result of an increased teaching load (p=0.042), and inadequate work environment (p=0.013). Women (p<0.01), early career‐faculty (p<0.01), and clinical faculty (p=0.029) were also more negatively impacted by the pandemic in the areas of self‐care and mental health. While there was no significant difference in who requested a leave of absence or tenure clock extension, early‐career and women faculty were more likely to fear retribution for such requests. Faculty provided actionable suggestions to combat these negative effects under five themes, including Flexible Expectations, Support, Mental Health, Compensation, and Communication.
CONCLUSION
Pre‐pandemic stress and burnout among faculty in academic medicine has been well documented, and this study demonstrates that academic medicine faculty, particularly women and early‐career faculty, continue to feel additional burdens secondary to the COVID‐19 pandemic. These data can be utilized by administrations and future studies to make informed decisions regarding policies and programs created to assist those populations who are most vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic.
SIGNIFICANCE
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to provide both quantitative and qualitative data demonstrating a negative impact of the COVID pandemic on academic medicine faculty, particularly women and early career faculty. These data are necessary to create change to improve recruitment and retention of quality faculty.
INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVE
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, gross anatomy laboratory sessions for first year medical students at Drexel University College of Medicine were drastically altered to comply with ...social distancing restrictions, resulting in increased reliance on virtual resources, limited prosection access and no dissection. We evaluated student perceptions of the various instructional modalities used, importance of dissection versus prosection, and virtual versus donor‐body experiences in order to assess the value of each for gross anatomy learning.
MATERIALS/METHODS
Gross anatomy laboratory sessions during the pandemic included both virtual (Complete Anatomy 3D software over Zoom) and prosection (rotations through stations guided by custom videos) components. An optional “Dissection Experience” was offered after the course to those who wanted to gain hands‐on skills of dissection. A voluntary IRB‐approved survey was distributed to students after completion of all gross anatomy activities. Likert‐scale (1= Strongly Disagree to 5= Strongly Agree) and slider (0= prosection/virtual resources, 100= dissection/physical resources) type questions assessed components of the gross anatomy thread and overall view of anatomy learning in medical education.
RESULTS
A total of 97/265 first‐year medical students completed the survey and 62% of students completed the “Dissection Experience” elective. 83% of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that cadaveric material is essential to medical students learning anatomy. When asked about the preferred amount of prosection (0) to dissection (100) in a gross anatomy course, the responses were the following: 0‐24=8%, 25‐49=23%, 50‐74=42% and 75‐100=27%. 70% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they were satisfied with the prosection lab component. Only 41% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the virtual software was critical to their preparation for the prosection lab. 80% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that cadaveric‐based anatomy teaching should be replaced by virtual/augmented reality applications or other computer‐assisted methods. When asked about the preferred amount of virtual resources (0) to physical resources such as cadaveric material or bones (100), the responses were the following: 0‐24=6%, 25‐49=5%, 50‐74=41% and 75‐100=48%.
CONCLUSIONS
In a unique time of restricted lab use during the COVID‐19 pandemic, students were most satisfied with the prosection component of the course over virtual learning. Most students preferred a learning experience with cadaveric material and not fully replacing it with virtual software, and a majority of students completed an optional “Dissection Experience.” These results suggest that most students still wanted the hands‐on dissection component of anatomy learning.
SIGNIFICANCE
This study demonstrates the importance of maintaining a cadaver‐based learning experience during times of restricted lab use. It also suggests that medical students may not be as satisfied with programs offering prosection only or virtual anatomy labs.
Introduction & Objective
In March 2020, medical schools around the country had to quickly transition from in person cadaveric anatomy curricula to an online distance learning format due to the ...COVID‐19 pandemic. This posed a challenge for students who had acclimated to learning anatomy inside the laboratory for the majority of their first year of medical school. The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of the abrupt transition from in person anatomy dissections and practical exams to an exclusively online format.
Materials and Methods
An anonymous survey was distributed to medical students from the Class of 2023 at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (n=191) in February 2021. The survey assessed student perceptions of the impact of COVID‐19 shutdowns on their medical education. In total, 45 responses were recorded, and survey data was analyzed using SPSS software. Nonparametric methods were used due to the ordinal nature of the Likert scale responses. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed. In addition, focus groups were conducted with 11 medical students who had completed the survey.
Results
A majority of respondents (82.55%) stated that their learning and understanding of anatomy was worse after cancellation of in person anatomy lab dissections. In contrast, understanding of didactic lecture material was split, with 37.5% stating that online lectures had no impact on their learning and understanding of the material, 31.25% stating understanding was worse, and 25% stating it was better following transition to online‐only lectures. The results from the Wilcoxon signed rank test of Likert scale responses indicated that students perceived impact of cancelling in person anatomy lab as significantly worse compared to the impact of cancelling in person lectures (p<0.001). Focus group responses echoed this theme, with the loss of 3‐dimensional visual and tactile learning in laboratory cited most frequently by participants as a challenge with the transition to online anatomy.
Conclusion
Medical student respondents in the class of 2023 perceived online anatomy as inferior to in person laboratory sessions after the COVID‐19 shut‐down in March 2020. The transition from in person to online anatomy was more impactful on student understanding of material than the transition from in person to online didactic lectures. Of note, the students surveyed had completed the majority of their anatomy curriculum in person prior to the transition online.
Significance/Implication
The medical school shutdowns that occurred in March 2020 due to the COVID‐19 pandemic highlighted the importance of in person interaction with cadaveric specimens in anatomy education, especially in the context of how students were initially exposed to content. When possible, consideration should be given to learning approaches that students are familiar with and how changes to the curriculum will impact them.
Background
Since the seventeenth century, the primary approach to teaching anatomy has involved hands‐on learning using cadaveric specimens. However, the ability to use this long‐standing tradition ...was curtailed in the 2020‐2021 school year due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Many institutions closed physical classrooms entirely, launching experiential courses, such as anatomy, into the online space.
Hypothesis
We hypothesized that Q‐methodology could be used to uncover student perceptions of an introductory anatomy and physiology course that was offered online for the very first time.
Methods
Q‐methodology, considered the study of subjectivity, is an approach that statistically uncovers groups of individuals with shared perceptions within a larger cohort. Instructors can use Q‐methodology to identify groups of students with shared needs, allowing for more specific and productive course reform. In the current study, Q‐methodology was used as a means of course evaluation in the fall 2020 and winter 2021 semesters. Students were asked to sort 44 opinion‐based statements in a quasi‐normal table based on their level of agreement. By‐person factor analysis of 166 responses revealed three statistically distinct groups of students.
Results
The three groups were assigned the following monikers: Connected and Contented (CC), Disconnected and Disgruntled (DD), and Interconnected and Collaborative (IC). CC students (n=66) felt generally ambivalent toward course components and were comfortable with the technology skills required to participate in the online course space. DD students (n=50) were deeply unhappy with several elements of the course, including lectures, assignments, and evaluations. These students also felt as if they were teaching themselves. Finally, IC students (n=29) looked favourably upon the tutorial space and the role of teaching assistants. Analysis also revealed that some sentiments were shared across all three groups, including the preference for physical rather than virtual specimens, and the desire for more practice questions from faculty in order to prepare for bellringer exams. Interestingly, cohort opinions did not remain static across both semesters. There was a positive attitude shift as more students felt “Disconnected and Disgruntled” in the fall, and “Connected and Contented” in the winter.
Conclusions
These findings are useful for anatomy instructors interested in transitioning courses to an online or blended space, particularly in the face of ever evolving public health restrictions. The current study also models the wealth of information that can be uncovered using Q‐methodology ‐ useful for anyone interested in the previously amorphous study of subjectivity.
After COVID‐19 vaccination a number of currently and formerly menstruating people reported changes in menstrual bleeding and menstrual symptoms. Media highlighted these experiences, but much of the ...focus was on changes in regularly menstruating cis‐gendered women and unnecessary concerns about fertility. This was despite ample evidence of vaccine safety for people who were currently pregnant or conceived after vaccination. An overlooked phenomenon was reports of periods, spotting, or other unexpected vaginal bleeding in people who usually do not menstruate, including people assigned female at birth who are transmasculine, trans men, agender, non‐binary, and other gender diverse identities. We present preliminary descriptions of post‐vaccine menstrual experiences of a vaccinated, non‐menstruating, gender diverse sample.
Methods
We conducted an online survey to characterize the menstrual experiences of a diverse group of currently and formerly menstruating people from April 7, 2021 through Oct 7, 2021. From over 160,000 responses, we identified 552 people between the ages of 18 and 45 who 1) reported they usually do not menstruate; 2) reported using testosterone and/or gender‐affirming hormones (some did not specify testosterone); and 3) were not cis women. In addition to demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender), we asked multiple‐choice and open‐ended questions about current menstrual status (including why they do not menstruate), hormone medications, contraceptive use, and menstrual symptoms after being vaccinated. Here, we combine experiences for both doses of the vaccine for analysis and group period, spotting, and other menstrual bleeding into one category called “breakthrough bleeding”.
Results
In this sample (n=552, age=25.6 +/‐ 5.7 (mean +/‐SD)), most respondents (84%, 463/552) selected more than one gender, with the most common for this subsample being transgender (n=460), man or man identified (n=373), non‐binary (n=241), and genderqueer/gender non‐conforming (n=124). 33% of respondents (180/552) reported breakthrough bleeding after vaccination, 9% (52/552) reported chest or breast soreness, and 46% (254/552) reported having other symptoms they would usually associate with a period. In response to the open‐ended question about other period related symptoms, respondents reported common symptoms such as cramping and bloating. A number of respondents also used the open‐ended text boxes to report negative mental health in response to their period symptoms, including anxiety, depression, gender dysphoria, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation.
Conclusions
Many gender diverse people who received vaccines for COVID‐19 experienced symptoms that are usually associated with menstruation, including unexpected bleeding. Because menstruation is usually considered in relation to fertility, other important aspects of this physiology are overlooked and this impacts people beyond fertile women. Attentiveness to menstruation beyond fertility and more inclusive use of gender in clinical trials is important to prepare people for potential side effects, address medically underserved populations, and reduce vaccine hesitancy.
INTRODUCTION
Schools of higher education across the US closed all operations and in‐person classes during the COVID ‐19 pandemic, significantly affecting laboratory‐based anatomy dissection courses ...and the anatomical gift programs (AGP) that support them. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the COVID‐19 pandemic affected AGP operations in the US. The researchers hypothesized that programs would modify donation acceptance criteria and that anatomy education demands for donors would be reduced during the first year of the pandemic.
METHODS/ RESULTS
The researchers sent a Qualtrics survey to 135 AGP directors with a response rate of 28% (n=38). Respondents were from 26 states and included 28 AGPs operating for 25 years or longer and ten programs operational for 15 years or less. Six AGP’s (16%) stopped accepting donors for varying lengths of time secondary to the COVID‐19 pandemic during its first year, while 32 programs (84%) continued operations. Of the programs that remained operational, 81% (n=26) made modifications to donor acceptance policies, while 19% (n=6) maintained existing acceptance policies. Schools that made policy modifications for donor acceptance criteria reported changes, including heightened screening for symptoms of COVID‐19 at the time of donor registration and upon death and requiring a negative COVID test for the anatomical donor near the time of death. In addition, COVID‐19 infection was added to the existing list of disqualifying conditions for many programs. Some sites excluded donors from large group facilities (hospitals, long‐term care), and some declined any donors with respiratory infections at the time of death. Several programs (13%) stopped accepting those donors who were not registered with their AGP prior to the onset of the COVID pandemic.
During COVID‐19, the demand for donors in anatomy education decreased significantly (p<0.05). Reasons for the reduced donor demand as reported by respondents included school closings and adjusted (smaller, shorter in time) laboratory sessions. These actions were taken because of concern for student/staff safety, reduced availability of appropriate personal protective equipment, and safety‐related student/faculty spacing needs.
CONCLUSION
Most AGPs were operational during COVID‐19 and able to maintain donor needs for anatomy education. Further research is warranted into the long‐term effects on AGPs as the pandemic persists.
