Objectives
Teaching ultrasound imaging is on the rise in undergraduate medical anatomy education. However, there is little research exploring the use of ultrasound in preparatory graduate programs. ...The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of ultrasound imaging inclusion in a graduate gross anatomy course.
Methods
Master of Medical Sciences students were enrolled in a prosection‐based anatomy course that included pinned cadaver stations and an ultrasound station. Using ultrasound, teaching assistants imaged volunteers demonstrating anatomical structures students previously learned at cadaver stations. Students answered one ultrasound image question on each practical exam and were asked to participate in a pre‐ and post‐course survey. Student practical and lecture exam scores and final course grades from the 2022 cohort were compared to a historical control cohort from 2021 via statistical analysis, including a survey administered to the 2022 cohort.
Results
Two hundred students from the 2021 cohort and 164 students from the 2022 cohort participated in this study. Students in the 2022 cohort had significantly higher scores in 1 of the 5 practical exams (P < .05, d = .289), and 2 of the 5 written exams (P < .05, d = .207), (P < .05, d = .311). Survey data revealed increased (P < .05, d = 1.203) learning outcome achievement from pre‐survey to post‐survey in the intervention cohort. Students who correctly answered the ultrasound question performed significantly better on practical's 3 (P < .05) and 4 (P < .05) than those who missed the ultrasound question.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that ultrasound imaging in a cadaver lab is beneficial to graduate students' learning and understanding of gross anatomy.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has had enormous effects on anatomy education. During the pandemic, students have had no access to cadavers, which has been the principal way to learn ...anatomy since the 17th century. As it is difficult to predict future access to cadavers for students or in‐person classes, anatomy educators are encouraged to revisit all possible teaching methods in order to develop innovations. Here, we review anatomy education methods to apply to current and future education.
Cadaver decomposition is a natural phenomenon intimately affected by numerous organisms such as insects, fungi, animals, and bacteria where they use the decaying body as their nutrition source. These ...organisms can be utilized in forensic science to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). The post-mortem interval refers to the time that has passed since the death of a person until the body was found. Forensic entomology is one of the popular approaches where successive colonization of insects on cadaver is studied to estimate PMI. However, sometime this method does not provide consistent results due to lack of insect activities during cold environment conditions or when crime scene is indoor. Therefore, a new approach is needed to aid forensic scientists to estimate PMI. Recently, researchers have noted that microbial communities have shown a predictable and clockwise successional pattern on decomposing cadavers and suggested this could be utilized to estimate PMI when this approach is etched with other established methods. The purpose of this review is to summarize some of the studies that have been conducted on the utility of microbial communities in estimating PMI and discuss the role of microbial communities in cadaver decomposition.
Estimation of post-mortem time interval (PMI) is a key parameter in the forensic investigation which poses a huge challenge to the medico-legal experts. The succession of microbes within different ...parts of the human body after death has shown huge potential in the determination of PMI. Human body harbors trillions of microorganisms as commensals. With the death of an individual when biological functions are stopped, these microorganisms behave contrarily along with the invasion of degrading microbes from the environment. Human cadaver becomes a rich source of nutrients due to autolysis of cells, which attracts various invading microorganisms as well as macroorganisms. At different stages of degradation, the succession of microorganisms differs significantly which can be explored for accurate PMI estimation. With the advent of microbial genomics technique and reduction in the cost of DNA sequencing, thanatomicrobiome and epinecrotic community analysis have gained huge attention in PMI estimation. The article summarizes different sources of microorganisms in a human cadaver, their succession pattern, and analytical techniques for application in the field of microbial forensics.
Key points
• Thanatomicrobiome and epinecrotic microbiome develop in postmortem human body.
• Lack of metabolic, immune, neuroendocrine systems facilitate microbial succession.
• Analysis of postmortem microbial communities predicts accurate PMI.
Purpose
The acromioclavicular ligament complex (ACLC) is the primary stabilizer against horizontal translation with the superior ACLC providing the main contribution. The purpose of this study was to ...evaluate the specific regional contributions in the superior half of ACLC, where the surgeon can easily access and repair or reconstruct, for posterior translational and rotational stability.
Methods
The superior half of ACLC was divided into three regions; Region A (0°–60°): an anterior 1/3 region of the superior half of ACLC, Region B (60°–120°): a superior 1/3 region of the superior half of ACLC, and Region C (120°–180°): a posterior 1/3 region of the superior half of ACLC. Fifteen fresh-frozen cadaveric shoulders were used. Biomechanical testing was performed to evaluate the resistance force against passive posterior translation (10 mm) and the resistance torque against passive posterior rotation (20°) during the following the four conditions. (1) Stability was tested on all specimens in their intact condition (
n
= 15). (2) The ACLC was dissected and stability was tested (
n
= 15). (3) Specimens were randomly divided into three groups by regions of suturing. Stability was tested after suturing Region A, Region B, or Region C (
n
= 5 per group). (4) Stability was tested after suturing additional regions: Region A + B (0°–120°), Region B + C (60°–180°), or Region A + C (0°–60°, 120°–180°,
n
= 5 per group).
Results
The translational force increased after suturing Region A when compared with dissected ACLC (
P
= 0.025). The force after suturing Region A + B was significantly higher compared to the dissected ACLC (
P
< 0.001). The rotational torque increased after suturing Region A or Region B compared with dissected ACLC (
P
= 0.020,
P
= 0.045, respectively). The torque after suturing the Region A + C was significantly higher compared to the dissected ACLC (
P
< 0.001).
Conclusion
The combined Region A + B contributed more to posterior translational stability than Region B + C or Region A + C. In contrast, combined Region A + C contributed more to posterior rotational stability than Region A + B or Region B + C. Based on these findings, surgical techniques restoring the entire superior ACLC are recommended to address both posterior translational and rotational stability of the AC joint.
The longitudinal assessment of joint health is a long-standing issue in the management of musculoskeletal injuries. The acoustic emissions (AEs) produced by joint articulation could serve as a ...biomarker for joint health assessment, but their use has been limited by a lack of mechanistic understanding of their creation. In this paper, we investigate that mechanism using an injury model in human lower-limb cadavers, and relate AEs to joint kinematics. Using our custom joint sound recording system, we recorded the AEs from nine cadaver legs in four stages: at baseline, after a sham surgery, after a meniscus tear, and post-meniscectomy. We compare the resulting AEs using their
b
-values. We then compare joint anatomy/kinematics to the AEs using the X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROMM) technique. After the meniscus tear the number and amplitude of the AE peaks greatly increased from baseline and sham (
b
-value = 1.33 ± 0.15;
p
< 0.05). The XROMM analysis showed a close correlation between the minimal inter-joint distances (0.251 ± 0.082 cm during extension, 0.265 ± .003 during flexion, at 145°) and a large increase in the AEs. This work provides key insight into the nature of joint AEs, and details a novel technique and analysis for recording and interpreting these biosignals.
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