The thigh extension of the lesser saphenous vein: from Giacomini's observations to ultrasound scan imaging.
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BACKGROUND: Giacomini described a vein that now bears his name almost 130 years ago. Subsequent anatomic studies detail his findings but receive inadequate attention in clinical and surgical textbooks. The purpose of this study was to present a summary of the original observations by Giacomini, present our ultrasound scan findings, and review later anatomic, venographic, and ultrasound scan studies. METHODS: The study was a literature review and experience with duplex ultrasound scanning from units in Italy and Australia. RESULTS: Giacomini described a thigh extension from the lesser saphenous vein that passed to join with the greater saphenous vein, which since then bears his name, and described also the other destinations of the thigh extention to deep veins through perforators or an end as multiple tributaries in the superficial tissues or muscles. Duplex ultrasound scanning shows that the vein can be affected by varicose disease with reflux either upwards or downwards in the thigh to the greater or lesser saphenous veins respectively. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound scan imaging has brought the vein of Giacomini from the realm of anatomic dissection to an important structure to be considered in the clinical management of chronic venous disease. (+info)
Making gross anatomy relevant to dental students.
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This paper describes the curriculum design and enhancements of dental gross anatomy courses at three universities in North America. The greatest problem for gross anatomy faculty is making the regions of the body below the neck relevant to dental students for their future clinical education as well as the longer term dental practice. The proposed solutions demonstrated in the three courses range from satisfying the student's grade and test requirements, such as passing the anatomical sciences section of the National Board Dental Examination Part I, to making the material relevant to clinical dentistry. Strategies to increase relevance include incorporating clinical faculty into the gross anatomy course and integrating dental clinical material into the course. Lastly, pedagogical innovations include peer teaching, the use of the Internet and intranet for examination preparation, and the animation of dental procedures to illustrate relevant anatomy to dentistry. (+info)
The current status of the anatomical sciences curriculum in U.S. and Canadian dental schools.
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The anatomical sciences form one of the major building blocks of the basic medical sciences in the professional training of dentists. This paper defines the courses and classifies the formats of teaching for each course within the anatomical sciences curriculum. Information was gathered from the Internet, specifically the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) website links to U.S. and Canadian dental schools and their online catalogues or bulletins as well as online course syllabi. The results demonstrate the distribution of schools in the United States and Canada teaching anatomical sciences in the following categories: stand-alone, sequential, and multifaceted courses for gross anatomy; stand-alone and integrated courses for histology; stand-alone, integrated, incorporated, and no course for neuroanatomy; and stand-alone, incorporated, and no course in embryology. This paper concludes with the proposition that a survey of the usage of anatomical knowledge in use in a typical dental general practice needs to be conducted. The results of such a survey need to be evaluated with the intention of determining what should be taught in a dental clinical anatomical sciences curriculum. (+info)
Development of multimedia learning modules for teaching human anatomy: application to osteology and functional anatomy.
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Computer-assisted learning (CAL) is growing quickly within academic programs. Although the anatomical commercial packages that are available for this learning have attractive advantages, they also have drawbacks: they are frequently not in the local language of the students, they do not perfectly answer the needs of the local academic program, and their cost is frequently more than students can afford. This study describes a relatively inexpensive method to create CAL tutorials, whose content can be fully customized to local academic needs in terms of both program and language. The study describes its use in creating multimedia learning modules (MLMs) about Osteology and joint kinematics. The pedagogical content in these modules was collected from objective experiments to give students the opportunity to access new scientific knowledge during their education. It can be replaced, as desired, by almost any content due to the flexibility of the production method. Each MLM consists of two complementary subelements: a multimedia theoretical lecture and a three-dimensional interactive laboratory. Such MLMs are in use at both the University of Brussels (ULB) and the National University of Rwanda (NUR). The development of this work was part of the VAKHUM project, and the pedagogical validation is currently being performed as part of the MULTIMOD project. (+info)
Information extraction from full text scientific articles: where are the keywords?
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BACKGROUND: To date, many of the methods for information extraction of biological information from scientific articles are restricted to the abstract of the article. However, full text articles in electronic version, which offer larger sources of data, are currently available. Several questions arise as to whether the effort of scanning full text articles is worthy, or whether the information that can be extracted from the different sections of an article can be relevant. RESULTS: In this work we addressed those questions showing that the keyword content of the different sections of a standard scientific article (abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion) is very heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: Although the abstract contains the best ratio of keywords per total of words, other sections of the article may be a better source of biologically relevant data. (+info)
Galen (AD 129-200) of Pergamun: anatomist and experimental physiologist.
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Galen was a brilliant anatomist and pioneer of experimental physiology. His many important discoveries exerted a profound influence on medicine during the next 1400 years. However, his wish to solve all the problems of health and disease led him to speculate and draw mistaken conclusions which were widely believed until after the Renaissance. (+info)
Beta glucuronidase-rich cytoplasmic particles in androgen-stimulated mouse kidney. A cytobiochemical study.
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Androgens produced by stimulating mouse testis with gonadotropic hormones cause a rise in renal beta-glucuronidase but not an increase in acid or alkaline phosphatase. All subcellular components increase in beta-glucuronidase activity, with a relatively greater increment in particulate enzyme as compared with that free in the cytoplasm (non-sedimentable). A small percentage of recovered beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase, and alkaline phosphatase is found in material which rises to the surface during centrifugation in sucrose media (fraction I). The specific activity of beta-glucuronidase and acid phosphatase in this fraction is normally quite high with respect to the homogenate, while that of alkaline phosphatase is not. On the other hand, the fraction I material from androgen-stimulated mice exhibits a further increase in specific activity with respect to beta-glucuronidase and not acid phosphatase. It thus appears that there is an independence in the behavior of individual enzymes in response to physiologic stimuli in spite of obvious morphologic proximity. (+info)
Hormonal treatment of disseminated cancer of the female breast.
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1. The University of California Medical Center at San Francisco is participating in a nationwide cooperative study attempting to improve hormonal therapy of disseminated breast cancer. A prospective protocol is followed in which the antitumor efficacy of an investigational compound is compared with that of a reference standard of known efficacy. Known variables (menopausal age and site of most significant metastasis) are randomized to distribute similar patients into experimental and control groups. Assignment of the therapeutic agent is made at random to avoid bias, and where feasible, neither patient nor investigator knows which compound is given.2. Primary hormonal therapy of objectively progressing disseminated breast cancer yields objective regressions in approximately 22 percent of patients treated with any of the following: testosterone propionate, 2-alpha methyldihydrotestosterone propionate (a derivative which produces less virilization) and oral diethylstilbestrol. The average duration of regression is 10 months.3. After primary hormonal therapy has ceased to be effective, secondary hormonal therapy produces fewer than 12 per cent objective regressions when conventional estrogens, androgens, corticoids, or surgical hypophysectomy are employed. The rate rises to 19-26 per cent if corticoids are combined with triiodothyronine, or if the less virilizing androgen, 2-alpha methyldihydrotestosterone propionate is used instead of other androgens. Surprisingly, hydrocortisone 30 mg. plus triiodothyronine 50 micrograms-an innocuous combination-proved as effective as doses producing Cushing's phenomena. (+info)