Perceptions of First-Year Medical Students on the Use of Whole SlideImaging in Learning Histology

Background: Traditional practice in histology teaching is to use the optical microscope for examination of the slides. Whole slide imaging (WSI) or virtual microscopy is an innovation that uses the scanned images of the histology slides that can be seen in any device that can be connected to the internet. WSI allows the user to pan and zooms the slide just like in a microscope, and the quality of the image is also reported to be superior to an optical microscope. The aim of the study was to assess the first-year medical students’ perceptions on the use of whole slide imaging in learning histology slides. Settings and Design is Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey. Subjects and Methods : Students of phase I MBBS were the study participants. Practical sessions on the histology of the gastrointestinal tract were conducted using the whole slide imaging. Using a 10 item questionnaire, feedback was obtained at the end of the teaching sessions. Statistical analysis used Descriptive statistics were used to explain the data.Results: The students showed a positive response in embracing this new mode of histology teaching. There was uniform support to the fact that the image quality and ease of use of the pan and zoom feature were useful in identifying details of the tissues.Conclusions:WSI was accepted with enthusiasm as a much-needed innovation in histology learning. If not a supplant, WSI can be used as an adjunct to traditional glass slide teaching using an optical microscope

Prevalence of anatomical variations of cystic artery in South Indian cadavers.

Background: The knowledge of variations in the origin and course of cystic artery is important for the surgeons as uncontrolled bleeding from the cystic artery and its branches can be fatal during cholecystectomy. Intra operative bleeding can result in an increase in the risk of intra operative injury to vital vascular and biliary structures. Keeping in view the clinical significance and applied importance of the cystic artery anatomy and to add some more knowledge to the existing ones, the present study was undertaken, to know in detail the level of origin, length, and variations in the course and relation of the cystic artery. Methods: The present study was performed on 100 human liver specimens with intact gallbladder and extrahepatic duct system, obtained after dissection from the cadavers in the Department of Anatomy and from post-mortem cases from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore, over a period of 18 months. Results: Most common source of origin of the cystic artery was the right hepatic artery in 92 cases (92%) followed by aberrant right hepatic artery in 4 cases (4%) and the least common sources observed were the left hepatic artery in 1 case (1%) and the gastroduodenal artery in 1 case (1%).Mean length of the cystic artery was 17.6 mm and ranged between 3.7 mm to 42 mm. Out of the 100 dissected specimens, in 65 (65%) the cystic artery was found inside the Calot’s triangle and in 35 (35%) outside the triangle. Conclusion: This study provides details of the normal as well as the variant anatomy of the cystic artery, knowledge of which is very essential for the surgeons to minimize the risk of injury to the blood vessels and the biliary apparatus during cholecystectomy.

Long-term follow up of mesenchymal hamartoma of liver-single center study

Mesenchymal hamartoma of liver [MHL] is a rare liver tumor of childhood. About 200 cases have been reported till now. Most of the work on MHL is limited to case reports and there are not many long term follow-up studies. We present our 20 years of experience with this uncommon entity. This study aims to highlight clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of MHL. All patients with a diagnosis of MHL in last 20 years were included in this retrospective study. The patients were evaluated clinically, radiologically and pathologically. The total number of patients with a diagnosis of MHL was nine. Mean age of the patients was 19.89 +/- 2.75 months. Right lobe was involved in eight patients. The prominent clinical features were distension of abdomen and anorexia. Surgical options used were hepatic lobectomy, wedge resection and enucleation. Histopathology of the specimens showed cysts of variable size with normal hepatocytes, bile ducts and connective tissue stroma. Overall mortality was one [11.11%].: MHL is a benign tumor that can present with various clinical features. It should be differentiated carefully from other liver masses especially malignant ones. The diagnosis can be made with the help of radiology and histopathology. Adequate resection is curative in most of the cases and long-term follow up is satisfactory

Bilateral macular hole secondary to remote lightning strike.

We report a case of a 16-year-old girl, who was struck by lightning, and experienced blurred vision in the right eye (RE) immediately following the episode. She reported for ophthalmic evaluation two months later. Examination revealed relative afferent pupillary defect in the RE. Posterior subcapsular cataract was noted in both eyes. Fundus examination revealed macular holes and multiple areas of RPE hyperpigmentation in the periphery in both eyes. Fundus fluorescein angiography showed increased choroidal transmission with early fluorescence and late fading in the foveal region and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) stippling in the periphery in both eyes. This is the first case report of such nature in India to the best of our knowledge.