Medical students' attitudes towards the clinical importance of embryology.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the attitudes of medical students towards the clinical importance of embryology. METHODS: The cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from September to November 2019 at the private-sector Islam Medical College, Sialkot, Pakistan, and comprised first and final year medical students. A validated questionnaire, consisting of 20 statements, was used to collect data. Students had to tick only those statements with which they were in full agreement. Prior to data-collection, a median score was taken of 50 anatomy teachers regarding their opinion on each statement. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: Of the 194 subjects, 97(50%) each were from the first and final years. The medical students as well as the faculty were found to be appreciative of the importance of embryology in medical studies, with female students showing better attitudes in both the first and the final year groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The attitude of students and faculty was found to be positive towards the importance of embryology in medical education.

Immobilization induced degeneration in intervertebral discs of rats and protective effects of omega 3 fatty acids and CoQ10

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of immobilization on the radiological indices of rats' intervertebral disc (IVD) and observe the protective effects of Omega 3 fatty acids and Co-enzyme Q 10 (CoQ10). The study comprised 40 Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250-300g. After random selection, rats were divided into four groups having 10 animals in each. Group A rats, on standard lab diet, served as control group. Group B rats were disc immobilized by using an Illizarov-type apparatus which was applied for 60 days. Group C and D rats after disc immobilization were administrated with Omega 3 fatty acids (260 mg/kg/day) (Abdou and Hassan, 2014) and CoQ10 (150 mg/kg/day) (Kwong et al., 2002) through oral gavage respectively. Radiographs of rat tails were taken at the start and end of experiment to measure disc height index (DHI) and disc wedge index (DWI).On radiological examination, mean DHI of group A was measured as 0.0581 ± 0.004 while of Group B was 0.0324 ± 0.008 which was significantly lower as compared to group A (p-value <0.001). Whereas in groups C and D, mean DHI were 0.0552 ± 0.003 and 0.0563 ± 0.003 respectively. Similarly mean DWI of group A was calculated as 1.086 ± 0.020 and for Group B it was 1.628 ± 0.355 which was significantly increased than group A (p value < 0.001). Mean DWI of group C and D were calculated as 1.147 ± 0.038 and 1.188 ± 0.023 respectively showing improvement after administration of Omega 3 and CoQ10.In this study, radiological changes induced by immobilization in IVDs of the experimental rats and its reversal by omega 3 and CoQ10 were proven. Omega 3 and CoQ10 administration minimized immobilization induced degeneration of IVDs

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