ABSTRACT
Background: Proficiency in anatomy is of great importance for healthcare professionals and medical students alike, as it facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the structure and function of the human body. Despite the obvious significance, medical students have often felt challenged in studying anatomy. Purpose: The studyassessed the perceptions and challenges faced by undergraduate medical students in studying anatomy at Kampala International University - Western Campus (KIU-WC) in Uganda. Materials and Methods: Employing a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive design, the study involved the administration of a standardized questionnaire to a cohort of 525 first- and second-year medical students. The questionnaire encompassed sections on student perceptions and challenges faced in studying anatomy. Results: The findings revealed that the majority of respondents 473/525 (90%) held positive perceptions of anatomy recognizing its importance in diagnosis, understanding the human body, medical terminology acquisition, and clinical preparation. While age (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.54 - 1.97, p=0.93) and gender (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.32 - 0.87, p=0.93) did not significantly impact student perceptions, positive perceptions were observed across different religious affiliations and nationalities, suggesting the universal recognition of anatomy's importance. The commonest challenges were a limited time for revision before their mid-semester and end-of-semester examination 383/525 (73.0%), information overload 374/525 (71.2%) and a lack of suitable equipment and poor internet connection for assessing online resources 352/525 (67.1%). Conclusion: In conclusion, respondents with positive perceptions dominated with higher percentages among all ages, genders, nationalities, and religions; the commonest challenges included a limited time for revisions before their mid-semester and end-of-semester examinations, information overload, a lack of suitable equipment and poor internet connection for assessing online resources.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Electromagnetic fields have been reported to alter electrical activities in the brain and heart. However, there is paucity of information on the potential functional alterations that magnetic fields from mobile phone could cause to the heart. This study investigated heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile in Wistar rats exposed to electromagnetic field radiation from a dual transceiver mobile phone (DTrMP). METHODS: Twenty-one male albino Wistar rats (140-180 g) were randomly assigned to two major groups positioned 5 m apart as follows: control: no phone (n=7) and treatment group (n=14) continuously exposed to electromagnetic field from Tecno T312 DTrMP 900/1800 MHz set in silence mode. Experimental treatment consisted in 10 min calls/day, directed to this device for a period of six weeks. Seven animals from the treatment group were allowed to recover for a period of two weeks after exposure. HRV, systolic, diastolic and mean arterial BP were noninvasively investigated, while serum lipid profile and heart tissue nitric oxide (NO) activities were determined using standard procedures. RESULTS: There was significant (p<0.05) increase in systolic, diastolic, mean arterial BP and a decrease in HRV. Serum high density lipoproteins decreased, while total cholesterol, atherogenic indices, and heart NO levels increased significantly in the radiation exposed animals. The alterations observed in exposed animals remained unchanged even after the recovery period. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that exposure to electromagnetic radiation from dual transceiver mobile phones could be a risk factor to increase in blood pressure.
