Anatomy education for medical students in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in 2019: A 20-year follow-up.

Anatomical education in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland has long been under scrutiny, especially since the reforms triggered in 1993 by the General Medical Council's "Tomorrow's Doctors." The aim of the current study was to investigate the state of medical student anatomy education in the UK and Ireland in 2019. In all, 39 medical schools completed the survey (100% response rate) and trained 10,093 medical students per year cohort. The teachers comprised 760 individuals, of these 143 were employed on full-time teaching contracts and 103 were employed on education and research contracts. Since a previous survey in 1999, the number of part-time staff has increased by 300%, including a significant increase in the number of anatomy demonstrators. In 2019, anatomy was predominantly taught to medical students in either a system-based or hybrid curriculum. In all, 34 medical schools (87%) used human cadavers to teach anatomy, with a total of 1,363 donors being used per annum. Gross anatomy teaching was integrated with medical imaging in 95% of medical schools, embryology in 81%, living anatomy in 78%, neuroanatomy in 73%, and histology in 68.3%. Throughout their five years of study, medical students are allocated on average 85 h of taught time for gross anatomy, 24 h for neuroanatomy, 24 h for histology, 11 h for living anatomy, and 10 for embryology. In the past 20 years, there has been an average loss of 39 h dedicated to gross anatomy teaching and a reduction in time dedicated to all other anatomy sub-disciplines.

A Case of Cervical Radiculopathy Presenting as Dystonic Tremor.

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a cervical disc prolapse and foraminal stenosis presenting with dystonic tremor in addition to brachialgia. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 54-year-old, right-handed man presented with a dystonic tremor and aching throughout his right upper limb. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine revealed a disc osteophyte complex at C5/6 causing C6 foraminal impingement bilaterally in addition to a disc osteophyte complex at C6/C7 causing severe bilateral foraminal narrowing. Electromyography showed neurogenic changes consistent with chronic C6/7 radiculopathy. There was no response to numerous medical treatments for his dystonia or brachialgia. Computed tomography-guided right C6 and C7 root block led to complete but temporary resolution of all symptoms, including the dystonic tremor. Definitive treatment consisting of a C5/6 and C6/7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion led to a complete, immediate, and continued resolution of his right-sided brachialgia and dystonic tremor. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the potential of cervical disc prolapse to present with dystonic tremor with the likely mechanism being secondary to the painful radiculopathy and highlights the potential benefits of surgical decompression with this atypical presentation.