Low-cost cold porcelain anatomical models: An affordable complementary teaching tool.

BACKGROUND: Human cadavers are an important component of anatomy education; however, they have limitations. In this scenario, alternative artificial models emerge to complement teaching and enable learning in environments with scarce resources. The following study aims to demonstrate the elaboration of handmade cold porcelain models and their acceptance by medical students in a Brazilian university. APPROACH: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 70 first-year medical students using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The students' evaluation was analysed through an online questionnaire with a Likert scale and an open-ended question. The present study was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee. Five models were produced with cold porcelain and resin. EVALUATION: Qualitative evaluation highlighted the ease and practicality of the models. Students agree with the idea that the use of cadavers and handmade anatomical pieces contribute to their learning, that the handmade models are very similar to the human body, and they strongly agree that the use of both made it easier to understand the content. However, they also see the models as complementary materials, disagreeing with the idea that they are the best or the only ways to teach. In the word cloud, the words "unreal" and "complement" are often highlighted converging to the idea that was also observed in the quantitative analysis that handmade models are a complementary teaching tool. IMPLICATIONS: Cold porcelain handmade models enable the democratisation of anatomy teaching; hence, they are low-cost, easy to access, and allow the reproducibility of anatomical structures by each student. Anatomical models that emerge, such as handmade models, are an important complement to anatomy education and a solution for places with scarce resources.

Morphological variations on vital systems in a conjoined twin.

Conjoined twins (CTs), popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are a rare anomaly due to monochorionic and monoamniotic twin pregnancies. Dicephalus dibrachius dipus, a type of parapagus conjoined twin which is characterized by possessing two arms, two legs, a single trunk and two heads, epidemiologically, is an even rarer occurrence of CTs. In this article, a rare, well-preserved anatomical specimen of a dicephalus dibrachius dipus conjoined twin is presented. This study was conducted in a specimen which is part of the collection of the Embryology Museum of the institution by donation and approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC). The female conjoined twins were born at full-term by cesarean section in the 1970s and died hours after birth. A thorough anatomical description was made through observational analysis, computed tomography and 3D reconstructed images. Major abnormalities were observed in the cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive systems. The internal anatomy exhibited a heart with three atria, two ventricles, two aortic arches, two pulmonary arteries, one innominate venous trunk and a respiratory system with two tracheas and four lungs. No other report was similar to our three atria heart description. This article provides a thorough anatomical description of all systems, which is valuable information for further studies on CTs.

Ligas acadêmicas em saúde: uma revisão sistemática e proposta de checklist norteador de novos estudos / Academic leagues in health: a systematic review and proposed checklist to guide new studies

Resumo Introdução: As ligas acadêmicas (LA) são grupos organizados sem fins lucrativos que seguem os princípios do trinômio universitário (ensino, pesquisa e extensão) por discentes e profissionais orientadores, historicamente presentes em faculdades de Medicina, mas também difundidas em diversos cursos de saúde. No entanto, o conhecimento sobre as LA é limitado. Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivos realizar uma revisão sistemática sobre as LA de saúde no Brasil, analisar o perfil demográfico e atuação delas no país, e propor concomitantemente um checklist norteador para a redação de relatos de experiência sobre a temática. Método: O estudo consiste em uma revisão sistemática que adotou as orientações do PRISMA e utilizou como banco de dados a BVS e Medline. Realizaram-se a descrição de detalhes das LA, a evolução histórica, o perfil demográfico e a avaliação bibliométrica dos dados obtidos. Além disso, elaborou-se um checklist (Crelas) para orientar novos relatos de experiência de LA. Resultado: Foram selecionados 2.064 estudos, e incluíram-se 74 artigos em 20 anos de análise (2003-2022). O perfil das LA em saúde se alterou com o passar dos anos, chegando ao modelo atual pautado no tripé de atividades. Ainda assim, as LA são heterogêneas no país, concentradas em algumas regiões, especialmente no Sudeste. Ademais, observaram-se uma heterogeneidade dos estudos, ausência de uma revista central e carência de estudos quantitativos uni/multicêntricos que avaliassem o impacto das LA na formação dos estudantes. Conclusão: Ainda são necessários novos estudos sobre essa temática com o propósito de esclarecer a lacuna acerca das atividades desenvolvidas e seus impactos acadêmicos e sociais.

Abstract Introduction: Academic Leagues (ALs) are not-for-profit groups commonly organized by graduate students and advisors in Brazilian universities, that follow the principles of the academic triad (teaching, research, and service). Historically found in medical schools, they have also been widespread in several health courses. However, knowledge about ALs is limited. Objectives: To conduct a systematic review on academic health leagues in Brazil, analyze the demographic profile and performance of ALs in Brazil, proposing concomitantly a checklist guide for the writing of experience reports on the subject. Methods: The study consists of a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines and using the BVS Health and Medline databases. Details of ALs, their historical evolution, demographic profile, and bibliometric evaluation of the obtained data were described. In addition, a checklist was developed to guide new reports on AL experiences. Results: A total of 2,064 studies were selected, with 74 articles included in 20 years of analysis (2003-2022). The profile of health ALs has changed over the years, reaching the current model based on the triad of activities. However, ALs are heterogeneous in Brazil, concentrated in some regions, especially in the Southeast. Moreover, the heterogeneity of the studies, absence of a central scientific journal, and lack of quantitative uni/multicentric studies that assess the impact of ALs on student education were observed. Conclusion: New studies within this theme are still necessary to clarify the activities developed and their academic and social impacts.

Anatomia além do laboratório: a história de uma liga acadêmica de anatomia geral / Anatomy beyond the laboratory: the history of an academic league of general anatomy

Introdução: Ligas acadêmicas buscam ampliar a formação médica dos acadêmicos. Representam entidades com autonomia perante a faculdade, desenvolvidas por discentes e supervisionadas por docentes, apoiadas no tripé ensino, pesquisa e extensão. Objetivos: Relatar a experiência de um grupo de estudos em anatomia; descrever a fundação de uma liga acadêmica, elucidando os diversos aspectos que envolveram esse processo, a experiência dos membros, os impasses e os benefícios; ressaltar os trabalhos, principalmente no âmbito científico, desenvolvidos desde sua fundação, em 2019, até 2022; ampliar as informações na literatura sobre o trabalho desenvolvido pelas ligas e exemplificar atividades que tiveram êxito. Método: Estudo descritivo. Em 2018, alunos do primeiro ano do curso de medicina criaram um grupo de estudos de anatomia, buscando aprimoramento técnico-científico. Com a ajuda do docente da disciplina e, em 2019, fundaram a Liga Acadêmica de Anatomia Geral, no Centro Universitário Padre Albino. Resultados: A liga tem possibilitado uma conexão próxima entre os estudantes e a comunidade local, acadêmica e científica. Tornou-se referência na faculdade a partir do suporte à iniciação científica envolvendo alunos desde o primeiro semestre da graduação, com a realização de 11 projetos de pesquisa até agosto de 2022. Conclusão: Ligas acadêmicas de anatomia permitem a intersecção de diversas especialidades médicas, promovendo a especialização precoce e o aperfeiçoando do conhecimento generalista

Introduction: Academic leagues seek to expand the medical training of academics. They represent entities with autonomy before the faculty, developed by students and supervised by teachers, based on the tripod of teaching, research and extension. Objectives: Report the experience of an anatomy study group; describe the founding of an academic league, elucidating the various aspects that involved this process, the members' experience, the impasses and the benefits; highlight the work, mainly in the scientific field, developed since its foundation, in 2019, until 2022; expand information in the literature about the work carried out by the leagues and exemplify activities that were successful. Method: Descriptive study. In 2018, first-year medical students created an anatomy study group, seeking technical-scientific improvement. With the help of the subject teacher and, in 2019, they founded the General Anatomy Academic League, at the Padre Albino University Center. Results: The league has enabled a close connection between students and the local academic and scientific community. It became a reference in the faculty by supporting scientific initiation involving students from the first semester of graduation, with the completion of 11 research projects until August 2022. Conclusion: Anatomy academic leagues allow the intersection of different medical specialties, promoting early specialization and the improvement of generalist knowledge.

B-Cell Lymphoma Intramedullary Tumor: Case Report and Systematic Review.

Intramedullary tumors represent the major cause of spinal cord injuries, and its symptoms include pain and weakness. Progressive weakness may concomitantly occur in the upper and lower limbs, along with lack of balance, spine tenderness, sensory loss, trophic changes of extremity, hyperreflexia, and clonus. The study protocol was in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A systematic search of the MEDLINE electronic database was performed to identify the studies reporting the clinical features of children and adults who presented with an intramedullary lymphoma. Twenty-one studies were included, reporting 25 cases. Manuscripts were excluded if the full-text article was not available, original data were not reported (e.g., review articles), or if the main disease was not intramedullary lymphoma. A structured data extraction form was employed to standardize the identification and retrieval of data from manuscripts. To enlighten the discussion, a case is also presented. An 82-year-old woman with Fitzpatrick skin type II, diagnosed and treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 7 years ago, was admitted with mental confusion and memory loss for the past 2 months-evolving with recurring falls from her own height. One day before admission, she displayed Brown-Séquard syndrome. An expansive lesion from C2 to C4 in the cervical spinal cord was found and a hypersignal spinal cord adjacent was described at the bulb medullary transition to the C6-C7 level. A primary spinal cord tumor was considered, as well as a melanoma metastasis, due to the lesion's flame pattern. The patient presented a partial recovery of symptoms and a reduction of the spinal cord edema after being empirically treated with corticosteroids, but the lesion maintained its extent. Subsequently, a large diffuse B-cell lymphoma with nongerminal center was found in open body biopsy, infiltrating neural tissue. The main objective of the present study is to report a surgical case treated for a large diffuse B-cell lymphoma, in addition to presenting the results of a systematic review of primary intramedullary spinal cord lymphoma.

Artéria vertebral esquerda anômala ­ relato de caso / Anomalous left vertebral artery ­ case report

Introdução: Os procedimentos cirúrgicos e radiológicos das regiões do tórax e pescoço são frequentes e a identificação precoce de variantes do arco da aorta e especificamente da artéria vertebral ajudam a identificar possíveis obstáculos nesses procedimentos, antes que se tornem um problema. Objetivo: Relatar um caso de variação da artéria vertebral esquerda. Método: Estudo descritivo, retrospectivo de um relato de caso sobre artéria vertebral anômala identificada por meio de uma dissecção de rotina. Resultados: Durante o procedimento se observou que o arco da artéria aorta apresentava um ramo arterial emergindo entre a artéria carótida comum esquerda e a artéria subclávia esquerda. Posteriormente, avançando a dissecção para a região cervical, identificou-se que o ramo variável do arco aórtico se tratava da artéria vertebral esquerda, confirmando seu trajeto pelo forame do processo transverso das vértebras cervicais. Conclusão: Dessa forma, torna-se importante apresentar o presente relato de caso da artéria vertebral anômala, bem como discutir as possíveis implicações cirúrgicas, hemodinâmicas e radiológicas do achado. É fundamental o conhecimento das variações anatômicas da artéria vertebral, as quais, possuem relevância cirúrgica, radiológica e hemodinâmica, já que processos patológicos podem ser observados ou negligenciados por métodos de imagem. Assim, podem-se evitar eventuais lesões iatrogênicas baseadas no conhecimento prévio dessa variação

Introduction: Surgical and radiological procedures of the thorax and neck regions are frequent and early identification of variants of the aortic arch and specifically the vertebral artery help to identify possible obstacles in these procedures, before they become a problem. Objective: To report a case of variation of the left vertebral artery. Methods: Descriptive, retrospective study of a case report on anomalous vertebral artery identified by routine dissection. Results: During the procedure it was observed that the arch of the aortic artery had an arterial branch emerging between the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery. Subsequently, advancing the dissection to the cervical region, it was identified that the variable branch of the aortic arch was the left vertebral artery, confirming its path through the foramen of the transverse process of the cervical vertebrae. Conclusion: Thus, it is important to present the present case report of the anomalous vertebral artery, as well as to discuss the possible surgical, hemodynamic and radiological implications of the finding. It is essential to know the anatomical variations of the vertebral artery, which have surgical, radiological and hemodynamic relevance, since pathological processes can be observed or neglected by imaging methods. Thus, one can avoid eventual iatrogenic lesions based on prior knowledge of this variation.

Introducción: Los procedimientos quirúrgicos y radiológicos en las regiones de tórax y cuello son frecuentes y la identificación temprana de variantes del arco aórtico y específicamente de la arteria vertebral ayuda a identificar posibles obstáculos en estos procedimientos, antes de que se conviertan en un problema. Objetivo: Reportar un caso de variación de la arteria vertebral izquierda. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo de un reporte de caso sobre una arteria vertebral anómala identificada a través de una disección de rutina. Resultados: Durante el procedimiento se observó que el arco aórtico presentaba una rama arterial que emergía entre la arteria carótida común izquierda y la arteria subclavia izquierda. Posteriormente, avanzando la disección a la región cervical, se identificó que la rama variable del arco aórtico era la arteria vertebral izquierda, confirmándose su trayecto por el foramen de la apófisis transversa de las vértebras cervicales. Conclusión: Por lo tanto, es importante presentar el presente caso clínico de arteria vertebral anómala, así como discutir las posibles implicaciones quirúrgicas, hemodinámicas y radiológicas del hallazgo. Es fundamental conocer las variaciones anatómicas de la arteria vertebral, las cuales tienen relevancia quirúrgica, radiológica y hemodinámica, ya que los procesos patológicos pueden ser observados o despreciados por métodos de imagen. Así, se pueden evitar posibles lesiones iatrogénicas en base al conocimiento previo de esta variación

Congenital morphological patterns of myocardial bridges.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial bridging (MB) is a coronary anomaly in which a segment of the coronary artery is overlapped by a layer of myocardial tissue. Nowadays, there is no scientific agreement on if the MB are congenital or acquired or on the factors that determine their presence and/or absence. OBJECTIVE: This study is performed to analyze the anatomical characteristics of adult and children's hearts regarding the shape of the left coronary artery branching, presence of pre-bridge arterial branch, coronary dominance and its correlations to MB formation. METHODS: We analyzed 240 adults heart specimens and 63 children's specimens. The frequency of the myocardial bridges (MB) occurrence was performed through observational study of the anatomical specimens. The shape of the left coronary artery (LCA) branching, presence of pre-bridge arterial branch (PBB) and coronary dominance was determined superficial dissection of the epicardial adipose tissue and careful evaluation of the hearts. RESULTS: A relation between the trifurcated pattern of the LCA and the presence of MB (P<0.0001, odds ratio=3.74) was found in adults heart and in children's hearts (P=0.003, odds ratio=16.0), as well as a relation between the presence of PBB and the presence of MB in adult hearts (P<0.0001) and children's hearts (P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest for the first time that the myocardial bridges are related to the presence of trifurcation of the left coronary artery and the pre-bridge arterial branch in adult and children's hearts.

Anomalous drainage of the right gonadal vein.

The present research aims to present and describe an unusual and rare anatomical variation in relation to the drainage of the right gonadal vein. This anatomical knowledge is crucial as it assists in the work of surgeons and health professionals in general. The dissection occurred in the anterior wall of the abdomen and, through observational analysis, an anatomical variation was found in the drainage of the right gonadal vein in a human cadaver, obtained by anonymous donation, male gender and without predetermined clinical characteristics, ethnicity, and age, belonging to the Padre Albino University Center collection. This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under protocol 12923919.8.0000.5430. The drainage of right gonadal vein is this variant occurs anastomosed with an innominate venous trunk that empties into the inferior vena cava. Furthermore, the presence of an accessory right renal vein is also noticed, which anastomoses with the innominate venous trunk and with the right renal vein, through a vein suggestively called interrenal, differing from the anatomical normality described in the literature. This variation is supposed to occur due to flaws in the development of the embryo, which generate venous changes in the origins of the right gonadal vein. Acknowledging the existence of it is relevant when performing surgical procedures in the region, as it differs from the most frequent anatomy found in the human population. The rare drainage of the right gonadal vein through an innominate trunk to the inferior vena cava and its importance is highlighted in this article.