Localization of the greater occipital nerve through palpation of bony landmarks: A cadaveric study.

OBJECTIVE: to provide anatomic confirmation that standard methods which practitioners skilled in palpation use, can reliably identify the most likely site of emergence of the greater occipital nerve in most patients. The location and frequency of subcutaneous emergence of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery with respect to the external occipital protuberance-mastoid line are reported. METHODS: The external occipital protuberance and the mastoid processes were identified by palpation bilaterally on 57 body donors and the medial trisection point of a line connecting these bony landmarks was identified. A 4 cm circular dissection guide divided into 4 quadrants was centered on the trisection point and used to guide the removal of a circle of skin. The in-situ location of the nerve and artery were exposed by deep dissection within the circle. The frequency of the emergence and occurrence of the nerve and artery by quadrant were analyzed. RESULTS: In 114 total dissections the greater occipital nerve was found to emerge within the circle 96 times (84%) and the occipital artery 100 times (88%). The nerve (90%) and artery (81%) emerged from the two inferior quadrants most of the time with no difference noted between male and female donors. The greater occipital nerve and occipital artery were found to emerge together most commonly in inferior lateral quadrant. Branches of the nerve and artery traveled together most frequently through the two lateral quadrants. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that the medial trisection point of the external occipital protuberance-mastoid line can be located via palpation and reliably used to pinpoint the subcutaneous emergence of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery in most individuals. When relying on palpation alone to identify the trisection point in the clinic, infusion of nerve block inferior and lateral to this point is most likely to bathe the greater occipital nerve in anesthetic.

Advancing Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training in Medical Schools: Ultrasound-Guided Subclavian Vein Access Training Using Formalin-Embalmed Cadavers.

This brief report examines the feasibility of using formalin-embalmed cadavers in training medical students to use ultrasound guidance to access the subclavian. This novel educational approach is discussed in the context of the ongoing integration of point-of-care ultrasound training into medical education. Additionally, this report explores how cadavers can provide practical, effective, and hands-on skills training opportunities for medical students to learn to perform common clinical procedures under ultrasound guidance. DESIGN: This report presents subjective and objective data evaluating the utility of teaching medical students to perform ultrasound-guided subclavian vein access on formalin-embalmed cadavers. SETTING: Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ivins, UT. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five first-year medical students at Rocky Vista University. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Pre and posttraining questionnaires were administered to assess each participant's self-confidence in using ultrasonography to access the subclavian vein of a cadaver. A statistically significant increase in participant self-confidence was observed across all questionnaire items from pre to posttraining. Objective evaluation consisted of a supervised skills test. Participants were evaluated on their ability to visualize the subclavian vein with ultrasound and achieve flashback of blood/embalming fluid into a syringe. During skills testing, the number of needle sticks and the time taken to achieve flashback were recorded for each participant. Twenty-three of the 25 participants were able to successfully complete the skills testing assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The formalin-embalmed cadaver can be a readily available and effective learning tool for medical education programs seeking to provide training opportunities in ultrasound-guided clinical procedures. The use of cadavers allows learners to train in a low stress and anatomically authentic environment without risk of patient discomfort.

The Effects of Pre-medical Anatomy and Clinical Experiences on Medical School Anatomy-Related Academic Performance.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the effects that pre-medical patient care clinical experiences and anatomical education had on undergraduate medical course grades and anatomy practical exam scores. This study provides a unique perspective to this line of inquiry in that it included data from 9 class year cohorts between academic years 2010-2011 and 2018-2019, all from a single institution. METHODS: A survey to assess pre-medical clinical and anatomical experiences was completed by each new matriculate. Results were compared to each student's course grades and anatomy practical exam scores. The effects of pre-medical experiences on practical scores and final grades were evaluated using generalized linear mixed models. RESULTS: Several positive and negative associations were identified. The most obvious effect revealed by data analysis was the class year cohort effect, seen as variation in the academic performance of each cohort from year-to-year. Other significant results included a positive association between pre-medical comparative anatomy coursework and anatomy assessment performance over the entire year's anatomy curriculum. Counterintuitively, some pre-medical clinical experiences, such as nursing experience, had a negative effect on course grades and practical exam performance. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-medical students can use this information to decide whether to enroll in undergraduate anatomy courses or engage in extra pre-medical clinical work. It may also be valuable to medical school admissions departments in regard to determining the anatomy coursework and clinical experience requirements for their applicants.

The Feasibility of Ultrasound-Guided Knee Arthrocentesis Training Using Formalin-Embalmed.

BACKGROUND: The use of ultrasound guidance during knee arthrocentesis has proven to increase operator confidence and accuracy, particularly in novice healthcare providers. Realistic and practical means of teaching this procedure to medical trainees are needed. This study is intended to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using formalin-embalmed human cadavers in the instruction of ultrasound-guided knee arthrocentesis to medical trainees. METHODS: Twenty participants received a 30-minute didactic orientation detailing the principles of ultrasound-guided knee arthrocentesis, followed by a training practicum performed on human cadavers. The practicum included a 25-minute training period, followed by a 15-minute assessment period. Participants were objectively assessed on their ability to independently aspirate synovial fluid from the suprapatellar bursa using ultrasound guidance. Digital pretraining and posttraining questionnaires were administered to evaluate each participant's confidence in their ability to independently locate the site of optimal needle placement and successfully aspirate synovial fluid with the guidance of ultrasound imaging. RESULTS: An analysis via the Wilcoxon rank sum testing revealed that participant self-confidence increased significantly after training across all assessment items (p < 0.0001). Fifteen participants (75%) successfully aspirated 1 mL of synovial fluid on their first attempt, whereas 3 participants (15%) were successful on their second attempt. Two participants (10%) failed to perform a successful aspiration within the 15-minute time limit. The average time required to aspirate 1 mL of synovial fluid was 41 seconds. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound images of the formalin-embalmed suprapatellar bursa are of sufficient quality to use in the instruction of arthrocentesis to medical trainees. Brief instruction using formalin-embalmed cadaver models significantly increases trainee confidence and prepares first-year medical students to successfully and independently perform ultrasound-guided knee arthrocentesis.

Independent learning of the sonographic FAST exam technique using a tablet-based training module.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine if a specific tablet-based training module can be used as an effective tool for independently training novice sonographers in the components of the focused assessment for sonography in trauma (FAST) exam. DESIGN: Participants attended a 15-minute orientation presentation followed by a 2-hour ultrasound scanning workshop where they used a novel tablet-based training module to learn the components of the FAST exam independently. SETTING: This study took place at an accredited United States college of osteopathic medicine. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two first-year medical student volunteers without any prior ultrasound training in abdominal scanning. INTERVENTIONS: Training activities included brief didactic training and participation in an independent learning FAST exam workshop. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants filled out subjective pre- and post-training self-confidence questionnaires and were objectively assessed and scored on their scanning skills. RESULTS: Comparison of the pre- and post-training subjective questionnaires showed a statistically significant (p < 0.001) increase in participant confidence in performing all components of the FAST exam. During skill evaluation, participants collectively demonstrated correct technique in 366 (82 percent) of the 448 total FAST exam scanning tasks they attempted. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, the authors believe that learning to perform the FAST exam with this digital training module is an effective means of independently acquiring ultrasound skill. Digital ultrasound training modules like this one could have several useful applications, such as serving as an educational resource, or functioning as a point-of-care scanning adjunct to medical professionals in underdeveloped and rural areas where formal ultrasound training is not available.

An economical strategy for early medical education in ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: A movement to include ultrasound training in undergraduate medical education is slowly taking place. However, many educational institutions are hesitant to include formal ultrasound training as a part of their curricula due to curricular time constraints, high cost of ultrasound equipment, and a lack of sufficient faculty skilled with ultrasound. We suggest that an economical ultrasound training strategy is needed to resolve these obstacles and enable hesitant medical programs to include ultrasound training. METHODS: Twenty-eight first year medical students volunteered to attend extra-curricular ultrasound training sessions covering topics related to 11 commonly used sonographical imaging categories. Study assessments included subjective pre/post-training skill evaluation surveys, and objective numerical scores awarded by the session instructor during real-time evaluation of each participant's performance in obtaining each target ultrasound view. RESULTS: A Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was performed to evaluate the difference between pre-training and post-training survey questions. P values < 0.05 were considered significant. Moreover, following analysis the p value for all test was found to be < 0.0001. Of the 308 total ultrasound-related tasks attempted collectively by all 28 participants, only 7 (2.3%) tasks were deemed unsuccessful by an instructor. CONCLUSIONS: The training program presented in this study requires one faculty member, a single ultrasound machine, and time to conduct six 30-min training sessions with small groups of students over 4 weeks. Many medical schools are concerned that they don't have adequate time or resources to include ultrasound training in their curricula. Our intention is to negate these concerns by providing a simple and practical training method that is both temporally and fiscally economical.

3D reconstruction and heat map of porcine recurrent laryngeal nerve anatomy: branching and spatial location.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy is a common post-operative complication of many head and neck surgeries. Theoretically, the best treatment to restore partial function to a damaged recurrent laryngeal nerve would be reinnervation of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle via anastomosis of the recurrent laryngeal and phrenic nerves. The pig is an excellent model of human laryngeal anatomy and physiology but a more thorough knowledge of porcine laryngeal anatomy is necessary before the pig can be used to improve existing surgical strategies, and develop new ones. This study first identifies the three most common recurrent laryngeal nerve branching patterns in the pig. Secondly, this study presents three-dimensional renderings of the porcine larynx onto which the recurrent laryngeal nerve patterns are accurately mapped. Lastly, heat maps are presented to display the spatial variability of recurrent laryngeal nerve trunks and primary branches on each side of 15 subjects (28 specimens). We intend for this study to be useful to groups using a porcine model to study posterior cricoarytenoid muscle reinnervation techniques.