A unique and effective method of anatomy education: Small-group learning with prosected plastinated specimens.

Objective: At the New York University College of Dentistry, we are faced with the challenge of teaching Head and Neck Anatomy to a class of approximately 380 first-year students. We have developed an innovative anatomy curriculum that has proven effective in facilitating students' learning and long-term retention of the material. It has the added benefit of being time- and cost-efficient.

A novel transgenic mouse model of fetal encephalization and craniofacial development.

There are surprisingly few experimental models of neural growth and cranial integration. This, and the dearth of information regarding fetal brain development, detracts from a mechanistic understanding of cranial integration and its relevance to the ontogenetic and interspecific patterning of the form of the skull. To address this shortcoming, our research uses transgenic mice expressing a stabilized form of β-catenin to isolate the effects of encephalization on the development of the basi- and neuro-cranium.