An Overview of Traditional and Advanced Visualization Techniques Applied to Anatomical Instruction Involving Cadaveric Dissection.

This work provides an overview of the role, basic concepts, significance, and instructional contributions of current and evolving digital visualization technologies being applied in first-year anatomy curricula. These are visualization methods that have been and are being used to support both basic science and clinical applications of gross anatomical teaching and learning to the health professions (i.e.

Coupled physical and digital cadaver dissection followed by a visual test protocol provides insights into the nature of anatomical knowledge and its evaluation.

This research effort compared and contrasted two conceptually different methods for the exploration of human anatomy in the first-year dissection laboratory by accomplished students: "physical" dissection using an embalmed cadaver and "digital" dissection using three-dimensional volume modeling of whole-body CT and MRI image sets acquired using the same cadaver. The goal was to understand the relative contributions each method makes toward student acquisition of intuitive sense of practical anatomical knowledge gained during "hands-on" structural exploration tasks. The main instruments for measuring anatomical knowledge under this conceptual model were questions generated using a classification system designed to assess both visual presentation manner and the corresponding response information required.

Relationship of cerebrospinal fluid glucose metabolites to MRI deep white matter hyperintensities and treatment resistance in bipolar disorder patients.

Objectives: Both diabetes mellitus and magnetic resonance image (MRI) deep white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are more common in bipolar disorder (BD) patients than in matched controls. Deep-as opposed to periventricular--WMHs and diabetes are associated with treatment resistance and poorer outcome. This study investigated whether brain glucose metabolism by the polyol pathway--a pathway linked to nervous tissue disease in diabetes--is related to deep WMH volume and treatment resistance in BD patients.

Myelin staining of deep white matter in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and unipolar major depression.

Neuroimaging and postmortem studies suggest the involvement of white matter disease in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and unipolar major depression. To date there is no published, collective study of myelin staining in these three psychiatric disorders. Deep white matter lesions, potentially affecting corticolimbic circuits, have been particularly implicated in late life depression and poor outcome bipolar disorder.

Relationship of white matter hyperintensities to cerebrospinal fluid glucose polyol pathway metabolites-a pilot study in treatment-resistant affective disorder patients.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are found at higher rates in patients with affective disorders, particularly late-life or treatment-resistant disorders. Studies support a vascular pathogenesis for WMHs in late-life onset disorders; however, pathogenesis in typical early-life onset disorders is less clear. Based on associations between diabetes mellitus and both WMHs and affective disorders, this study investigated the relationship between WMHs and brain glucose metabolism by the polyol pathway-a pathway linked to nervous tissue disease in diabetes.

Creating a digital video-based teaching file for interventional procedures using CT fluoroscopy.

A computerized radiology education teaching file application, MRW (Multimedia Radiology Workstation), was produced in our department as a collaboration of faculty, fellows and a doctoral student. This inexpensive and flexible system is novice-programmable and is capable of capturing images from multiple modalities (including still and cine image) and organizing them into individual electronic teaching cases. Help and tutorial functions support the main case display functions.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the human fetal philtrum.

The anatomy of the philtrum is incompletely understood because it is difficult to analyze three-dimensionally. Previous anatomic studies suggested that the philtral ridges are formed by the dermal insertion of the orbicularis oris muscle and musculis nasalis decussating across the midline, with the philtral dimple an area of few muscular insertions. This theory is inconsistent with the usual finding of a normal-appearing philtrum contralateral to the cleft in patients with unilateral cleft lip.