Communicating morphological concepts in health sciences.

A program in Health Sciences Education at McMaster University, centered on the undergraduate M.D. program in particular, has changed the educational methodology used in teaching and learning to a different approach than the traditional method.

Computed tomography of the orbit.

In less than a decade computed tomography (CT scanning) had a profound impact on diagnostic radiology. Radiology of the orbit is no exception. As early as 1973, reports published in the radiological literature indicated that this new noninvasive imaging method was a highly effective way of demonstrating intraorbital mass lesions.

[Adaptation of human morphology to the teaching requirements of professional training].

This paper discusses the method by which self-teaching modules were evaluated in the Faculty of Anatomy in McMaster University. More than one hundred modules on morphology were prepared for self-teaching purposes, based on the needs of the professional. The effectiveness of the module was determined on the basis of the records on its use, evaluation tests, and student comments.

The simulated tutorial. Method for assessing medical school applicants.

The simulated tutorial is a method for selecting medical students by their performance in a small problem-solving group, currently being tested at McMaster University. Four hundred and thirty-two applicants were randomly allocated to groups consisting of 5 or 6 members, assigned a group leader, and asked to work through two unstructured problem situations in a 50-minute session. Assessors, seated behind a one-way mirror, evaluated applicants according to their abilities to relate to their peers, to function in the group, and to define issues in the problem situations.

Fine structure of Pacinian corpuscles in the mesentery of the cat.

Pacinian corpuscles in the mesentery of adult cats were fixed with either glutaraldehyde, osmium tetroxide or permanganate solutions by close intra-arterial injection through the mesenteric artery, and were processed, after electron staining and Epon embedding, for electron microscopy. Better resolution of the corpuscle's ultrastructure was obtained than available heretofore. The myelinated segment of the corpuscle contains blood vessels separated from the axon by collagen fibers and 3 to 4 layers of lamellae.

Agenesis of the right lung: an unusual presentation.

A case of agenesis or aplasia of the right lung, in a cyanosed neonate, exceptionally associated with a `vascular ring' abnormality produced by a right aortic arch, an aberrant left subclavian artery, and a patent ductus arteriosus, is reported. The presence of an abnormal lobe of the liver, projecting together with small gut and a subhepatic caecum into the right hemithorax, caused mediastinal displacement to the left side and produced the illusion of a diaphragmatic hernia, thereby obscuring the correct preoperative diagnosis.