Academia Anatomica International

Plastination Technique and Its Impact on Medical Education

Amit Kumar Pal, Ujwala Bhanarkar, Biswabina Ray — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Plastination has been one of the most effective preservative methods for organic tissue during the last four decades. In this technique, water and lipid content present within biological tissue samples are substituted by polymers (silicone, epoxy, polyester), resulting in dry, durable, and odourless specimens. Plastinated specimens are now used as teaching tools and various medical disciplines, such as anatomy, pathology, radiology, surgery, and so on across the world. Since its development by Gunther von Hagens in 1977, plastination is getting increasing acceptance by the day and proving itself to be an excellent resource material for both teaching and learning. This review highlights the origin, procedure, types, significance, and drawbacks of plastination along with its ethical aspects.

Morphological Patterns of Traumatic Head Injury in Medicolegal Autopsies at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar ES Salaam Tanzania

Oscar Ottoman, Amos R Mwakigonja, Peter F. Rambau — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Head injury is predicted to surpass many diseases as a major cause of death and disability by the year 2020. There is a limited documentations on morphological patterns of traumatic Head Injury and its prevalence specifically in Medical legal Autopsy in Tanzania population. The aim of this study was to determine the morphological patterns of Traumatic Head Injury (TBI) in Medical legal autopsies seen at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). Subjects and Methods: This was a hospital based cross-sectional study conducted at MNH mortuary. The postmortem examination was performed under Virchow method on 170 cases of TBI in which morphological patterns of TBI was recorded. Proportional of TBI frequencies on various morphological patterns in medical legal autopsies were recorded. Association between cause of death and etiology of TBI were established by Fisher-exact test. Results: The proportion of TBI among the medico-legal autopsy at MNH was 38.5%. All cases of TBI had scalp abrasion, and the majority had linear fracture 67(39.3%) and the commonest the parietal bone was commonly affected 85(55.6%). In closed TBI, majority had subarachnoid hemorrhage130 (84.9%). All cases of TBI had brain edema, with one coincidental finding of metastatic adenocarcinoma. A total of 42 cases of TBI had brain herniation, 51 brain laceration and 52, had brain contusion. The association between etiology of injury, wearing helmets among motor cycle user and cause of death was statistically significance (p<0.05). Conclusion: The higher proportion of TBI among medicolegal autopsies at MNH reflects the burden of head injury in our settings.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Early Clinical Exposure Program in Learning Clinical Anatomy among Medical Undergraduates

Vijisha Phalgunan, S. Baskaran — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000