DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY

Introduction

Anatomy is the oldest of the basic medical sciences. It deals with the way different structures, organs and parts are organized in the human body. Anatomists can look at the whole body from the surface as exposed to the naked eyes down to the subcellular level. The subject of Anatomy also encompasses or integrates the knowledge of how humans have possibly evolved and how they look alike with other animals or differ from them structurally, how a human being forms inside a mother’s womb, how heredity models its form and function and how its structural characteristics relate to different functions as well as to dysfunctions.

Thus, through the ages Anatomy has been regarded as the very first discipline that an undergraduate or a postgraduate medical student would encounter in the beginning of his/her student life.

Historical background

The Department of Anatomy at BSMMU runs under the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences. At its inception in 1966 as one of the departments of the then Institute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research (IPGMR), the department offered the degree of MSc (Master of Science) in Anatomy. After the liberation of Bangladesh, the course was converted to MPhil (Master of Philosophy). In 1980, in addition to the MPhil course for the doctors, BSc and MSc courses in Anatomy were introduced for non-medical students. These courses continued till 1983. Some of these students have done MPhil or PhD in Anatomy at home or abroad to pursue their career as anatomists. In July 2001, a three-year-long MS (Master of Surgery) in Anatomy course was introduced replacing the two-year-long MPhil course. However, after a year, the MS course was discontinued and the MPhil course was reintroduced. The number of anatomists, who got their MSc, MPhil or MS degree from the department and are now serving as teachers in Anatomy at home or abroad, is close to 100.  A three-year-long PhD course in Anatomy has just started this year and applications have been invited from career anatomists having MPhil or equivalent degree.

Apart from running courses aimed at producing or involving career anatomists, Department of Anatomy had been engaged in teaching the anatomical aspects relevant to different clinical disciplines for the students of the FCPS (Fellow of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons) courses from its very inception. Later on, when MD (Doctor of Medicine), MS (Master of Surgery) and MPhil courses in these disciplines were introduced at the university, the department was given the task of teaching the anatomical aspects included in those courses. DDS (Diploma in Dental Surgery) is another course served by the department.

Until 2001, most of the postgraduate courses in clinical disciplines of different specialised institutes of the country were affiliated with BSMMU, and the students of these institutes had their anatomical education from the department.

Foreign students from different countries have also been enrolled in different courses.

LOCATION AND ORGANIZATION OF SPACe

The department lies on the 6^th floor of the Basic Sciences Building (Block-B) of BSMMU. It has got a dissection hall-cum-museum, a Histology class room, a Histology lab, a Developmental Anatomy lab, computer rooms and separate areas for students’ self-learning activities.

Faculty and specialiZed staff

The present specialized manpower structure of the department is as follows:

1. Professor and Chairman- 1
2. Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology- 1
3. Curator (Associate Professor)- 1
4. Associate Professor- 1
5. Assistant Professors- 2
6. Research Assistants- 2
7. Laboratory Technologist- 1
8. Taxidermist- 1
9. Domes- 2

courses presently run by the department

The department is involved in three types of courses: MPhil (Medical Science) Anatomy, PhD in Anatomy and the Anatomy portion of the MD, MS, MPhil and Diploma courses of clinical disciplines.

MPhil (Medical Science) Anatomy

Eligibility: MBBS or equivalent degree, or MSc in Anatomy from IPGMR,  along  with other criteria as fixed by BSMMU.

Duration: 2 years.  

No. of students: Every year, in July, 10 students are admitted. At present, there are 14 students.

Objectives:

To produce career anatomists with the appropriate cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in different subdivisions of Anatomy and allied subjects, effectively correlated with their functional and clinical implications, which will enable them to:

• Facilitate students’ learning of Anatomy and allied subjects in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses following updated understanding of the philosophies and techniques of medical education.
• Participate properly in the assessment of undergraduate and postgraduate students’ cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in Anatomy and allied subjects following updated understanding of the philosophies and techniques of medical education.
• Develop and nurture a scientific, inquisitive and analytical mind and skills adequate for doing and supervising scientific research in the field of Anatomy and allied subjects.
• Contribute effectively to the planning, implementation and evaluation of various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Anatomy and allied subjects and thereby to the advancement of the subjects.
• Contribute effectively, as members of teams of specialists, to medico-legal activities in terms of   identification of body parts, age determination, DNA analysis etc.                                                                                                                                   

PhD in Anatomy

Eligibility: MPhil in Anatomy along with other criteria as fixed by BSMMU.

Duration: 3 years.         

Objectives:

To develop adequate cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in the career anatomists (MPhil), through innovative research, so that they can:

• Build up a better understanding of anatomy and allied subjects in explaining the human body and its functions from different perspectives.
• Use their scientific, inquisitive and research-oriented minds in expanding the horizons of anatomical basis, on which other disciplines can flourish in enriching the understanding of the human body and eliviating its sufferings.

MD, MS, MPhil and Diploma courses in clinical disciplines

Eligibility: MBBS / BDS or equivalent degree/diploma along with other criteria as fixed by BSMMU.

Duration: Varied. Attachment with Department of Anatomy: 6 months.   

No. of students: Broadly, 10 students are admitted per year in each clinical course. At present, more than 300 students are studying in 15 MD courses, 11 MS courses and 2 MPhil courses and 1 Diploma course.      

Objectives:

To fulfill the demands of different clinical courses in such a way that the students, after completing the Anatomy portion of their courses, are equipped with the cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills adequate for dealing with the other subjects of their course and thereby make good clinicians.

Subjects of teaching and research

Department of Anatomy conducts teaching and/or research activities in the following areas of Anatomy and allied subjects:

• General Anatomy

• Regional Anatomy with Surface Anatomy
• Sectional Anatomy
• Anatomy related to diagnostic Images
• Functional Anatomy
• Clinical Anatomy
• Preservation of the dead body and preparation of museum specimens
• Developmental Anatomy with Teratology
• Comparative Anatomy
• Genetics
• Cell Biology and Histology
• Neuroanatomy

In addition, the students of the MPhil (Anatomy) course need to learn Basic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biostatistics, Research Methodology, Information Technology and also Physiology or Pathology. The clinical students are taught the relevant aspects of the above areas of Anatomy. 

METHODS OF TEACHING AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The students of the MPhil Anatomy course learn through:

o       Large group sessions using multimedia projection.

o       Small group sessions- tutorials and practical sessions using overhead and multimedia projection, cadavers, prosected specimens, viscera, models, skeletons and bones, illustrations (photographs, photomicrographs, electron micrographs, schematic diagrams etc. collected from  books and online sources), microscopes with different viewing facilities etc.

o       Assignments like examining surface anatomical features, nerves and muscles, dissecting cadavers, preparing dissected specimens, preparing whole mounts and sections of chick embryos, preparing microscopic slides using routine and special stains, drawing and labelling as well as attending and presenting seminars.

They also go through regular in-course assessments and maintain a “logbook” of their activities.

The clinical students are taught through large group sessions and small group sessions (tutorials and practical sessions).

Special aspects of TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT             

The department puts special emphasis on following updated methods in teaching and assessment. It has realized, for example, that the anatomical knowledge and skills essential for a gynaecologist would be very different from those essential for an ophthalmologist. Taking into consideration this differential nature of the needs of various clinical disciplines, the department has pioneered a customized approach in teaching and assessment for different clinical disciplines in the country. The practical exposure of the students to anatomical instruction materials is probably the best in the country.

The department provides relevant course contents, handouts etc. to the students and guidelines to the moderators of questions and examiners.

The assessment of the students includes written, oral and practical examinations giving particular emphasis on understanding- and application-type questions rather than on mere recall-type questions. A discipline-specific, semi-structured, lottery-based card system of examinations has been devised to increase the objectivity of the exams. The students are provided with the format of the ‘card’ so that they can be fully aware of the exam system beforehand. This system has been acclaimed by students as well as by external examiners.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

The MPhil course includes one year of research culminating in a thesis. The PhD course would require a three-year research on a novel idea and a thesis based on that research.

In the recent years, a good number of research activities have been conducted in various fields of Anatomy, such as General and Regional Anatomy, Histology, Anthropometry and Medical Education related to Anatomy. Articles based on these research works have been published in various professional journals. The findings of these research works have also been presented in different scientific sessions outside the department.

Types of research carried out so far

• Cross-sectional descriptive studies on the macroscopic and microscopic features of different human organs, in the light of possible ethnic/racial variations, using cadavers and live humans.
• Analytical studies on the macroscopic and microscopic changes occurring in different human organs in various diseases.
• Experimental studies on the macroscopic and microscopic changes occurring in different organs in experimentally induced diseases and/or the effects of different drugs (especially indigenous drugs) on those changes.
• Experimental studies on the macroscopic and microscopic effects of different drugs on the development or physiological processes in different organs.
• Cross-sectional anthropometric studies on various physical features of the Bengali populations of the country. The department pioneered this organized effort in the country.
• Studies related to medical education in Anatomy at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, using questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), key-informant interviews (KIIs), students’ performance-based studies and/or structured analyses of books, questions and other documents. The department pioneered this organized effort in the country. So far, these studies have been dedicated to the:

o       Understanding of the present situations regarding different aspects of teaching-learning and/or assessment in Anatomy at the undergraduate level.

o       Assessment of difficulties of the undergraduate medical students with anatomical terminology and with English used in Anatomy.

o       Assessment of needs regarding improvement of teaching-learning and/or assessment in anatomy (including professional development) at the undergraduate level.

o       Understanding of the present trends in teaching-learning and assessment in different subdivisions of Anatomy in the developed world as compared to those in the country.

o       Development of customized and updated curricula for different papers of the MPhil Anatomy course.

o       Development of customized and updated Anatomy curricula for various disciplines at the postgraduate level.

Titles of three recent thesis research

·        Patterns of Using Text & Illustrations in Presenting Regional Anatomy in Contemporary Anatomy Books (2005).       

·        Macroscopic & Microscopic Studies of Human Vermiform Appendix (2007).

·        Anthropometric Measurements of the Upper Limb & Their Relationships with the Stature and the Hand Shape, Frame Size and Somatotype of Bengali Adult Muslim Females (2008).

FUTURE PLANS

The department has presented a far sighted plan to the university authority for opening separate wings, with definite proposals for providing adequate manpower. The proposed wings are:

1.       Developmental Anatomy and Genetics

o       For research and service delivery related to fertility and teratology.

o       For developing service delivery related to genetic disorders through inter-disciplinary collaboration in genetic counseling & laboratory diagnosis.

o       For exposing students to advanced technologies like genetic engineering and participation in genetic analysis of indigenous humans & microorganisms.

2.       Neuroanatomy for collaborative activities with neurophysiology.

3.       Cell Biology and Histology for developing service delivery using specialized staining and microscopic techniques.

4.       Medical education in Anatomy for research on modern educational methods and application of them in professional development, curriculum development, teaching-learning and assessment in Anatomy.

Despite ensuring various facilities regarding the improvement of educational qualities of the postgraduate medical students, the department is not free from resource constraints. Space and manpower are the two most important barriers in the path its development. The department has already collected equipments like biological safety cabinet, carbon-di-oxide incubator, -86⁰ freezer, refrigerated microcentrifuge, PCR machine and horizontal and vertical gel electrophoresis equipments. However, procurement of some more equipments, proper manpower development and inter-discipline cooperation are essential to going any farther with the plans.