The Covid-19 pandemic has driven the fastest changes to higher education across the globe, necessitated by social distancing measures preventing face-to-face teaching. This has led to an almost immediate switch to distance learning by higher education institutions. Anatomy faces some unique challenges. Intrinsically, anatomy is a three-dimensional subject that requires a sound understanding of the relationships between structures, often achieved by the study of human cadaveric material, models, and virtual resources. This study sought to identify the approaches taken in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to deliver anatomical education through online means. Data were collected from 14 different universities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and compared adopting a thematic analysis approach. Once themes were generated, they were collectively brought together using a strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis. Key themes included the opportunity to develop new online resources and the chance to engage in new academic collaborations. Academics frequently mentioned the challenge that time constrains could place on the quality and effectiveness of these resources; especially as in many cases the aim of these resources was to compensate for a lack of exposure to cadaveric exposure. Comparisons of the actions taken by multiple higher education institutions reveal the ways that academics have tried to balance this demand. Discussions will facilitate decisions being made by higher education institutions regarding adapting the curriculum and assessment methods in anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 13: 298-308.

The relation between physical exercise and psychological health has increasingly come under the spotlight over recent years. While the message emanating from physiological research has extolled the general advantages of exercise in terms of physical health, the equivalent psychological literature has revealed a more complex relation. The paper outlines the research evidence, focusing on the relation between physical exercise and depression, anxiety, stress responsivity, mood state, self esteem, premenstrual syndrome, and body image. Consideration is also given to the phenomena of exercise addiction and withdrawal, and implications for exercise prescription are discussed.

The prehensile grip configurations of infants aged 4 through 8 months were examined as they grasped objects that varied in size and shape. The findings revealed that infants as young as 4 months systematically differentiate grip configurations as a function of the object properties in essentially the same way that 8-month-old infants do. However, the younger 4-month-old infants predominantly used the haptic system in addition to the visual system for information pick-up regarding object properties, whereas 8-month-old infants predominantly used information from the visual system alone to differentiate grip configurations according to the object properties. Infants apparently perceive the same action-relevant information through different emphases of the sensory modes to drive the action system with a similar grip configuration for a given object. It is proposed that the traditional description of an orderly sequence to the development of infant prehension (e.g., Halverson, 1931) is too conservative and inflexible to capture the functionally adaptive prehensile behavior of infants to changing task constraints.

This study examined whether common dimensionless ratios define the critical point in the shifts in the grip coordination pattern of preschoolers and adults engaged in a displacement grasping activity with cubes that varied in object size. The findings indicated that there was an interaction between task constraints and organismic constraints in determining the grasping pattern utilized. However, when the object size is scaled to hand size there are common dimensionless ratios that correspond to the grasping patterns and the limb orientations employed across the age range utilized. Furthermore, 5 grip configurations accounted for the majority of grip variance in both age groups. The findings suggest a strong role for the impact of body scale on the development of coordination and provide preliminary evidence for the view that the development of prehension is a reflection of the constraints imposed on action.

It is critical that academic opinion of pandemic pedagogy is comprehensively quantified in order to inform future practices. Thus, this study examines how anatomists in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) perceive the teaching adaptations made in response to COVID‐19, and how these adaptations have impacted their experiences teaching, their online work environment and community. Data was collected via a questionnaire from 24 anatomists across 15 universities in the UK (11) and ROI (4). With regards to teaching, 95.6% of academics have upskilled in new technologies to meet the demands of distance teaching. Academics (95.8%) preferred face‐to‐face delivery of practical sessions. Most universities (80.0%) reported that practical sessions will continue in a new form that ensures social distancing. However, 50.0% of academics are uncertain if these adaptations will improve student learning. Many anatomists believe that the new adaptations may hinder student–student (66.7%) and student–tutor (45.8%) interactions. Regarding assessment, 52.6% of academics preferred traditional methods to online. Remote online assessment was difficult to protect against collusion, but provided time saving opportunities for academics. Finally, in terms of working environment, 83.3% of academics stated that their workload increased; 54.2% preferred working on site rather than remotely and 79.2% think that staff interactions are better when working on site. These results demonstrate a widespread concern amongst anatomists regarding the pandemic‐induced adaptations to teaching, assessment and working environment. However, important opportunities were also identified that could ultimately serve to benefit students and educators alike.