Profound anatomical knowledge is the basis for modern demands in medicine and surgery, but many countries worldwide including Australia and New Zealand have discontinued offering dissection courses to medical and dental students during the past decades. This educational project done in Australia aimed at enhancing basic and advanced anatomy teaching by engaging a sub-group of second-year undergraduate students of a compulsory prosection- and model-based anatomy course (n = 54/170) in an optional multimodal course, which should easily articulate with a vertical curriculum. With topographical cadaver dissections as core, peer student-teams prepared and peer-assessed anatomy lectures based on clinical topics, which were rated highly by the peers and teachers. Anatomical knowledge was tested by quizzes and a multiple-choice examination. Individual dissection skills were self- and teacher-assessed. A final course grade was assigned based on these assessments. The grades in the system-based compulsory course achieved by the attendees of the paralleling dissection course were compared with their peers attending other optional courses. After beginning of the semester, the students in the dissection course performed similar, significantly (P < 0.005) improved during the semester (78.5% vs. 69.9%, 70.1% vs. 64.1%), but in the integrated (including anatomy, biochemistry, physiology) final examination at the end of the year only tended to higher scores. As assessed through interviews and a voluntary questionnaire, all students of the optional dissection course liked these activities, which enhanced their learning experience. Thus, this concept elegantly integrates anatomical dissection with modern teaching demands and is feasible for implementation in modernized curricula. Anat Sci Educ 11: 32-43. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

The aim of the study was to determine the time required for plasma fructosamine concentration to increase after the onset of hyperglycaemia and decrease after resolution of hyperglycaemia. Healthy cats (n=14) were infused to maintain either moderate hyperglycaemia (n=5) (actual mean glucose 17 mmol/l) or marked hyperglycaemia (n=9) (actual 29 mmol/l) for 42 days. Fructosamine exceeded the upper limit of the reference range (331 micromol/l) after 3-5 days of marked hyperglycaemia, took 20 days to plateau and, after cessation of infusion, took 5 days to return to baseline. Fructosamine concentration for moderate hyperglycaemia took longer to exceed the reference range (7 days, range 4-14 days), and fewer days to plateau (8 days) and return to baseline (1 day). In cats with moderate hyperglycaemia, fructosamine concentration mostly fluctuated under the upper limit of the reference range. The range of fructosamine concentrations associated with a given glucose concentration was wide. The critical difference for fructosamine was 33 micromol/l.

A simplified intravenous glucose tolerance test has been developed for use in domestic cats and the results compared with those obtained using the standard test. The simplified test used two cephalic catheters, implanted in unsedated, unanaesthetised cats three hours before the test. Blood samples were collected before and after intravenous administration of glucose (0.5 g/kg bodyweight). Blood glucose concentration was measured with a reflectance glucose meter and an automated chemistry analyser. There were no significant differences between the results derived from the two tests. Because the simplified glucose tolerance test is easier to perform, requires no anaesthesia, uses only cephalic catheters and can be done on an outpatient basis, it is more cost effective and more clinically applicable. There were no significant differences between the results of glucose measurements with the two machines and the simplified glucose tolerance test can therefore be carried out with the reflectance glucose meter.

BackgroundPlacement of the glenoid baseplate is of paramount importance for the outcome of anatomical and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. However, the database around glenoid size is poor, particularly regarding small scapulae, for example, in women and smaller individuals, and is derived from different methodological approaches. In this multimodality cadaver study, we systematically examined the glenoid using morphological and 3D-CT measurements.MethodsMeasurements of the glenoid and drill hole tunnel length for superior baseplate screw placement were recorded to define size of the glenoid and the distance to the scapular notch on cadaveric specimens. Glenoid angles were determined on both, 3D-CT-scans of the thoraxes using the Friedman method and on subsequently isolated scapulae from 18 male and female donors (average 84 years, range 60–98 years).ResultsMean glenoid height was 36.6 mm ± 3.6, and width 27.8 mm ± 3.1 with a significant sex dimorphism (p ≤ 0.001): in males, glenoid height 39.5 mm ± 3.5, and width 30.3 mm ± 3.3, and in females, glenoid height 34.8 mm ± 2.2, and width 26.2 mm ± 1.6. The average distance from the superior screw entry to its exit in the scapular notch measured by calliper was 27.2 mm ± 6.0 with a sex difference: in males, 29.4 mm ± 5.7, and in females, 25.8 mm ± 5.9 mm with a minimum recorded distance of 15 mm. Measured by CT, the mean inclination angle for male and female donors combined was 13.0° ± 7.0, and the ante-/retroversion angle −1.0° ± 4.0°.ConclusionThis study is one of the first to combine dissection, including drill holes, with anatomical measurements and radiological data. In some women and smaller individuals, smaller baseplates should be selected. The published safe zone of 20 mm is generally feasible for superior screw placement, however, in small patients this distance may be substantially shorter than expected and start as of 13 and 15 mm, respectively. No correlation between glenoid height or width with the length of our drilling canal towards the scapular notch was found. Preoperative CT-based treatment planning to determine version and inclination angles is recommended.

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