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Ultrasonography is widely practiced in many disciplines. It is becoming increasingly important to design well-structured curricula to introduce imaging to students during medical school. This review aims to analyze the literature for evidence of how ultrasonography has been incorporated into anatomy education in medical school curricula worldwide. A literature search was conducted using multiple databases with the keywords: "Ultrasound OR Ultrasonographic examination*" and "Medical student* OR Undergraduate teaching* OR Medical education*" and "Anatomy* OR Living anatomy* OR Real-time anatomy.*" This review found that ultrasound curricula vary in stage of implementation, course length, number of sessions offered to students as well as staffing and additional course components. Most courses consisted of didactic lectures supplemented with demonstration sessions and/or hands-on ultrasound scanning sessions. The stage of course implementation tended to depend on the aim of the course; introductory courses were offered earlier in a student's career. Most courses improved student confidence and exam performance, and more junior students tended to benefit more from learning anatomy with ultrasound guidance rather than learning clinical examination skills. Students tended to prefer smaller groups when learning ultrasound to get more access to using the machines themselves. Ultrasonography is an important skill, which should be taught to medical students early in their careers as it facilitates anatomical education and is clinically relevant, though further objective research required to support the use of ultrasound education as a tool to improve clinical examination skills in medical students. Clin. Anat. 30:452-460, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Surface anatomy is a core component of human anatomy in clinical practice. It allows clinicians to assess patients accurately and quickly; however, recent studies have revealed variability among individuals and ethnicities. The aim of this study is to investigate possible variations in adult thoracic and abdominal surface anatomy landmarks in an Iranian population. This study used 100 thoracoabdominal CT scans (mean age: 47 ± 17 years, age range: 20-77 years, 47% females), noted the most common locations of clinically relevant surface markings, and analyzed correlations between these variables and age or gender. While many common surface markings in Iranians were consistent with the evidence-based literature, there were some differences. In relation to the corresponding segments of the vertebral column, the superior vena cava formation and the lower border of the pleura adjacent to the vertebral column and right kidney tended to be at higher levels in adult Iranians than a Caucasian population. There were also discrepancies between the Iranian population and commonly-referenced medical textbooks and recent evidence-based literature concerning the vertebral levels of the diaphragmatic openings of the esophagus, aorta, and inferior vena cava. This study emphasizes the need to consider evidence-based reappraisals of surface anatomy to guide clinical practice. Much of our current knowledge of surface anatomy is based on older studies of cadavers rather than living people, and does not take ethnic and individual variations into consideration.

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