Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three...

You should by now be testing yourselves regularly to make sure that the material you are covering is moving from short-term to long-term memory. This website will help you do that by asking you to match structures to their name, and then label them yourself. Fifteen minutes each day should do the trick. Try it!

Great Student Blog

I came across this blog while looking for evidence that getting students to do dissections themselves improves exam performance. Suggest you scroll through some of the past entries: they are well worth the read.

Missing for a While...

Yes I know I have been too busy to keep this up, but here it goes again. For those of you who need a good revision of the cranial nerves, take a look here.

Mastication Question

Question: Contraction of which muscles contributes most to the backward movement of the lower jaw during the process of mastication?

Answer: Mastication is a complex process involving alternating elevation, depression, forward movement, and backward movement of the lower jaw. The backward movement step is accomplished by the posterior fibers of the temporalis muscle.

The digastric helps to depress the lower jaw during chewing.

The lateral pterygoid helps to move the lower jaw forward during chewing.

The medial pterygoid helps to elevate the lower jaw during chewing.

The mylohyoid helps to depress the lower jaw during chewing.

Muscles of Mastication

Some of you appeared confused by the muscles of mastication last week. Try this one:

Contraction of which of the following muscles contributes most to the backward movement of the lower jaw during the process of mastication?

A. Digastric
B. Lateral pterygoid
C. Medial pterygoid
D. Mylohyoid
E. Temporalis

Correct answer and explanation next week.

Cranial Nerve Quiz

Which cranial nerve exits the skull base at the pars nervosa of the jugular foramen?

Quiz Response

Closure of the neural tube occurs around day 26 of embryonic life.

As the neural tube forms, the closing process is critical, occurring from the cranial to the caudal end as the anterior neuropore closes around day 24, the posterior around day 26. This is a critical event, as defects in closure may result in spina bifida or other neural tube defects. The risk of a neural tube defect can be decreased by folic acid supplements.

High Power Microscopy is Low Power Histology

In the histology lab, a common mistake is to "zoom" right into every tissue. Make sure you spend time with your low-power objectives ... this strategy will really pay off during the exams. Check out the histoweb site for a good overview of why histology matters.

Skeleton and Skull Self-Test

For those of you still unsure of the names of all those cracks and holes, here is a self-test.

Attention Year 2 Students

Closure of the neural tube occurs on around which day of embryonic life?

a) 26
b) 38
c) 56
d) 74
e) 90

Answers here please. Correct answer will be posted next week.

Attention Year 1 Students

Most fascia of the body that attach to bones attach by which of the following mechanisms?

A. Blending with the covering periosteum
B. Inserting deeply into the cancellous bone
C. Inserting deeply into the cartilage
D. Inserting deeply into the diaphysis
E. Inserting deeply into the marrow

Answers Here please. Correct answer and explanation will be posted next week.

Attention Year 1 and 2 Students

A 25-year-old female presents to her obstetrician after taking a home pregnancy test with a positive result. She states that twins run in her family and would like an ultrasound to determine if she has a twin pregnancy. Splitting of the embryo at the blastocyst stage results in which of the following?

A. Conjoined twins
B. Dizygotic twins
C. Fraternal twins
D. Monozygotic twins
E. Single gestation

Post your answers here. I will post correct answer on Friday.

Lumbar Puncture

Another FREE site regarding the Lumbar Puncture. Covers

INDICATIONS

CONTRAINDICATIONS

ANATOMY

SURGICAL PLANES

EQUIPMENT

PROCEDURE

SPECIMENS

COMPLICATIONS

TREATMENT

QUIZ

Attention Years 1 & 2 Students: Embryology Question

The heart of an embryo first begins beating at which of the following ages?

A. 2 weeks

B. 3 weeks

C. 4 weeks

D. 6 weeks

E. 8 weeks

NB: Your final exam questions will be True/False and NOT MCQs as above.

Your Answers please.

Attention Year 2 Students: Neuroanatomy Question

A neuroscientist is investigating the development of the nervous system. In his experiments, he microinjects a dye into the embryo of an animal subject in vivo. After birth, he performs histological studies to determine the destination of the dye. In one animal subject, he locates the dye in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Which of the following locations in the embryo was the most likely site of the injection?

A. Alar plate

B. Basal plate

C. Neural crest

D. Rostral end of neural tube

E. Sulcus limitans

NB: Your final exam questions will be True/False and NOT MCQs as above.

Your Answers please. I will post correct answers on Friday.

Quiz Results

1. The neurovascular bundle passes deep to the internal intercostal muscles. True

2. The foramen spinosum transmits the middle meningeal artery. True

3. The dura is neuroectodermal in origin. True

Most of you got this last one wrong. Google the words neuroectoderm and dura and you will find information about a rare tumour called Ewing's Sarcoma.


4. The spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae allow easy introduction of needles between the vertebrae.

False. This is why a lumbar puncture in the thoracic spine would be difficult. In any case, the spinal cord would be at risk.

Skull Osteology Quiz

Attention Year 2 students!

You should be able to answer all these questions by now.

Spine Trauma

Another FREE site. Learn how to:

- Determine whether there is spinal cord involvement in a trauma patient;
- Recognize the different injury patterns on imaging studies.

The site contains interactive material including:
· ANATOMY
· EPIDEMIOLOGY
· SPINE RADIOGRAPH INTERPRETATION QUIZ
· CASE SCENARIOS
· SPINE RADIOGRAPH INTERPRETATION
· PRACTICE GUIDELINES
· DETERMINING SPINE STABILITY
· IMMOBILIZATION & TRACTION DEVICES

Take the Test

Year 1 students check out directional terms and bone.

Year 2 students: You should be able to answer most questions on the axial skeleton and skull by now.

If not, time to study....

E-Anatomy

This is a FREE anatomy e-learning web site. More than 1500 slices from normal CT and MR exams were selected in order to cover the entire sectional anatomy of the human body. A user-friendly interface allows you to glide through multi-slice image series combined with interactive textual information, 3D models and anatomy drawings. Year 2 students look at Face CT and Brain MR. Year 1 students look at Lung and Mediastinum. It's worth registering to get full screen access. Remember: this is the anatomy you will be "seeing" in your clinical years, so get used to it!