The Department of Anatomy is an active pre-clinical department largely devoted to teaching Anatomy to medical, paramedical, and nursing students. Located in the college campus, at Bagayam, it’s original stone building, flanked by a neat row of Ashoka trees, lies close to the Women’s hostel and basketball court. Upholding, over the years, the high standards in education that our founder instilled, no student passes through without us having left a distinct impression on them. As a Department, we uphold the institution’s vision statement and so the quest for excellence at teaching, service, and research. We seek to instil in our students a sense of wonder at the beauty of the human body and hope that our students learn values of respect for themselves, others, and cadavers during their time here.
Gross Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy
On-going research areas:
Research done
Approach To The Medial Aspect Of Humerus In 10 Cadaveric Arm Specimens
Histology and Immunohistochemistry
On-going research areas
Research done:
Medical Education:
On-going research areas:
Research done:
Plastination:
On-going research areas:
Research done:
TEACHING
Students from nearly every course in the institution spend time in our department and thus education is the Anatomy Department’s primary focus.
I. UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING:
The Anatomy Department teaches a wide variety of undergraduate courses.
M.B.B.S.(First Year)
Although our primary role is with regards to training of first-year medical students, we do contact students of other batches in programmes involving anatomy for clinical students. The undergraduate medical seats were increased from 60 to 100 in 2012. The students spend their first year of training in the basic science departments, nearly 50% of their time is spent in the Anatomy department where they are grounded thoroughly in Gross Anatomy, Histology, Embryology and Genetics with special emphasis on Clinical Anatomy. The gross structure of the human body is taught through lectures, cadaver dissections, study of bones, prosected specimens, cross-sections, tutorials, quizzes, radiographs, charts, and models. Even though the students do not have to dissect as a part of their practical exams, learning throughout the year is facilitated by dissection performed in groups of 10-13 to ensure that all students receive personal attention and guidance. Histology, or microscopic anatomy is taught through lectures and practical sessions.
The Histology Laboratory is well-equipped with individual microscopes and a set of slides for each student. Coloured, labelled photomicrographs are provided to aid the students in interpreting the more difficult slides. Here low student-teacher ratio is maintained. E-learning facilities are available to the students to learn outside the classroom. From 2017, we hope to supplement the regular histology practicals with virtual microscopy to facilitate self-directed learning at the student’s pace. Biomedical waste management as well as bioethics related to use of cadaveric material is also discussed with the students. The students are also exposed to an Integrated Learning Programme with the other basic science and clinical departments in the form of Problem-Based and Case-Based Learning Sessions and clinical visits. Throughout the year the practical application of their learning is emphasized by early clinical exposure and guest lectures by clinicians. One example of such early clinical exposure is the claw hand clinical demonstration that is conducted during the upper limb teaching, in conjunction with the Hand Surgery department and with the help of patient volunteers from the community organized through the Community Health Department. The fostering and nurturing of medical students during their first year in college has also been an important aspect of our work. This is ensured by the small student-teacher ratios and the first-year mentorship programme.
In 2018, a virtual microscopy platform was introduced as a supplement to face to face histology practical teaching with physical slides and microscopes. This addition has been popular with the students because it provides an interactive interface for learning and promotes revision outside the class. Other educational strategies that have been introduced are blended learning modules for gross anatomy and team-based learning for certain selected anatomy topics. In 2019, the department acquired an ultrasound machine and the faculty received basic training in identifying normal anatomical structures. Ultrasound-based teaching of anatomical structures has since become a part of the teaching curriculum for gross anatomy.
In 2019, the MCI implemented its new competency-based medical curriculum, the major change for Anatomy being the documentation and assessments of various components of teaching that the Department already had in place for years, like early clinical exposure, integration, and demonstration of clinical skills. The pandemic in 2020 brought new challenges with the need for emergency remote learning. The staff adapted admirably using Microsoft Teams as the online meeting platform for lectures and small group learning with plenty of gross anatomy videos and pictures in the place of routine dissection. A variety of online teaching methods as well as assessments were employed to suit the situation.
Anatomy for Clinical Students: II M.B.B.S:
As a part of the ENT and Ophthalmology postings for 1st clinical year students, medical students posted in these units revisit the Anatomy department and refresh their knowledge of the relevant anatomy by dissection, prosection and small group teaching. Final M.B.B.S: The department has collaborated with the Department of Medicine to revise anatomy for final-year medical students studying conditions like cerebrovascular accidents and myocardial infarction. Final-year medical students posted in general surgery have a cadaveric workshop to revise relevant surgical anatomy. This is facilitated by staff of both the Anatomy and Surgery departments.
Nursing Undergraduates
In 2012 the number of students admitted to the course of BSc. Nursing was increased from 50 to 100. The students attend lectures supplemented by practical demonstrations for 2 hours per week amounting to a total of about 80 hours. In 2019, classes began for the batch of 50 nursing students admitted for nursing in the Chittoor Campus of CMC.
Allied Health Courses
With the recent increase in the number of allied health diploma and degree courses, the department has had to deal with a surge of new undergraduates. Despite the increased numbers, we have striven to maintain our standards of teaching, grouping courses together only where appropriate and individualizing teaching wherever necessary. In addition, for the CMAI Diploma in Radiodiagnosis Technology course, webinar classes are conducted, which is useful for the students in Mission hospitals across the country.
II. POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
MD in Anatomy
In 2011 the MD Anatomy seats were increased from 1 to 4 per year. Our postgraduates are very competent teachers employing various teaching methods including lectures, small group teaching, histology table teaching and problem-based learning. They are also trained in dissection, microscopy and digital photomicrography, histology techniques, plastination, embalming and museum techniques. The post-graduates also have peripheral postings in the Radiology and Cytogenetics departments. Department seminars, gross anatomy as well as histology slide discussions and journal clubs are conducted on a regular basis. Each postgraduate must submit a dissertation as a part of their course requirements. However, in addition many of them publish their research and present papers at conferences as well. Basic science classes for other medical post-graduates: As a part of their curriculum clinical post-graduates attend basic science classes.
The Anatomy department conducts a detailed review of Anatomy for these post-graduates, specifically tailored to the requirements of the individual courses. In addition, cadaver-based surgical anatomy workshops for Surgery, Orthopedics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Anaesthesia and ENT PGs are conducted.
III. POSTGRADUATE PERIPHERAL POSTINGS:
The M.Ch. Neurosurgery and M.Ch. and Fellowship courses in Gynae-oncology have peripheral postings in the Anatomy department.
Other post-graduate training:
IV. SURGICAL TRAINING WORKSHOPS:
Several departments use our facilities to train post-graduates and other junior medical faculty. Some examples of workshops conducted in our department are:
V. E-LEARNING:
The institution began work on the e-learning website with the help of Tufts University, Boston in 2006. The Anatomy department was one of the first to make use of this resource and it is now widely used by students of various courses. Several of our faculty have received training directly from Tufts University, Boston and through the volunteers sent to CMC for this purpose. Department faculty members have then played an important role in training other faculty in this institution and others through e-learning dissemination workshops. Some examples of information available on the Anatomy page apart from the curriculum and timetables are PowerPoint slides from lectures, photomicrographs of histology slides, gross anatomy spotter images, gross anatomy videos, quizzes, digitalized diagrams by Dr. Harsha, cross-sectional anatomy clinical case modules, museum specimen photographs with write-ups etc.
VI. PROGRAMMES FOR OTHER SCHOOL STUDENTS:
School students from Ida Scudder School visit our department for practical demonstrations in basic human anatomy to supplement their curriculum. In 2017, “Corpora”, the health science exhibition for local schools was re-started to increase awareness about human anatomy amongst the local school students.
VII. SHORT TERM OBSERVERSHIP:
In many colleges abroad the weightage of Anatomy in the curriculum has drastically decreased and dissection halls are no longer maintained. As a result of this we have several elective students opting to spend time in the department, learning anatomy through dissection. Ever since our plastination laboratory was set up, we have had observers posted, keen on learning this technique.
VIII. ELECTIVE DISSECTION PROGRAMME:
Since 2018 onwards students from Notre Dame University and other universities from Australia have visited the Anatomy department and undergone 4 weeks of dissection programme.
IX. DEPARTMENT TEACHING RESOURCES:
Over the years the department has developed printed teaching resources to assist various courses of students in their study of Anatomy. Some examples of these are;
The Head,
Department of Anatomy,
CMC Vellore College Campus,
Bagayam, Vellore – 632002,
Tamil Nadu.
Email us :
anatomy@cmcvellore.ac.in
004162284245
Mon-Fri: 8 am to 4.30 pm
( Sat : 8 am to 12:30 pm)
