Course Dissection
Human Morphology
by Steven Bachta, Pritzker ‘07
Human Morphology has become the hallmark course of the first year of medical school. This September, a fresh class of Pritzker students began their journey into the intricacies of the human body along with new course director, Dr. Callum Ross. While Dr. Ross is responsible for many of the changes to this year's curriculum, he is quick to point out that all facets of the medical school came together to produce this spectacular course. Dr. Ross is joined by three other full- time faculty in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy (Dr. Kamla Ahluwalia, Dr. Eric Lombard, and Dr. Jim O'Reilly) in providing the majority of the instruction in the classroom and laboratory.
Students began this year with Embryology and Basic Histology. The Pathology faculty are integral within this portion of the course, providing new slides for many of the histology labs and specialized lectures for each body tissue. Although the slides have been updated, elder Pritzker students and alumni will be relieved to know that the ever-popular Dr. Dave Visual Histology videos remain the opening segue to each histology lab.
Three weeks into the course, the students made the transition from the Histology lab to the Anatomy lab to begin dissection of the Thorax, Abdomen, and Pelvis. This is a unique and often difficult experience for many students as it is the first interaction they have with their cadavers. Dr. Farr Curlin, Assistant Professor of Medicine, leads a discussion session before the first dissection to answer anxious questions and foster respect for these generous gifts. Dr. Curlin also attends dissections that students may find particularly upsetting in order to provide emotional support.
During anatomy lab, four students are assigned to each cadaver which challenges them to work efficiently as a team. For the first time this year, the dissections are guided by Grant's Dissector which provides detailed, illustrated instructions for each laboratory. Each of the four cadaver bays is staffed by one of the four full-time faculty, three upperclassmen teaching assistants, and laboratory technicians, Betty Katsoros and Brian Beatty. Additionally, Drs. Chris Strauss and Scott Santeler, of the Radiology Department discuss pertinent x-rays and are creating CT visualization software which the students will be able to use at home.
The first year students will finish the fall quarter by returning to the Histology lab to examine Basic Organ System Histology and finish the course with the dissection of the Limbs, Head and Neck. In addition to learning the vocabulary necessary to function as a medical professional, Dr. Ross hopes his students take a four dimensional image of the human body away from his course. Half jokingly, Dr. Ross adds, "If I ever need to bring my two children to the Emergency Room, my students will be the ones who have to save them."
