Anatomy in Relation to Medicine
BSc in Anatomy
Anatomy is the science of understanding the structure and make up of the body.
The intercalated BSc in Anatomy provides students with an insight into specific aspects of anatomy
Contacts
Course Co-ordinator:
Dr Sheila Nunn
Faculty of Biological Sciences
Email: s.nunn @leeds.ac.uk
Admissions enquiries
Maureen Cummings
Email: m.cummings@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone 0113 343 4226
Overview
The word ‘anatomy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘anatomia’: ana = separate, apart and tome = a cutting, hence a cutting up of the body. It is the art of separating the parts of the human body in order to ascertain their position, relations, structure, and function. Here at Leeds we believe the best way to study gross anatomy is through active participation in dissection based modules. The BSc in Anatomy will allow you to acquire dissections skills (if you have no prior experience) or for you to greatly improve your skills in this important art. This degree will suit you if you want to further your knowledge and understanding of the structure and function of the human body.
In addition to acquiring a greater knowledge and understanding of the human body at the gross level, you will have the opportunity via research-led teaching to pursue areas of study which look at how the body works at the organ level, the molecular level and in both normal and abnormal conditions.
Application Procedure
Students are requested to write a 500 word statement outlining their reasons for wanting to intercalate in anatomy, in addition to the standard application form.
Objectives and Course Overview
The intercalated BSc in Anatomy provides students with an insight into specific aspects of anatomy through taught modules. All students will undertake a compulsory 30 credit Advanced Anatomy of the Head and Neck module, a compulsory 10 credit principles of learning and teaching in the anatomical sciences module and a compulsory 40 credit dissection-based project module (BMSC3222).
BMSC 3141 Advanced Anatomy of the Head and Neck
Head and Neck anatomy is taught at a superficial level within the undergraduate medical curriculum of many UK Medical Schools, including Leeds. This module allows you to develop on this basic level of knowledge and understanding to an extensive knowledge, linking to disease processes and developmental disorders. In this module you will explore the head and neck by careful and extensive dissection conducted in small groups. Practical work in the dissection room will be supported by lectures and tutorial sessions as appropriate. Regions to be covered will include: triangles and root of the neck, superficial face, scalp, interior of the skull, the parotid region, the temporal, masseteric and infra-temporal regions, the pharynx, the nasal cavity, the mouth and tongue, the palate and tonsil, the orbit and the larynx. You will also consider the organisation of the peripheral nervous system in the head and neck, as well as the blood supply and drainage of the region.
BMSC3142 Principles of Learning and Teaching in the Anatomical Sciences
As graduates practising physicians will be actively involved in the teaching of medical students and allied health professionals. This module is designed to give the students and understand of the principles of learninf and teaching in the anatomical sciences ands an opportunity to put theory into practise by teaching gross and living anatomy to undergraduates in the scientific disciplins. The module will cover areas including: current concepts and principles of learning. Using questions, reflection, feedback. Effective communication. Large and small group teaching skills. The teacher as a role model/mentor. The teaching/learning context. Session planning. Choosing appropriate teaching methods. Selecting and integrating content. Using technology. Planning practical sessions. Working with students.
Clinical Anatomy Project (BMSC3222)
In the second semester you will have the opportunity of putting your knowledge of anatomy into a specific context by carrying out an individual project. The intercalated B.Sc. in Anatomy involves a mixture of formal teaching in taught modules and personal project work that will equip you with key transferable skills invaluable for your subsequent career.
This project is the largest component of the intercalated year (40 credits) and is dissection-based. Students produce one or a series of prosections displaying structures relevant to a specific clinical condition. They also critically appraise published material relating to the aetiology, pathology, epidemiology and treatment of the condition. In addition to the prosections, students present their work as a written dissertation and an online e-learning package. The project enables students to study in depth a particular aspect of clinically relevant anatomy, together with developing fine dissection skills, critical skills and written and other presentation skills.
The remaining 40 credits of your degree will normally be chosen from modules that are reviewed and updated annually. These reflect the research strengths within the Faculty of Biological Sciences and will be taught by experts. You will learn about each topic at the research level. This means that much of the information provided will not yet have appeared in textbooks or reviews and you will have to read scientific papers. During the year you will not only learn about these topics in depth, you will learn about the philosophy of experimental science, how to design and carry out experiments, how to analyse data and write reports, and how new science is published and broadcast to the rest of the scientific community.
The BSc in Anatomy will allow you to acquire anatomical knowledge and an understanding of recent developments in selected areas of biological science in order to provide you with a stimulating and thoroughly up-to-date degree programme.
If students do not wish to take all 40 credits of modules from the level 3 research led teaching modules it may be possible to have the option of taking 20 credits of study outside of the Faculty of Biological Sciences.
The two most popular external modules of this type are:
History of the Body I (HPSC2301 – level 2 module)
20 credit module. What distinguishes Western medicine from the two main global alternatives - Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine? The only clear and unbiased marker is that Western medicine is unique in being based upon anatomy. The course asks how this arose and comes up with some surprising answers. For one thing, Western medicine was initially free from anatomy; for another, when anatomy was introduced in the 3rd century BC its role was controversial and indeed this tension persisted for the next 2,000 years. The module traces this long-running conflict as far as 1700, introducing along the way the work of such leading figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Paracelsus, Vesalius and Harvey.
History of the Body II (HPSC3312)
20 credit module. The theme of this module, largely taught from primary sources, is the dramatic change Western medicine underwent between about 1720 and 1820. In the early eighteenth century the gap between anatomy and illness was almost as wide as it had been in the time of Galen, some 1500 years earlier, yet by 1820 that gap had been decisively bridged. In the Paris clinic that arose in the wake of the French Revolution, the newly-invented stethoscope enabled the doctor, for the first time, to 'see' the living patient in anatomical terms.
Skills
During the year students are given the opportunity to develop a number of subject-specific and general skills. In addition practical skills will be developed during the dissection-based project. General analytical and presentational skills will be developed through extended essays, project reports, and seminar, poster and other presentations.
Assessment
Extended essays, project reports, seminars and poster presentations form an important part of many of the taught modules outlined above and contribute to the final module mark. Outlines of the various assessments are provided in the individual module handbooks.
Where the module assessment includes a final examination, this is taken at the end of the semester in which the module has run.
