Presentation Pattern of Histology and Illustrations in the Histology Text Books Commonly Used by the Medical Undergraduates of Bangladesh.

The teaching-learning and assessment of cell and histology have gone through remarkable changes in recent times. Histology text books recommended by renowned medical institutions should be good reflectors of these changes and the present trends. Cell and histology is categorically visual in nature. So, their presentation in text books is likely to show rational and meaningful use of illustrations. From July 2007 to June 2008, this descriptive observational study was done to analyze the presentation pattern of illustrations in two histology text books commonly recommended for the medical undergraduates of Bangladesh through: a) estimating the relative weights given to (i.e., proportions of printed area allotted to) illustrations and text; b) determining the frequencies of 12 'form's of illustration-defining each 'form' on the basis of how it has been created and how it looks like and c) determining the frequencies of 3 'categories' of illustration-on the basis of their utility as teaching-learning and assessment tools. Illustrations have been found to be allotted more than half of the printed area in the two books together. Regarding the 'form' of illustrations, 'schematic diagram and three-dimensional diagram' has the highest mean frequency (30.11%) and followed by 'photomicrograph - routine stain - high power' (17.56%). More than 90% of the illustrations could be categorized either as 'practically the best tool for the purpose' (70.21%) or as 'a complementary tool to another tool' (21.05%) for using in teaching-learning and assessment. By incorporating the findings of the present study with the present-day ideas and trends in cell and histology education in the renowned institutions of the world and with the understanding of the science of medical education, guidelines can be formulated for improving the methods of teaching and assessment in cell and histology for the medical undergraduates of Bangladesh.

An Imaging Assessment of the Femoral Neck-shaft Angle in Adult Bengali Bangladeshi Population.

Most orthopaedics implants were designed and manufactured based on data from the Western population whose skeletal dimensions are different from the Bengali Bangladeshi population. This study aims to determine the value of the femoral neck-shaft angle of the adult Bengali Bangladeshi population for adequate planning, preparation and pre-operative selection of orthopaedic implants for surgeries involving the femoral neck and stocking of orthopaedic implants. This was a cross-sectional analytical study which involved measuring the femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA) from the pelvic radiographs anterior-posterior view of adult patients reported "normal study" by the registered radiologist. This study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Bangladesh from March 2019 to February 2020. A total of 200 femoral neck-shaft angles were analyzed from 100 patients' radiographs comprising 50 males and 50 females. The average NSA of adult Bengali Bangladeshi is 128.74°±5.83° with a mean value of 128.68°±6.20° for the right and 128.81°±5.66° for the left. The mean value of NSA is 129.64°±5.90° and 127.85°±5.64° in adult males and females respectively. The femoral neck-shaft angle in adult Bengali Bangladeshi males was significantly higher than the females.

Medical Undergraduates' Assessment Status Regarding Clinical Neuroanatomy.

The study of Anatomy is essential to the learning of different subjects of medicine. Neuroanatomy is a fundamental part of the Anatomy portion of the undergraduate medical (MBBS) curriculum of different universities of Bangladesh. The clinical relevance of Neuroanatomy is beyond doubt in the context of increasing numbers of cases like stroke, head injury and meningitis in Bangladesh. Contemporary Neuroanatomy books are inclined to a clinically-oriented approach in their presentation. However, there is no organized attempt to analyze these recent trends of highlighting the significance of clinically-oriented approach reflected in the learning pattern or student-assessment in the medical undergraduate courses of Bangladesh. Such analyses can offer an insight into the situation and facilitate teachers and curriculum planners to make necessary modifications. The present study was planned- i) to analyze the Neuroanatomy portion of the recent undergraduate Anatomy written question papers of four public universities of Bangladesh for understanding how clinically relevant knowledge has been assessed in the questions ii) to determine the ability of the medical undergraduates to answer clinically-oriented written questions as compared to their ability to answer non-clinically-oriented questions in Neuroanatomy. It was a comparative study with some descriptive components. For Part-A of the study, all the 'Question-segment's of question (SAQ and MCQ) dealing with Neuroanatomy in all the available First Professional MBBS Exams' Anatomy written question papers of four public universities of Bangladesh of the last five years (2005 to 2009) were identified. The frequency of 'Question-segment's those assessing the ability of the clinically relevant knowledge were determined. It was a descriptive study. For Part-B of the study, total 136 New 3rd year medical undergraduates of one Bangladeshi governmental medical college and one private medical college were taken as participants. The medical undergraduates of each medical college were divided into two equal groups by randomization. One group was given 100 clinically-oriented questions and the other was given 100 non-clinically-oriented questions based on the content of Snell. The scores (frequencies of correct responses) of the two groups were compared using an unpaired 't' test. The frequencies of 'Question-segment's assessing clinically relevant knowledge was 6.14%. The performance of the undergraduates answering clinically-oriented questions was significantly poorer (p=0.01) than answering non-clinically-oriented questions (the mean score being 38.49±10.50 and 45.04±8.48 respectively). Teaching and assessment of Neuroanatomy should be designed in a way to orient medical undergraduates towards more clinically-oriented understanding and performance in Neuroanatomy. The clinically relevant knowledge dealing with Neuroanatomy needs to be addressed with appropriate weighting in the First Professional MBBS written questions of Bangladesh. Necessary changes in the curriculum are also suggested in meeting the above expectations.

Medical Undergraduates' Written Assessment Profile of Illustration-based Neuroanatomy.

Neuroanatomy is an integral part of Anatomy and it is one of the most visually dependent and visually-demanding one. Analysis of recent trends of emphasizing the importance of illustrations which are being reflected in the learning pattern or student-assessment can provide an insight into the situation and help teachers and curriculum planners. Thus, the present study was planned i) to analyze the Neuroanatomy portion of the recent undergraduate Anatomy written question papers of four public universities of Bangladesh for understanding how the ability to draw and label has been assessed in the questions and ii) to determine the ability of the undergraduate students to answer illustration-based questions as compared to their ability to answer non-illustration-based (text-based) questions in Neuroanatomy. For Part-A of the study, all the 'segment's of item (SAQ and MCQ) dealing with Neuroanatomy in all the available Anatomy written question papers of all the First Professional MBBS Exams of four public universities of Bangladesh of the last five years (2005 to 2009) were identified. The frequency of 'segment's those were assessing the ability to draw and label was determined. For Part-B of the study, 214 students were taken as participants. They were divided into two equal groups by randomization. The first group was given 100 illustration-based questions based on the illustrations representing different 'purpose's and 'form's in Snell1. The other group was given 100 non-illustration-based questions on the corresponding textual material. The scores of the two corresponding groups were compared using an unpaired 't' test. The frequency of segments was assessing the ability to draw and label was 3.86%. The performance of the undergraduates answering illustration-based questions was significantly poorer (p=0.0) than non-illustration-based questions (mean±SD being 23.36±14.02 and 44.75±9.50 respectively). Teaching and assessment of Neuroanatomy should be planned in a way to orient undergraduates towards more illustration-based understanding and performance. Necessary modifications in the curriculum are recommended.

Analyses of the Neuroanatomy Portion of the Anatomy Question Papers for Written Summative Assessment at the Medical Undergraduate Level in Bangladesh.

Neuroanatomy is a vital part of the undergraduate medical (MBBS) Anatomy curriculum of different universities of Bangladesh. The teaching-learning and assessment of Neuroanatomy have gone through significant changes in current times in various parts of the world. Neuroanatomy textbooks are supposed to be useful reflectors of these changes and of the present inclinations. The importance of an understanding approach towards Neuroanatomy is beyond doubt. Consequently, the contemporary Neuroanatomy books are inclined more towards an understanding approach in their presentation. However, there has been no organized effort in analysing how such trends are being reflected in the student-assessment in the medical undergraduate courses of Bangladesh. This kind of study can provide useful insight into the present circumstances and assist teachers and curriculum planners in formulating crucial changes. The present study was aimed at analysing the Neuroanatomy written questions of five years' First Professional MBBS Exams regarding content coverage and level of cognitive domain addressed. The study was a descriptive observational one involving qualitative analyses (and quantitation) of questions. All the 'segment's of every item (SAQ and MCQ) dealing with Neuroanatomy in all the available Anatomy written question papers of all the First Professional MBBS Exams of four public universities of Bangladesh of five years (2005 to 2009) were analysed. The frequencies of item- 'segment's dealing with different chapters (or similar parts) of a Neuroanatomy textbook commonly recommended to the medical undergraduate course of the country1 were estimated to determine the content coverage and the item- 'segment's addressing different levels of cognitive domain were identified. The relative coverage of different chapters (or similar parts) of the textbook by Snell1 in the question papers showed considerable differences from the relative proportions of the corresponding chapters (or similar parts) in the book itself. Most (97.64%) of the item-'segment's addressed the recall-level of cognitive domain. The understanding-level was addressed by only 2.36% of 'segment's, but no application-level 'segment' could be identified. The findings of the present research assist teachers, paper- setters and moderators of questions as well as the curriculum planners in integrating the current trends in Neuroanatomy in the respective domains so that pre-clinical undergraduates can be made better prepared for the upcoming years and occupation.