Through the fingers: Use of plastinated anatomical specimens for visually impaired students.

The plastination technique produces non-toxic human tissues, ensuring their safe handling in educational settings. This investigation aimed to understand if visually impaired students profit from the use of plastinated anatomical specimens in learning the anatomy of the nervous system. For this purpose, their learning performance was compared to sighted and blindfolded students recruited from three primary schools in Fortaleza city, in the state of Ceará. Initially, a questionnaire was applied before carrying out the pedagogical practice, followed by an anatomy lecture with practical components with the use of plastinated anatomical specimens and synthetic anatomical models of the nervous system. After these steps, the students answered the questionnaire previously applied. Our results showed that the tactile perception of the visually impaired participants was significantly more developed compared to sighted (p < 0.001) and the blindfolded (p < 0.0001) students. The average of correct answers in the reapplied questionnaire was higher in the groups that used plastinated specimens (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the use of plastinated specimens has proven to be an effective tool in promoting a better understanding of anatomical structures, mainly for students with or without visual impairments, making it a valuable asset in anatomy teaching.

Teaching human anatomy to the visually impaired: A systematic review.

Information related to human anatomy is present throughout the educational process, especially in undergraduate courses in the biomedical area. These courses have complex theoretical and practical contents, and this becomes more evident when they are developed for the visually impaired. The objective of this work was to perform a systematic review on the teaching of human anatomy for the visually impaired. After the protocol was registered on the PROSPERO platform (CRD42022306002), 10 electronic databases were manually searched with the descriptors "teaching human anatomy" and "visually impaired." Intervention studies were selected without date or language restrictions. In the end, only eight studies were found. Tactile materials produced manually, and Braille and cadaveric pieces, are assessed as good tools for teaching human anatomy to the visually impaired. There is a pressing need for adaptations of teaching methods to make the teaching more accessible and inclusive.

The use of active methodologies for the teaching of human embryology: A systematic review.

Embryology is a basic science, of the medical curriculum and of the health area, it serves as a foundation for the understanding of the phenomena that occur in normal development and its alterations. Over the years, active methodologies have been increasingly used as innovative tools in the academic training of health professionals. In this work we aim, through an integrative review, to search for the active methodologies used in the teaching of embryology. The PICo strategy was used to form the guiding question, the results were presented through the Prisma Flow diagram. The databases consulted were PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Medline, Scielo and LILACS, searching for articles until the year 2021. Our results show that embryology is a science still to be explored in the field of methodologies active, few works were found, most using TBL or digital platforms; however, the authors agree that active methodologies are valuable tools in the teaching of embryology, capable of improving student motivation and engagement.

Morphology of root canal surface: A reflection on the process of cementation of the composite relined glass fiber post.

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted to evaluate the bond strength in the different root thirds (premolars and maxillary central incisors) of composite relined glass fiber posts compared to untreated glass fiber posts cemented with dual- or chemical-cure cements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty human single-rooted premolars (flat canal) (n = 15) and 12 maxillary central incisors were used (round canal) (n = 3). The teeth were sectioned, and the roots received endodontic treatment. The standardized preparation of the canals was carried out, and the roots were randomly divided into four groups according to the cementation systems: G1: cemented posts (dual: Ambar/Allcem); G2: relined posts (dual: Ambar/Allcem); G3: cemented posts (chemical: Fusion Duralink/Cement Post); and G4: relined posts (chemical: Fusion Duralink/Cement Post). The roots were cut to give two slices of each third of the root canal per specimen. Push-out test was conducted at a speed of 0.5 mm/min. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between groups for the premolars (flat canal) (P = 0.959). There was a significant difference in the central incisors between the middle and apical thirds in the cemented group when using the dual system (P = 0.04) and between the middle and apical thirds (P = 0.003) and cervical and apical thirds (P = 0.033) when using the chemical system. CONCLUSION: Due to the anatomy of the root canal, flat canal of the premolars does not require relining, but round canal of the maxillary central incisors demands it for more secure in the bond strength.