Medical Students' Assessment of Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas: Topographical Anatomy of Man.

INTRODUCTION: To date, there has been no study examining the perceptions of first-year medical students regarding Eduard Pernkopf's atlas, particularly during their study of gross anatomy and prior to coursework in medical ethics. We present a discussion of Pernkopf's Atlas: Topographical Anatomy of Man from the perspective of U.S. medical students, and sought to determine whether medical students view Pernkopf's Topographical Anatomy of Man as a resource of greater accuracy, detail, and potential educational utility as compared to Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy. METHODS: The entire first-year class at Drexel University College of Medicine (265 students) was surveyed at approximately the midpoint of their gross anatomy course and 192 responses were collected (72% response rate). RESULTS: Of these, 176 (95%) were unaware of the existence of Pernkopf's atlas. Another 71% of students found the Pernkopf atlas more likely complete and accurate, whereas 76% thought the Netter atlas more useful for learning (p<.001). When presented with a hypothetical scenario in which the subjects used in creating Pernkopf's atlas were donated, or unclaimed, but with knowledge that Pernkopf was an active member of the Nazi party, 133 students (72%) retained their original position (p=.001). About 94% desired discussion of Pernkopf within a medical school bioethics course. The relationship between level of self-reported knowledge and whether or not students would advocate removal of the atlas was statistically significant (p=.013). CONCLUSION: Discussing ethical violations in medical history, especially the Pernkopf atlas, must attain a secure place in medical school curricula, and more specifically, within a bioethics course.

Poets, doctors, and the rhetoric of money.

OBJECTIVE: Greek poets from the archaic and early classical periods frequently depicted doctors alongside political and military leaders and victorious sportsmen. The mythology of ancient physicians found in such sources may give us clues as to how doctors could be viewed and represented by other segments of society, then and now. METHODS: Pindar's Third Pythian Ode from the first quarter of the 5th century BCE was investigated with reference to other classical sources to understand the contemporary portrayal of ancient physicians. RESULTS: The Greek hero Asclepius is often recognized as the mythical father of surgery. Pindar's portrayal of Asclepius as a heroic but morally flawed physician and surgeon provides clues to the ambivalent role and identity of physicians in the late archaic period. In particular, the primacy of the moral framework surrounding different types of exchange in late archaic society is identified as a key factor influencing the perception of physicians, poets, and other professionals. CONCLUSION: The portrayal of physicians in ancient poetry and sculpture may inform modern neurosurgery and organized medicine about strategies by which we may best serve our patients and elevate our profession.

The Economo-Koskinas atlas revisited: cytoarchitectonics and functional context.

The monumental Atlas of Cytoarchitectonics of the Adult Human Cerebral Cortex of Economo and Koskinas represents a gigantic intellectual and technical effort, never sufficiently recognized. One reason might have been the limited number of copies produced; another, the complex (albeit logical and precise) symbol notation, which comprises a Roman capital (from the initial of the respective lobe), a calligraphic capital (the sequence of a gyrus within a lobe), and a Latin or Greek subscript (for microscopic features). Economo and Koskinas defined 107 cortical areas, as opposed to Brodmann's 44 areas for the human brain. Their cytoarchitectonic criteria confer the advantage of a more detailed parcellation scheme, despite the traditional familiarity of neuroscientists with Brodmann numbers. The system of 107 areas of Economo and Koskinas may be especially useful for modern studies on functional localization.