Browsing by Department "Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology"

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    An examination of the objective evaluation of student achievement in anatomy, with an enquiry into the results of cycling marking programs and confidence weighting of responses : the survey of an investigation into the results obtained over 7 years of experiment in the Department of Anatomy, University of Cape Town
    (1977) Fredman, Marcus
    The experiment of using multiple-choice tests in the Department of Anatomy grew from two concepts that had arisen in the consideration of the role of teaching in the department. The first was the need for an instrument to measure the comparative worth of any changes that we might wish to make in the methods of teaching. It was observed by Professor Wells in discussion (Wells - 1967) that, "Any change of teaching method is accompanied by an apparent but transient beneficial effect in terms of student performance". This has been called the Hawthorn effect and has been observed by educationists, but Professor Wells went further in I inking the beneficial effect to the enthusiasm of the teachers for the new methodology being communicated to the students who in tum became motivated towards performance.
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    Ancestral variation in mid-craniofacial morphology in a South African sample
    (2018) Dinkele, Elizabeth; Friedling, L Jacqui
    Ancestry estimation is a critical component of the demographic profile compiled by forensic anthropologists when unknown skeletal remains are discovered. The mid-craniofacial region is most frequently used to estimate ancestry as this region reflects the genetic and morphological ancestry of an individual. The diverse composition of the South African population makes ancestry estimation problematic, and necessitates the development of reliable, population-specific standards. This study sought to characterise variations in mid-craniofacial shape and size between South Africans of European ancestry (EA), African ancestry (AA) and Mixed ancestry (MA). Metric, nonmetric and geometric morphometric assessments were performed on 392 crania from skeletal collections in South Africa. Variations in mid-craniofacial shape and size were assessed in the orbital, nasal, zygomatic and maxillary regions in two-and three-dimensions. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were employed to characterise variation and estimate ancestry in AA, MA and EA individuals. Multivariate analyses suggest that tightly integrated ancestral variations in each component of the mid-craniofacial region are associated with functional, regional and developmental proximities of these regions. Specifically, AA individuals exhibited wider and shorter midfacial regions than EA individuals, who exhibited the narrowest orbital, zygomatic and nasal breadths and the longest upper facial, orbital and nasal heights. EA individuals exhibited inferiorly-angled orbits, elongated nasal apertures and anteriorly projecting nasal bridges. Rounder nasal apertures, less anteriorly projecting nasal bridges and more anteriorly projecting maxillary regions were detected in AA individuals. MA individuals exhibited heterogeneity in terms of craniofacial shape and size, and therefore produced the lowest ancestry estimation accuracies. Overall, nasal and maxillary regions were the most ancestrally diverse regions. Antemortem maxillary tooth loss and midfacial trauma were confounding factors in ancestry estimation accuracies. The lowest ancestry estimation accuracies were yielded by two-dimensional metric (27%-60.2%) and nonmetric (57.1%-82.4%) methods. Metric and geometric morphometric assessments yielded the highest repeatability (≥ 95%) indicating that these methods may be more reliable for use in medicolegal contexts. Geometric morphometric shape assessments yielded the highest ancestry estimation accuracies (75-97.9%), suggesting the presence of three dimensional shape variations between ancestry groups. These results suggest that a continuum of ancestral variation, with large areas of overlap, exists across South African populations and emphasises the need to develop multivariate ancestry estimation standards which can estimate ancestry reliably.
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    Circulus arteriosus cerebri: Anatomical variations and their correlation to cerebral aneurysms
    (2015) Du Toit, Francesca; Louw, Graham
    The anatomical structure of circulus arteriosus cerebri was first described by Thomas Willis in 1664. Many variations in the circulus arteriosus cerebri have since been reported. The extent to which anatomical variations within the circle influence aneurysm formation in a South African sample has not yet been established. The results of such a study would be of value to clinicians treating patients with vascular diseases. The aim of the study was to determine if there is a correlation between arterial variations in the circulus arteriosus cerebri and cerebral aneurysm formation. The brains of 39 cadavers at the Faculty of Health Sciences were removed and the circulus arteriosus dissected. In addition, 113 patients who underwent a MRI or MRA of the circulus arteriosus cerebri at the Department of Radiology at the Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town were included. For both of these samples the anatomical variations and any aneurysms present were documented. The external diameters of the arteries forming the circulus arteriosus cerebri were also measured. No aneurysms were found in the cadaver sample, thus the correlation could not be tested. In the sample of images from the 113 patients, 111 images showed one or more anatomical variation of the circulus arteriosus cerebri. Of these, 59 had one or more cerebral aneurysm and 52 had no aneurysms. Statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between cerebral aneurysms and anatomical variations in the circulus arteriosus cerebri for a South Africans ample. This is contradictory to what is seen in the literature. Further investigation is required to establish the reason why the results from this South African sample differ from the results reported in the international literature.
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    An investigation into the value of supplementing dissection of the human body with alternative resources: Perceptions of students and staff at the University of Cape Town
    (2017) Ramgoolam, Shakira; Louw, Graham J
    The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived value of supplementing the traditional cadaver dissection course at the University of Cape Town's Faculty of Health Sciences (UCT FHS) with alternatives in order to aid students in their learning of anatomy. The study aimed to collect information which could be used to provide insight into facilitating a deeper educational experience for students and teachers alike in the future with the aim of better retention of knowledge over time. The intention of the study was to obtain results which could potentially provide insight into the feasibility of adopting a contemporary view on anatomy education at UCT FHS and thus inform the anatomy course in the future by acquiring feedback directly from the students and staff of the university. Data was collected by way of a 22 question survey delivered to second to sixth year MBChB students as well as the staff and postgraduate students at UCT FHS. The survey was entirely voluntary. A total of 190 complete responses were collected. The results of the study indicate that both staff and students feel that the cadaver dissection course is an irreplaceable part of the curriculum, and if the faculty chose to use any technological alternatives to teach anatomy, that they should supplement and not replace traditional dissection. Furthermore, the study showed that the staff and students are comfortable with technology in general, and are open to the use of various technologies such as online material, virtual software, media sites, applications and the like in order to bolster their learning. These results may provide insight into the viability of adopting a contemporary view on anatomy education at UCT FHS and may thus inform changes to the anatomy curriculum in the future.