Collaborative Anatomy‐Pathology Project: Integrating Clinical Sciences into the Pre‐Clinical Curriculum
Authors: LaRose Elizabeth , Zaman Ninad , Reisner Howard , Siddiqui Adnan , Newton Bruce , Terreberry Robert , Brenseke Bonnie , Anderson Francine , Mitchell Terence Reid Townsend 
Published: November 2023

The Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine Collaborative Anatomy‐Pathology (CAP) Project grew out of student interest in disease states encountered during cadaver lab of the first year gross anatomy course. Students wanted to learn more about diseases, even prior to being formally exposed to general and systemic pathology. With the primary objective of encouraging students to integrate the clinical and basic sciences, CAP participants developed case studies based on gross and microscopic evaluation of identified lesions emphasizing clinical implications. In addition, the project fostered interdisciplinary collaboration and taught valuable research, presentation, and design skills.

Methods

During the 2014–15 and 2015–16 academic years, first year medical students documented and photographed lesions found during gross anatomy dissection. Interested students chose which disease states they would like to further investigate in collaboration with Anatomy and Pathology faculty. Samples of the lesions were collected and processed into H&E stained histologic slides for microscopic examination. To allow for convenient dissemination of results, the slides were also scanned for virtual microscopy. Moreover, two of the case studies demonstrated fixed cadaveric tissue could be used for fluorescence in situ hybridization for karyotypic analysis and serve as a source of DNA suitable for single‐gene level DNA sequencing. Over the course of two academic years, 77 students prepared a total of 27 research posters and presented them at local conferences.

Results

Multiple organ systems were identified as having lesions, many of which became the focus of student led poster presentations. Poster topics included hiatal hernia, ovarian teratoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and various anatomic anomalies. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 academic year 28 participants were surveyed, and twenty respondents (71.4%) either agreed or strongly agreed that the program increased their interest in anatomy (90%), pathology (80%), and research (80%). The majority of participants also noted an increased ability to perform literature searches (85%) and compose a poster suitable for presentation at a scientific session (95%). Intersecting research and practicing medicine is increasingly a focus in medical education, and the CAP Project demonstrated that anatomic dissection can be part of an innovative and integrative teaching strategy to attain that goal. Project findings also suggest that cadaveric embalmed teaching material may be suitable for advanced molecular diagnostics. Future work will focus on using the growing database of resources (gross images, glass and virtual histologic slides, and student posters) to promote research on the prevalence of certain diseases. As many of these samples would not otherwise be collected in a clinical setting, this approach offers a unique window into human health and disease.