Teaching pharmacology to medical students has long been seen as a challenge, and one to which a number of innovative approaches have been taken. In this article, we describe and evaluate the use of primary research articles in teaching second-year medical students both in terms of the information learned and the use of the papers themselves. We…

Student evaluations of faculty are important components of the medical curriculum and faculty development. To improve the effectiveness and timeliness of student evaluations of faculty in the physiology course, we investigated whether evaluations submitted during the course differed from those submitted after completion of the course. A secure…

Currently, most undergraduate textbooks that cover the autonomic nervous system retain the concept that autonomic nerves release either acetylcholine or norepinephrine. However, in recent years, a large volume of research has superseded this concept with one in which autonomic nerves normally release at least one cotransmitter along with a…

We developed a model to demonstrate how a hopping kangaroo breathes. Interestingly, a kangaroo uses less energy to breathe while hopping than while standing still. This occurs, in part, because rather than using muscle power to move air into and out of the lungs, air is pulled into (inspiration) and pushed out of (expiration) the lungs as the…

Acid/base homeostasis is one of the most difficult subdisciplines of physiology for medical students to master. A different approach, where theory and practice are linked, might help students develop a deeper understanding of acid/base homeostasis. We therefore set out to develop a laboratory exercise in acid/base physiology that would provide…

The geometric configuration and mechanical properties of the integral elements of the respiratory system, as well as the modus operandi of the interacting parts in the ventilation process, comprise a hard-to-visualize system, making the mechanics of pulmonary ventilation a confusing topic for students and a difficult task for the teacher. To…

About four decades ago, Perl and collaborators were the first ones who unambiguously identified specifically nociceptive neurons in the periphery. In their classic work, they recorded action potentials from single C-fibers of a cutaneous nerve in cats while applying carefully graded stimuli to the skin (Bessou P, Perl ER. Response of cutaneous…

Self-assessment tools have previously been used to assess the impact of a faculty development program on the teaching skills of medical educators. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of a faculty development program on the teaching performances of faculty members in relation to their medical disciplines and academic positions. A…

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This fifth installment of "Explorations in Statistics" revisits power, a concept fundamental to the test of a null hypothesis. Power is the probability that we reject the null hypothesis when it is false. Four…

Nutrient digestion and absorption is necessary for the survival of living organisms and has evolved into the complex and specific task of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. While most people simply assume that their GI tract will work properly to use nutrients, provide energy, and release wastes, few nonscientists know the details about how various…

Recently, the use of animal laboratories has decreased in medical and basic science programs due to lack of trained faculty members, student concerns about animal welfare, and the increased availability of inexpensive alternatives such as computer simulations and videos. Animal laboratories, however, have several advantages over alternative forms…

The introduction of case studies on the autonomic nervous system in a fourth-semester physiology course unit for Pharmacy students is described in this article. This article considers how these case studies were developed and presents their content. Moreover, it reflects on their implementation and, finally, the reception of such a transformation…

The curriculum in the University of Ruhuna Medical School is of the traditional type. Most teaching activities are faculty member-led activities. Since student-centered learning processes are considered to improve certain skills and attitudes, we introduced student-led group classes (SGCs) in physiology. Depending on the outcome of the SGCs, we…

This study aimed to develop, implement, and assess a distance module in endocrine physiology in TelEduc for undergraduate nursing students from a public university in Brazil, with a sample size of 44 students. "Stage 1" consisted of the development of the module, through the process of creating a distance course by means of the Web.…

Second-year medical students at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (Durban, South Africa) were given a brief to prepare oral presentations on topics related to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system in the form of "patient-doctor" role play and to submit written documents about their topics. This initiative…