علی دلبری

Understanding hand structures is necessary to diagnose its diseases and injuries. Several methods have been used to teach the anatomy of this body part. In this article, we introduce a new educational tool and examine the impact of its use in learning anatomy.

Color images of different layers of hand structures were connected with a spring. On each page, the desired structure was cut and that part could be turned from another direction so that the tool was beyond a booklet and could create a three-dimensional image of the region. In this way, a multi-layered structure was made that looking at each part of it and going to the next part was equivalent to removing a layer from the palm of the hand and observing the layer beneath. After making the educational tool, 280 students who participated in the study were divided into two groups: control (A) and experimental (B). Both groups participated in a pre-test. After teaching the theory of hand anatomy for both groups, the control group received practical training using the traditional method and the experimental group using the proposed educational tool, and both groups participated in a post-test and the scores of the pre and post-test groups were compared. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24 statistical software using Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests.

The pre-test scores of groups A and B were 3.48±1.197 and 3.49±1.481, respectively. The post-test scores of groups A and B were 6.97±1.504 and 10.54±1.303, respectively. Therefore, although the pre-test scores of groups A and B were not much different (P>0.05), the post-test scores of the two groups showed a significant difference (P<0.001). Students also expressed that using this educational tool has made learning hand anatomy more interesting for them.

The results of this study showed that the proposed educational tool is effective in the field of hand anatomy education.

According to most students, neuroanatomy is difficult to learn. Although different approaches have been suggested for learning neuroanatomical correlations, it seems that none have been effective in aiding learning of afferent and efferent connections. The aim of this study was to develop an innovative method that will facilitate learning of afferent and efferent nervous system connections.
A total of 140 medical students at the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences participated in the current study, of which 69 subjects were trained using traditional methods (control group). An innovative method was employed for the remaining 71 subjects (intervention group). In the intervention group, a name and figure were first allocated to each of the nervous system structures in a way that would remind students of the origin of the structure. The students created 3-part names for the allocated structures that were, if possible, humorous. The first part was the alternative name for the structure, and the second and third parts were the alternative names for afferent and efferent structures. The students learned the afferent and efferent connections through the phrases. Each group passed a 12-item pretest and posttest. Results of the tests were analyzed with SPSS using the paired t-test; P ≤ 0.05 was considered to be significant.
There was no significant difference in the pretest scores between the study groups (control: 1.64 ± 0.86; intervention: 1.60 ± 0.89; P = 0.40). The posttest score of the intervention group (8.15 ± 1.16) was significantly higher than that of the control (3.75 ± 0.077; P An innovative method can facilitate student learning of afferent and efferent nervous system connections.

Honeycombs are known as structures which present special and unique properties. They are used in various industries and in particular aerospace industry. The effect of casting temperature and inner wall thickness of honeycombs on fillability and structural integrity of the samples were studied in this research. Various honeycomb samples of 13mm height were prepared and pressed along their diameters. Then the fracture sections were studied by a Scanning Electron Microscope. The results showed that the higher the pouring temperature, the lower were the fillability of the mold and pressure strength of the honeycombs. It is also found that as the inner wall thicknesses of honeycombs increased their pressure strength increased too. Furthermore, the fracture mode in all of the fractured surfaces was ductile and inclusions have a significant effect on the formation of such fracture surfaces.