The department of Anatomy and Neurobiology was established in 2004 as part of Oman Medical College. The teaching resources at the department are dissected cadavers, prosected specimens, human brain specimens, models, and 3D-Complete Anatomy online website. The department has a well-equipped histology laboratory with microscopes and high-quality microscopic slides of all the tissues of the body. The laboratory is also equipped with various models of different organs and human skeletal system and loose human bones. The department is pursuing plastinated specimens specially brain sections for the future.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology offers four main courses:
ANA I (4 credits): Introduction to Anatomy gives the basics of general anatomy, microscopic structure of the basic tissues of the body, and describe the basic principles of the development of the human body after fertilization and correlate with common congenital anomalies.
ANA II (11 credits): This course aims at providing a comprehensive knowledge of the gross anatomy and systemic histology of the human body to enable students to understand the normal tissues and organs of the body and correlate it to common clinical conditions. The course also gives knowledge of the basic principles of systemic embryology that will enable students to explain the developmental basis of the occurrence of common congenital anomalies. This is a 16-week course taught by means of a mix of didactic lectures, team-based and case-based learning exercises followed by demonstration of human structure in anatomy and histology labs. Video demo, table demo, SDL and review of dissected cadavers and prosected specimens in the gross anatomy lab is the strong point of this course. The assessments are held at regular intervals in the form of quizzes, midterm exam and a final comprehensive exam. Midterm and final exams have a theory and a practical (OSPE) component.
ANA III (3 credits): This course aims at providing a comprehensive knowledge of the gross anatomy and systemic histology of the head and neck and to enable students to understand the normal tissues and organs and correlate it to common clinical conditions. The course also gives knowledge of the basic principles of pharyngeal arches and craniofacial development that will enable students to explain the developmental basis of the occurrence of common congenital anomalies. This is a 5-week course taught by means of a mix of didactic lectures, followed by demonstration of human structure in anatomy labs. SDL and review of the learned material in the lab is a strong part of this course. The assessments are held at regular intervals in form of quizzes, midterm exam and final comprehensive exam. Midterm and final exam have a theory and a practical component.
Neurobiology (8 credits): The teaching of neurobiology to the MD2 medical students aims at providing a comprehensive knowledge of the structural organization and operation of the human nervous system. It will explain the basic definitions, principles, structure, and connections between the various parts of the nervous system to analyze the integrative and regulative functions on the organs and systems. This knowledge will be used to locate the site of gross lesions according to the deficits encountered. The course includes the use of a substantial new vocabulary of neurology-related scientific terms well enough to apply them appropriately to describe normal neural structure, function, abnormality, and dysfunction.
The Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology offers the following courses:
The department of anatomy has “state of the art” gross anatomy laboratory which was built and equipped by a German company and caters for over 80 students at a time. The laboratory has purpose-built stainless-steel tables for placing the cadavers during teaching sessions. These tables are connected to a special central exhaust system by pipes underneath each table which removes fumes and bad smell of formalin. There is a main table in the center which is equipped with a high-resolution video camera attached to 8 LED TV screens. As a result, the medical students will now have the most comprehensive anatomy training on cadavers and prosected specimens. Department procured the embryology models to understand the three-dimensional view of development of various organ/systems. This is a tremendous enhancement to teaching and learning resources of the College of Medicine. The facility enables the instructors to give live demo on cadavers to all the students at the same time. This anatomy laboratory is the best in the region and among the topmost gross anatomy laboratories in the world.
The main areas of research are clinical anatomy, anthropology, morphometry, electron microscopy, and medical education in a quest for excellence in teaching.
Department is also involved in a project focusing on the effects of radio waves on different organs and tissues. Two TRC grants were received for this project. Recently another research project started looking into the effects of the radio waves emitted from the mobile phone on human sperm.
A URG grant was awarded for the Effects of cow’s milk on the proliferation of triple negative breast cancer cells and insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) levels in vitro.
Another research group is looking into the morphological variations of the lungs, spleen, nerves and arteries in the upper limb.
Research also focuses on novel approaches of teaching embryology, and reciprocal peer teaching in Neurobiology course.