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Bristle through Bone: An Osteological Model Approach to Teaching the Cranial Nerves and their Foramina
Author(s) -
Boaz Noel T,
Kronen David
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a886-b
Subject(s) - osteology , anatomy , gross anatomy , skull , cranial nerves , process (computing) , bristle , head and neck , biology , medicine , computer science , brush , electrical engineering , engineering , surgery , operating system
An evolutionary developmental approach to teaching gross anatomy offers the advantage of imparting process and pattern to a student's learning and tends to counteract rote memorization without understanding. Anatomical segmentation of the head and neck is a powerful paradigm for learning. We constructed a detailed model of the articulated cranial bones with anatomically correct foramina for the 12 cranial nerves and their branches. A teaching module that uses this model with color‐coded bristles for self‐directed learning is presented. Cranial nerve branches are characterized by reference to the fibers that they carry, as lost or elaborated during embryogenesis from a primitive spinal‐nerve‐like pattern, and they are identified as somitomere‐related cranial nerves, pharyngeal arch nerves, pretrematic branches, or autonomic nerves and ganglia. The bony foramina of the skull are related to the cranial nerve branches that they transmit via their embryological development and these are explored with the appropriate color‐coded bristles. An understanding of the underlying osteology imparts an appreciation of the soft‐part anatomical patterns of the head and neck that the student subsequently encounters in the gross anatomy laboratory.