Southampton BM5 2015 Applicants

Do Southampton do dissection?


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It's an optional module in year 3 to do a dissection but we learn anatomy through (in my opinion, far superior) prosection.

Could you please explain how southampton does it's prosection sessions and why they are so beneficial from what I've heard?

Thank you


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Each week the lab is set up with specimens from the current topic of learning. This is how a lab session goes:

Rock up at your timetabled slot
Put your bags away, get out your exercise book and put your hair/gum etc away.
Put on lab coat and gloves.

Go and watch a demonstration by a lecturer or technician
- This will change each session
- They demonstrate the more complex ideas on a preprepared specimen
- This could be the blood supply on a heart, or the perineal triangle for example

You then "speed date" each table. All the tables have exercises that correspond to the book you're given and it talks you through a specimen. So if you're currently learning about the lungs, it might be a table with lots of bronchi on them and you can explore them looking for the anatomical features and structures. Teachers are there to support you and you have tablets/PCs/books etc in there to guide you. Your peers are also an excellent source of knowledge.

A lot of the structures you need to learn about are very small, or very hard to distinguish. Nerves arteries and veins often run together and it can be hard to figure out what is what. On the preprepared specimens these are often labelled or tagged so that you can learn to recognise them. There are then other specimens without any labels so that you can assess your learning.

At the end of each week there is a "test yourself" station set up in the lab for the whole of the next week (so while all the learning is out for week 2, there is a "test yourself on week 1 knowledge" station in the corner). This allows you to check your knowledge as you go!


The issue with anatomy is that it is huge. And it goes beyond learning names of things as you need to understand the function and the complications etc that arise with each anatomical thing. To dissect takes a LONG time. Students doing prosection already spend upwards of 3-6 hours in the lab a week and our specimens are all ready to go!

Lots of people have anatomical variation which complicates things. Someone I know in the year above spent a long time dissecting a thyroid out perfectly during her optional model. She was removing layers of tissue systematically and it took her a long time just to find that for some unknown reason this persons thyroid was missing. Some structures are hard enough to find without having to realise that they're not even there.

And with prosection your specimens are prepared by experts so you're going to get the best view.

While lots of people are drawn to disection, it is a long process that doesn't seem to be necessary. Bodies are hard to come by and the money can be spend on better resources for learning in my opinion!




Does that help? Sorry, small essay there!

This is great, thank you so much, it has all the info I wanted to know, good thing that's it's a small essay lol.

If possible could you explain slightly more on this speed dating part? Like is it a different type of specimen at each table? Etc

Thank you again.


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This sounds so much better than our way of doing things.

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This is great, thank you so much, it has all the info I wanted to know, good thing that's it's a small essay lol.

If possible could you explain slightly more on this speed dating part? Like is it a different type of specimen at each table? Etc

Thank you again.


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They've spent a lot of time building up the lab as Southampton used to have a rep for their students not knowing any anatomy. Now it's really amazing! They've invested a lot of time and cash into it and it seems to have worked really well.

If only they could work on how to stop your clothes from smelling like the lab .

Do you do dissection?





Also worth mentioning there are also online packages you can go through. The lecturers record specimen demonstrations and you can watch them, or they do a a sort of virtual whiteboard where they can draw and you can see what they're drawing while they talk about what they're drawing if that makes sense.

Lots of different ways to learn it. .

Hello there.

I'm wondering if I can ask why the teaching style of Southampton is?
And also why you chose Southampton over all the Unis in the UK if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks

Hey, I was wondering, in your time at Southampton, have you done much/any neuroscience or psychology yet? I looked at the course, and it mentions nervous system briefly. Just wondering. Heading down tomorrow..

You do neuro during semester 1 (Mainly the structure of the nervous system and the locomotor system). Then your big neuro module is in semester 3 (so in 2nd year) and you do lots and lots.

Psychology features throughout every year and is important in medicine! We tend to have a combination of psychology/sociology rather than pure psychology but yes!

And with prosection your specimens are prepared by experts so you're going to get the best view.

While lots of people are drawn to disection, it is a long process that doesn't seem to be necessary. Bodies are hard to come by and the money can be spend on better resources for learning in my opinion!

That's fantastic, thank u! Lastly, any tips for tomorrow? Simple dos and don'ts? I tend to get soo nervous. Thanks anyway.

So informative! Are you able to try dissections if you want, or are you restricted to just observing?
Prosection sounds like a great idea, ensuring you get a proper look, saving time and money, but it would be nice to have the option of getting some hands on experience, no?

I have my interview tomorrow and I got 642.5 in my UKCAT which is relatively poor compared to what people are complaining about on here. The UKCAT, I assume, forms a part of the application of which other factors are considered such as your PS, reference, AS grades etc.

Hello again.
Is it true that you get your own personal tutor.
Thanks. Sorry for all of these questions.