Science & Education Updates for A&P Faculty - Issue 362
What this week’s science reveals about human structure, function, and learning
Variation is the quiet through-line of this issue—anatomical, neural, cellular, and even linguistic. Each story offers a reminder that “normal” is often the least interesting place to start.
Catherine O’Hara, Situs Inversus, and Why It Matters
A celebrity story can still be a teachable moment—because anatomy doesn’t always read the same map. Situs inversus is a mirror-image arrangement of organs, and most people never know they have it unless imaging (or an EKG surprise) reveals it.
A&P teaching tip: Use this as your “right-left” ambush question—then remind students that clinical assumptions (like heart sounds and lead placement) can fail fast when anatomy varies.
Read more→AandP.info/rct
A Podcast Detour That Makes Situs Inversus Stick
If you want the “rare condition” conversation to land with students, stories help. TAPP Episode 43 is a nice companion for the O’Hara item—because it takes the same anatomical variation and lets it breathe in a teaching context.
A&P teaching tip: Assign the news teaser first, then the episode—have students list 3 “what would change clinically?” examples (EKG leads, imaging orientation, pain localization, procedural landmarks).
🎧Episode Introduction/Preview
To listen to this preview episode, with word dissections and a book recommendation, click on the play button above ⏵ (if present) or this link→ theAPprofessor.org/podcast-episode-42.html (scroll to bottom)
🎧Episode
To listen to the main episode, click on the play button above ⏵ (if present) or this link→ theAPprofessor.org/podcast-episode-43.html
Taking the “Shame” Out of Anatomical Terms
This open-access opinion piece argues that terms derived from pudere (“to be ashamed”) don’t belong in a modern, objective anatomical vocabulary—and that partial fixes don’t fully solve the problem. It’s a reminder that terminology is not just tradition; it’s messaging.
A&P teaching tip: Run a 5-minute “words matter” micro-activity—ask students what they think a term means before you define it, then discuss how word origins can shape comfort, bias, and learning.
Read more→AandP.info/kwi
Yawning Isn’t Just a Signal—It Moves Brain Fluids
MRI work suggests yawning reorganizes cerebrospinal fluid and blood flow in ways that look different from a forceful deep breath—and people may even have distinct “yawn signatures.” It’s a weird little behavior with serious physiology hiding inside it.
A&P teaching tip: Drop this into your CSF/ventricles unit as a “behavior meets anatomy” hook—then ask students to propose mechanisms (pressure, muscles, venous return, airway dynamics) before you show any data.
Read more→AandP.info/fke
There’s No Such Thing as a “Normal” Brain
This essay frames neurodiversity as variation, not defect—while still acknowledging that support needs can be real and substantial. The helpful move here is shifting from “fix the person” to “fit the environment.”
A&P teaching tip: When discussing CNS development, add a simple mantra: “Variation is normal; barriers are optional.” Then ask: what course design choices reduce barriers for everyone?
Read more→AandP.info/s1x
A Vaccine Escape Room for Flu Misconceptions
This interactive escape-room style activity aims to teach flu vaccine concepts through guided problem-solving—more like a learning experience than a reading assignment. If it’s built well, it can turn “I heard…” into “I tested the claim.”
A&P teaching tip: Use it as a low-stakes pre-class activity, then have students submit one “belief I updated” sentence and one “question I still have” sentence—great discussion fuel.
Read more→AandP.info/vre
Clinical Scenarios Make Anatomy Feel Real
A small-cohort, multi-year exploratory study reports that adding structured clinical scenarios to undergraduate anatomy lectures boosted engagement and helped students consolidate and apply knowledge. It’s basically “context turns memorization into meaning.”
A&P teaching tip: Try “two-minute cases”—one short scenario at the start of class and one at the end. Same anatomy, different angle. Students start seeing transfer instead of trivia.
Read more→AandP.info/20d
The Mesentery’s Big Promotion: Treat It Like an Organ
This review argues that clearer anatomical understanding of the mesentery opens the door to systematic study of its roles in health and disease—and that it deserves the same attention we give other organs and systems.
A&P teaching tip: Use the mesentery as your “anatomy isn’t finished” example—then ask students what counts as an organ, and why definitions matter in research and medicine.
Recharging Aging Cells by Sharing Mitochondria
New research shows that aging or damaged human cells can regain function by receiving healthy mitochondria from nearby stem cells. Using nanoparticle “nanoflowers,” researchers increased mitochondrial production in donor cells, which then transferred these energy-producing organelles to weaker neighbors. This work reframes mitochondria as mobile, cooperative structures and highlights a new mechanism by which tissues may maintain function as we age.
A&P teaching tip: This is a great example to reinforce that mitochondria are dynamic organelles—link it to cell signaling, tissue repair, and why energy metabolism matters beyond ATP production.
Read more→AandP.info/oth
The Brain’s Five Distinct Lifelong “Epochs”
A large neuroimaging analysis suggests the human brain moves through five distinct structural phases across the lifespan, with major transitions around ages 9, 32, 66, and 83. Rather than steadily rising and then declining, brain network efficiency stabilizes for decades before shifting toward more localized processing later in life. The findings help explain why learning capacity, mental health risk, and cognitive resilience cluster at particular life stages.
A&P teaching tip: Use this study to challenge the “peak-and-decline” myth—have students map neural plasticity and connectivity changes onto developmental and aging modules.
Read more→AandP.info/liq
Thanks for writing this, it clarifies a lot. What if medical sytems defaulted to variation checks?