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Department of anatomy
Anatomical word of the month
Acromion - July 2010
Feel that bump on the top of your shoulder? This is the highest point of your shoulder and is the exact meaning of the term combining two Greek words meaning "tip, summit or extreme" and "shoulder." In some individuals their growth hormone continues to overproduce after they have become mature but their long bones have stopped growing. Instead of becoming "giants", unusually tall, parts of their body including the lower jaw, brows, nose, hands and feet become enlarged. This condition is called acromegaly combining two Greek words meaning enlarged tips or extremities. Have you heard of the acropolis in Athens? In ancient Greece the "highest point of the city" was the place to fortify and build important temples such as the Parthenon of the goddess Athena.
“The mission of the anatomy department is to engage future health care providers, educators, scientists and community members in a dynamic evidence-based discipline that fosters a professional environment of scholarly activity and service.”
The anatomy department's faculty offers instruction in courses and systems in the major areas of the discipline: gross anatomy, histology, embryology and neuroanatomy. Anatomical knowledge provides the foundation for other basic medical sciences and is the keystone of physical diagnosis.
The very essence of anatomical learning is the dissection of the cadaver, an experience once limited to only medical students, and still a privilege reserved for a select group of health practitioner students. The ultimate gift of body donation remains essential to this unique instruction.
