COW EYE DISSECTION MANUAL
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Students in Dr. Quick's anatomy class were having trouble identifying key structures during their cow eye dissection. The supplemental illustrations included in the lab manual weren't helpful to them. Dr. Quick asked me to redraw some illustrations for increased clarity. She suggested a conduct my own cow eye dissections to intimately study the anatomical structures. During these dissections, I suggested revisions to the lab manual to improve the procedure.
During these dissections, we had several discussions about what students need to know from this learning activity, and how we could better guide their learning. We worked on the lab manual and thought critically about the medium and technique that would best show the gross anatomy of the cow eye.
CADAVER ILLUSTRATION
Over the summer before the start of the new year, some students were hired to dissect and prepare the cadavers for the upcoming anatomy classes. Due to restrictions on photography, illustrating certain anatomical features was helpful for students unable to participate in the dissection process. During my time as a student assistant with the Integrative Biology department at OSU, I had the opportunity to sit in on dissections to illustrate anatomy. Here are some of my drawings.
NEUROANATOMY 3D MODEL DATABASE
During the initial wave of COVID in Summer 2020, Dr. Devon Quick from OSU's Department of Integrative Biology, my mentor, wanted to digitize complex anatomical representations so that her students have more online-accessible study tools. I used blender, a free 3D modeling software to create these representations. When the 3D representations were implemented in Winter 2021, we created an assignment that would guide student learning while interacting with the model. Over the course of the last year, we have been refining the 3D models according to student responses. These changes include: including more anatomical structures as context for placement in the body, decreasing detail but keeping integrity of model to have faster loading speeds, reworking annotation wording, and changes to the 3D representation itself.
SPINAL CORD ANATOMY
These models are works in progress. Instead of trying to show a pathway or a process, these are more static representations aimed at showing the anatomical structures.
Currently, work is being done to standardize how these neuroanatomy structures are being shown. In both the sensory pathways and the anatomy models, I want users to be able to understand the context of how these structures and their functions are interrelated.