Anatomy is a foundational subject in medicine and serves as its language. Hippocrates highlighted its importance, while Herophilus pioneered human dissection, earning him the title of the founder of anatomy. Vesalius later established modern anatomy, which has since evolved historically. In Korea, formal anatomy education for medical training began with the introduction of Western medicine during the late Joseon Dynasty. Before and after the Japanese occupation, anatomy education was conducted in the German style, and after liberation, it was maintained and developed by a small number of domestic anatomists. Medicine in Korea has grown alongside the country’s rapid economic and social development. Today, 40 medical colleges produce world-class doctors to provide the best medical care service in the country. However, the societal demand for more doctors is growing in order to proactively address to challenges such as public healthcare issues, essential healthcare provision, regional medical service disparities, and an aging population.This study examines the history, current state, and challenges of anatomy education in Korea, emphasizing the availability of medical educators, support staff, and cadavers for gross anatomy instruction. While variations exist between Seoul and provincial medical colleges, each manages to deliver adequate education under challenging conditions. However, the rapid increase in medical student enrollment threatens to strain existing anatomy education resources, potentially compromising educational quality. To address these concerns, we propose strategies for training qualified gross anatomy educators, ensuring a sustainable cadaver supply, and enhancing infrastructure.

In the present study, we investigated influences of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3beta on the development and/or progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We used transgenic mice expressing a human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase mutant (SOD1G93A) as an in vivo model of ALS and examined expressional changes of GSK3beta immunohistochemically in the spinal cord, brain stem and cerebellum. With these experiments we demonstrate that the neurons in these regions of symptomatic SOD1G93A transgenic mice showed increased GSK3beta immunoreactivities compared with wild-type SOD1 transgenic mice. In contrast to symptomatic SOD1G93A transgenic mice, few GSK3beta immunoreactivity changes were detected in 8w- and 13w-old presymptomatic SOD1G93A transgenic mice. These data suggest the possibility that GSK3 functions as a modulating factor of apoptosis-related alterations in ALS and that GSK3beta exert differential functions in the development and/or progression of ALS. But the exact functional significances of these changes require further elucidation.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; Animals ; Brain Stem ; Central Nervous System* ; Cerebellum ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases* ; Glycogen Synthase* ; Glycogen* ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic* ; Neurons ; Spinal Cord ; Superoxide Dismutase

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the variables predicting violent behavior in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: Subjects were 65 schizophrenic patients diagnosed according to DSM-IV. Schizophrenic symptom and the insight of patients were evaluated with the Postive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Scale of Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD). Violent behaviors were evaluated with the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS). The State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Reversion (SCL-90-R) self-reported measures were used for the evaluation of anger state & trait, and general psychopathology. Statistic method used in analized variables were stepwise multiple regression and discriminant analysis as well as t-test. RESULTS: Anger out style, hostility and trait anger variables were extracted as the significant predictors in stepwise multiple regression (37%). Emotion and attitude factors related to anger were more powerful predictor than symptom factors. These three variables could discriminate between violent group and nonviolent group in 72.4%. CONCLUSION: Violent behavior of schizophrenic patients could be predicted more accurately by stable factors such as attitude and emotion related to anger than by symptom factors.
Aggression ; Anger ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Factor VII ; Hostility ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia

Uterine artery ligation or embolization is a minimally invasive alternative for treatment of symptomatic leiomyoma. However, the experience with pregnancy management and outcome after ablating uterine blood flow is still unknown. We have recently experienced a case of a woman who had two successful spontaneous intrauterine pregnancies after laparoscopic uterine artery ligation to treat uterine myoma for dysmenorrhea and menometrorrhagia.
Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Ligation* ; Myoma ; Pregnancy* ; Uterine Artery*

Nitric Oxide (NO) actively participates in the regulation of neuronal intracellular Ca2+ levels by modulating the activity of various channels and receptors. To test the possibility that modulation of Ca2+ buffer protein expression level by NO participates in this regulatory effect, we examined expression of calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and parvalbumin in the cerebellum of neuronal NO synthase knock-out (nNOS(-/-)) mice using immunohistochemistry. We observed that in the cerebellar cortex of the nNOS(-/-) mice, expression of calbindin-D28k and parvalbumin were significantly increased while expression of calretinin was significantly decreased. These results suggest another mechanism by which NO can participate in the regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis.
Animals ; Calcium ; Calcium-Binding Protein, Vitamin D-Dependent ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; Cerebellar Cortex ; Cerebellum ; Homeostasis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice ; Neurons ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant World Health Organization grade IV brain tumor. GBM patients have a poor prognosis because of its resistance to standard therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Since stem-like cells have been associated with the treatment resistance of GBM, novel therapies targeting the cancer stem cell (CSC) population is critically required. However, GBM CSCs share molecular and functional characteristics with normal neural stem cells (NSCs). To elucidate differential therapeutic targets of GBM CSCs, we compared surface markers of GBM CSCs with adult human NSCs and found that GD2 and CD90 were specifically overexpressed in GBM CSCs. We further tested whether the GBM CSC specific markers are associated with the cancer stemness using primarily cultured patient-derived GBM cells. However, results consistently indicated that GBM cells with or without GD2 and CD90 had similar in vitro sphere formation capacity, a functional characteristics of CSCs. Therefore, GD2 and CD90, GBM specific surface markers, might not be used as specific therapeutic targets for GBM CSCs, although they could have other clinical utilities.
Adult ; Brain Neoplasms ; Drug Therapy ; Glioblastoma* ; Humans ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; Neural Stem Cells ; Prognosis ; World Health Organization

Nitric oxide (NO) modulates the activities of various channels and receptors to participate in the regulation of neuronal intracellular Ca2+ levels. Ca2+ binding protein (CaBP) expression may also be altered by NO. Accordingly, we examined expression changes in calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and parvalbumin in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal region of neuronal NO synthase knockout(-/-) (nNOS-/-) mice using immunohistochemistry. For the first time, we demonstrate that the expression of CaBPs is specifically altered in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal region of nNOS-/- mice and that their expression changed according to neuronal type. As changes in CaBP expression can influence temporal and spatial intracellular Ca2+ levels, it appears that NO may be involved in various functions, such as modulating neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis, regulating synaptic transmission, and neuroprotection, by influencing the expression of CaBPs. Therefore, these results suggest another mechanism by which NO participates in the regulation of neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis. However, the exact mechanisms of this regulation and its functional significance require further investigation.
Animals ; Calcium ; Calcium-Binding Protein, Vitamin D-Dependent ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; Carrier Proteins ; Cerebral Cortex ; Homeostasis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice ; Neurons ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Synaptic Transmission

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to find an optimal delivery route for clinical trials of intrathecal cell therapy for spinal cord injury in preclinical stage.METHODS: We compared in vivo distribution of Cy5.5 fluorescent dye in the spinal cord region at various time points utilizing in vivo optical imaging techniques, which was injected into the lateral ventricle (LV) or cisterna magna (CM) of rats.RESULTS: Although CM locates nearer to the spinal cord than the LV, significantly higher signal of Cy5.5 was detected in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord region at all time points tested when Cy5.5 was injected into the LV. In the LV injection Cy5.5 signal in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord was observed within 12 hours after injection, which was maintained until 72 hours after injection. In contrast, Cy5.5 signal was concentrated at the injection site in the CM injection at all time points.CONCLUSION: These data suggested that the LV might be suitable for preclinical injection route of therapeutics targeting the spinal cord to test their treatment efficacy and biosafety for spinal cord diseases in small animal models.
Animals ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cisterna Magna ; Fluorescence ; Lateral Ventricles ; Models, Animal ; Optical Imaging ; Rats ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Treatment Outcome

Radiation is the most useful treatment modality for cancer patients. It initiates a series of signal cascades such as DNA damage response (DDR) signaling for repairing damaged DNA, arresting the cell cycle, and inducing cell death. Until now, few genes have been found to be regulated by radiation, which explains the molecular mechanisms of cellular responses to radiation. Although the transcriptional changes caused by radiation have been widely investigated, little is known about the direct evidence for the transcriptional control of DDR-related genes. Here, we examined the radiosensitivity of two non-small cell lung cancer cell lines (H460 and H1299), which have different p53 status. We monitored the time-dependent changes of 24 DDR-related gene expressions via microarray analysis. Based on the basal expression levels and temporal patterns, we further classified 24 DDR-related genes into four subgroups. Then, we also addressed the protein levels of several DDR-related genes such as TopBP1, Chk1 and Chk2, confirming the results of microarray analysis. Together, these results indicate that the expression patterns of DDR-related genes are associated with radiosensitivity and with the p53 statuses of H460 and H1299, which adds to the understanding of the complex biological responses to radiation.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/genetics ; Cell Cycle Proteins/genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival/radiation effects ; DNA Damage/*radiation effects ; DNA Repair Enzymes/genetics ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/*radiation effects ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Radiation Tolerance/genetics ; Signal Transduction

Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic neurodegenerative disease characterized by various combinations of parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, autonomic dysfunction and pyramidal signs. Two clinical subtypes are recognized: MSA with predominant cerebellar ataxia (MSA-C) and MSA with predominant parkinsonism (MSA-P). The aim of this study was to compare pathological features between MSA-C and MSA-P. Methods: Two autopsy confirmed cases with MSA were included from the Pusan National University Hospital Brain Bank. Case 1 had been clinically diagnosed as MSA-C and case 2 as MSA-P. The severity of neuronal loss and gliosis as well as the glial and neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions were semiquantitatively assessed in both striatonigral and olivopontocerebellar regions. Based on the grading system, pathological phenotypes of MSA were classified as striatonigral degeneration (SND) predominant (SND type), olivopontocerebellar degeneration (OPC) predominant (OPC type), or equivalent SND and OPC pathology (SND=OPC type). Results: Both cases showed widespread and abundant α-synuclein positive glial cytoplasmic inclusions in association with neurodegenerative changes in striatonigral or olivopontocerebellar structures, leading to the primary pathological diagnosis of MSA. Primary age-related tauopathy was incidentally found but Lewy bodies were not in both cases. The pathological phenotypes of MSA were MSA-OPC type in case 1 and MSA-SND=OPC type in case 2. Conclusions Our data suggest that clinical phenotypes of MSA reflect the pathological characteristics.