CLINICO-PATHOLOGIC CASE EXERCISES BASED UPON HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO RECORDINGS OF SURGICAL PATHOLOGY DISSECTIONS

John T. Woosley*, Claudia Brady, and Kirsten Boland, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 U.S.A.

PURPOSE: A medical student’s ability to fully understand many diseases is limited, at least in part, by their failure to form a clear visual image of the disease process. They rely on still pathologic images of variable resolution and quality and on descriptive text to form their visual image. These internal visual images are often incomplete and may even be inaccurate.

METHODS: A high-definition (1920 X 1080 lines of resolution) video camera (Canon HV20) has been used to record short (1 to 3 minutes) video demonstrations of surgical pathology specimens immediately after their arrival in the laboratory. Since the pathologic specimens are fresh, these demonstrations reveal pathologic processes in realistic color and texture. In addition, the movement and manipulation of the specimens during recording adds a 3-dimensional understanding of the pathologic processes that cannot be achieved with still photography. These gross pathology videos can act as a core to which are attached short video presentations of: 1) clinical findings, 2) annotated radiographic images, 3) annotated histopathologic images, and 4) discussions of therapeutic options to create a concise, tightly integrated video presentation of each disease.

RESULTS: Over 100 gross pathology videos have been created. Several of these have been used to create short, but comprehensive video case exercises

CONCLUSION: Clinico-pathologic case exercise videos provide an engaging and memorable educational experience. They can be viewed in high detail on a computer screen or can be transferred to a portable media device (i.e., iPod) to add portability to the experience.