Integration of Comparative Anatomy and One Health perspectives
As the interface between human and animal ecosystems erodes, new patterns of disease have begun to emerge. Zoonoses, vector-borne and infectious diesases and antimicrobial resistant bacteria pose ever increasing threats to human health.
In response to these mounting challenges, the One Health concept has been gaining traction, and has broadened, due to advances in technology, to encompass new areas of medicine. Modern medical educators have also begun to embrace the One Health concept as it may provide a holistic approach to explaining diseases that result from a complex set of interactions between humans, animals and the environement.
In 2019 a symposium was organised as part of the 19th International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) Congress to investigate the scope of One Health concepts and comparative anatomy in contemporary medical education.
In their recent review in the Journal of Anatomy, Assistant Professor Sourav Bhattacharjee, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, and colleagues from UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Imperial College, London, Cambridge University, and the Royal Veterinary College, London, give an excellent, comprehensive summary of the findings of the symposium, including examples and illustrations.
Read the full review here.
Image: The Mantis Shrimp - their eyes, which are the most complex in the entire animal kingdom, present an excellent model for teaching ocular anatomy and physiology