Students looking at a plastic anatomy model

Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy

The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy functions as unit within the Department of Innovation in Medical Education. Our overriding mandate is excellence and leadership in teaching the anatomical sciences at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.

The anatomical sciences are a gateway to the clinical world for medical and health science students and it is essential that we teach is well in a medical school. Through its study, students will understand the rich tapestry of structures to be encountered in every patient, while at the same time appreciating the variability that each individual possesses. The study of anatomy introduces students to the specialized vocabulary of medicine, and helps them begin to deal with issues of death that are inevitable in clinical practice.

The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy teaches the anatomical sciences to undergraduate medical and health science students, using lectures and laboratory sessions supplemented with a rich array of multimedia learning resources that we have developed in collaboration with the Faculty’s medical education group. We also work with resident training programs at the Faculty.

Message from the director

Welcome to the Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy. Human anatomy is a core content of every medical school curriculum and the foundation for basic clinical examination, medical imaging and surgery. The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy is our nation’s capital’s primary resource for expertise in anatomical sciences education and research. Our faculty members teach anatomy passionately while emphasizing the important core clinical competencies. For instance, the first encounter with the cadaver is seen as a great way to teach professionalism by emphasizing a clear code of conduct in the anatomy laboratory, teaching students to respect and to interact with the donor’s body and other students professionally at all times.

Anatomy teaching is also used as an introduction to the humanities in medicine. The rich tradition embodied by the history of anatomical sciences can be taught as a component of the history of medicine. Our small group teaching sessions in the anatomy lab are a stimulating way to educate students about collaborative learning and improve their communication skills while they learn human anatomy. Our energetic staff has been involved with many scholarly activities, leading to numerous publications and presentations, with their main research interests revolving around anatomical sciences education and innovation in medical education. The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy at the University of Ottawa aspires to develop and promote teaching, research and leadership in anatomical sciences education.

Dr. Christopher Ramnanan
Director of Anatomical Sciences

Biography

Dr. Christopher Ramnanan

Students

We teach anatomical sciences to medical, engineering and health science students at the University of Ottawa, using lectures and small group laboratory sessions that are supplemented with a rich collection of eLearning resources. We also collaborate with the Postgraduate Medical Education Program (PGME), Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and The University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre (uOSSC) to provide anatomical resources for their prized educational sessions. Moreover, our di vision assists with the anatomical sciences education of a variety of organizations (including Algonquin College, paramedics, fire services, etc) and provides bilingual high school and college orientation tours on human anatomy and sports medicine.

Dissection electives

For 1st and 2nd year students

Dissection of thorax in 6 sessions

NB: Priority will be given to students who have not previously taken any dissection elective. If the # of students who sign up exceeds capacity, a selection will be done randomly by computer.

Instructors

  • Dr. Christopher Ramnanan
  • Dr. Alireza Jalali

To sign up for Dissection Electives, please contact:

Shannon Goodwin
Telephone: 613-562-5475
Location: Room 2161, RGN
Email: [email protected]

The schedule will be available after the formation of the groups.

Clinical Anatomy elective 

This elective is reserved for Residents upon approval of their Program Director and PGME office.

  • Instructors: Dr. Max Hincke, Dr. Alireza Jalali and Dr. Christopher Ramnanan
  • Location: The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy, RGN, 2240

  • Duration: 4 Weeks

  • Number of Residents: 2 Maximum

  • Contact:
    Ms. Shannon Goodwin
    Telephone: 613-562-5475
    Location: Room 2161, RGN
    Email: [email protected]

Description of Elective

Clinical Anatomy

The resident will be able to dissect and review Clinical Anatomy concepts in Musculoskeletal, Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Nervous, Respiratory, Renal and Gastrointestinal anatomy (See Below).

Research

The resident will be required to contribute to ongoing scholarship activities of The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy: 

  • Development of e-Learning tools
  • Medical education research
  • Clinical Anatomy research
  • Medical student teaching (optional)

Evaluation

For each Clinical Anatomy session, residents will be provided a list of objectives which needs to be covered during that session. At the end of each session this list will be returned to supervisor for assessment.

At the end of the 4 weeks, the resident will present an oral presentation and/or a poster of their research project to The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy members.

Web resources