Anatomy Image Atlas of Aging: Liver
University of Massachusetts Medical School
The Image Atlas of Aging is an original UMMS educational product developed to highlight the normal age-related anatomic and histological changes within the digestive system. The Image Atlas of Aging is a PowerPoint module that features normal gross and histological images to model the aging liver and to serve as an easily replicated prototype to eventually incorporate other organs and organ systems. The module introduces the principle of homeostenosis as a function of aging that emphasizes that aging is neither equivalent to disease nor does it signify inevitable disease. This original geriatrics content has been integrated into the first year medical student “Development, Structure, and Function” (DSF) course curriculum.
After completion of this module, the MS1 learner will be expected to:
- explain that liver disease is not a part of normal aging
- differentiate normal anatomic, physiologic, and histological differences between the young and aged liver
- define the principle of homeostenosis, illustrating how the hepatic portal system becomes more susceptible to acute injury with the loss of age-related functional reserve
Formal on-going discussions are held with the UMMS Development, Structure, and Function (DSF) course directors, who review the modules to strategize best integration to the DSF curriulum. Additionally, UMMS geriatricians teach from the Image Atlas modules in the anatomy lab each fall.