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Description
Content:
An advanced module focusing on the form and function of the vertebrate head and taking a multidisciplinary approach that integrates research data from a range of disciplines including imaging, morphometrics, biomechanics, palaeobiology, evolutionary developmental biology, and forensic osteology.
The module will be partly lecture-based, with lectures supplemented by practical demonstration sessions in the anatomy laboratory and the Grant Museum of Zoology, and by guided tutorials in which original research papers are discussed. A n in-course individual project will focus on a specimen from the Grant Museum, leading to an oral presentation. 听Visits will also be made to the CT and imaging laboratories and to the Natural History Museum.
Teaching delivery:
The module will be run with 2x2 hourly sessions each week over Term 1: on Monday from 14.00-16.00 and on Friday from 0900-11.00
Module Aims and Objectives:
The module aims to build on the basic anatomical knowledge students have developed over their previous years of study, to develop a deep understanding of the anatomical and functional evolution of the vertebrate head, and to place anatomy into a wider evolutionary and comparative framework. 听It will introduce students to cutting-edge multidisciplinary research, particularly demonstrating how new approaches such as imaging, computer modelling, and shape analysis have revolutionized anatomical sciences in recent years.
After completing the module, the student should be able to:
- Place their knowledge of human anatomy into a wider evolutionary context
- Integrate/synthesize information from different fields including embryology, palaeontology, biomechanics and materials science
- Read and discuss research papers
- Understand different methodological approaches used in anatomical research, including microCT scanning experiments, biomechanical modelling, and morphometric analysis
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Indicative lecture topics:
Introduction to skull anatomy and development
The early evolution of the vertebrate head
Jaws and feeding in the water-land transition
Geometric morphometrics and the modular organisation of the tetrapod skull
Dinosaur feeding
Forensic osteology of the skull
Facial reconstruction.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.
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