No abstract

No abstract

Objectives:To study unusual lesions in the mediastinum, which do not originate from the thymus, lymph nodes, neural tissues or germ cells, and tissues that normally engender pathologic lesions in the mediastinum.Materials and Methods:Of the 65 cases seen, 12 unusual lesion were encountered in a 5½ year period from 2006 to 2011.Results:Two cases of nodular colloid goiter and one each of the mediastinal cyst, undifferentiated carcinoma, and Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) affected the anterosuperior mediastinum. In the middle mediastinum, one case each of the mesothelioma, malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), solitary fibrous tumor (SFT), and pleomorphic sarcoma (PS) was seen. One case of meningeal melanocytoma (Mme) and primary pleural liposarcoma (PL) involved the posterior mediastinum. Persistent disease was seen in LCH after 2 years. Of all the cases with malignant lesions, only the patient with SCC was alive after 1 year.Conclusion:The cases of primary and SCC, LCH, melanocytoma, liposarcoma and PS, and GIST are unexpected and very rarely have paradigms in the mediastinum. Radiologic impression and knowledge of the compartment where these lesions arose from hardly assisted in arriving at a definitive opinion as the lesions were not typical of this location. A high index of suspicion and the immunohistochemical profile facilitated the final diagnosis.

BACKGROUNDNewer learning methods like Self-Directed Learning (SDL) are being experimented in medical education. SDL has been advocated as an effective learning strategy for medical students to achieve competency. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis is a comparative study done on 98 second year MBBS students. They were divided into 2 batches (Batch A and B) of 49 each. On the first day, Batch A was given a didactic lecture (1 hour), while Batch B underwent a self-study session (1.5 hours) with all the study materials provided. A pre and post-questionnaire (15 MCQs) was administered. On the second day, the batches were reversed and another similar topic was dealt with. A pre and post-test questionnaire was administered.Financial or Other, Competing Interest: None.