This review article describes demographic features, comorbidities, clinical and imaging findings, prognosis, and treatment strategies in penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer (PAU) and closely related entities using google scholar web search. PAU is one of the manifestations of the acute aortic syndrome (AAS) spectrum. The underlying aorta invariably shows atherosclerotic changes or aneurysmal dilatation. Hypertension is the most common contributing factor, with chest or back pain being the usual manifestation. Intramural hematoma (IMH) is the second entity associated with both PAU and aortic dissection (AD), more so with the latter. Chest radiograph can show mediastinal widening, pleural, or pericardial fluid in rupture. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the imaging modality of choice to visualize PAU, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) adding diagnostic value. Lesser-known entities of intramural blood pool (IBP), limited intimal tears (LITs), and focal intimal disruptions (FID) are also encountered. PAU can form fistulous communication with adjacent organs whereas IMH may propagate to dissection. CTA aids in defining the management, open or endovascular options in surgical candidates.

Foundation programs are conducted in medical schools for undergraduate students, since they are naïve and unaware of the medical profession in depth. The program helps them to become familiar with the undergraduate medical training. The present intake of first year medical undergraduates had joined the institute amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and hence the foundation program had to be conducted through an online platform. The present paper is a description of the online program conducted in the institute and is aimed to focus on the pros and cons of using an online platform for conducting the program and the experience gained from it. The online foundation program was conducted over a period of 16 days through the Zoom © platform. The program was tailored to cater for the orientation of 175 students who were admitted for first year MBBS batch 2020-2021. Feedback from students was obtained through Google Forms © at the end of the program. The online program was conducted smoothly due to the dedicated efforts of all the team members. Sessions requiring hands-on training and physical field visits had to be omitted in the present program. Network connectivity issues were reported sometimes. The conduction of the online foundation course program was indeed a learning experience. The team work was well reflected in the feedback from the students, which revealed appreciation for the overall program. Many sessions went very well in the online mode; however, sessions on humanities and extracurricular activities could have been organized in a better way with the physical presence of the students.