The scenario of Medical Education in Brazil is complex and diverse, like the very culture of our country. In this commentary, we reflect on the challenges and opportunities of progress while describing a panorama of the history, and the current scenario of Medical Education in Brazil. Moving our focus toward Anatomy, we review pedagogical strategies and methods, the role of the Brazilian Society of Anatomy, and share our experience on using of creativity and technology to make the teaching of Anatomy more modern, updated and significant for the future doctors.

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SUMMARY:Clinical and surgical importance of the levator scapulae muscle (LSM) requires a better knowledge of its anatomic variation mainly because of the possibility of new findings related to the embryologic development. This article reports a case of a leftsided LSM with atypical attachments in a 58-year-old preserved Caucasian female body. The muscle presented a bifurcation at its midpoint downward path. Its medial band attached to the anterior aspect of the left rhomboideus major muscle while its left band was fixed in the superior angle of the scapula after releasing a muscle expansion to the serratus anterior muscle. The morphometric analysis revealed LSM maximal width of 3.6 cm, bifurcation point located 6.6 cm apart from the C1 vertebral attachment; medial band legth of 5.7 cm and lateral band width of 2.1cm. Regarding anatomic variations of the LSM, they may remain unnoticed or perhaps contribute for pathologic conditions of the neck and the back.

INTRODUCTIONMedical education has undergone transformations in recent times, in order to adapt the technological innovations with the potential to contribute positively to the teaching‐learning process. Gamification appears as a didactic strategy that consists in use of digital games and the accomplishment of innovative interventions directed in the classroom. In this sense, the objectives of the research are: (1) to describe the pedagogical strategy of anatomical games in a medical university with low cost and (2) to examine the relationship between the interventions and the academic performance of the medical students involved.METHODSThe study has been made in Anatomy of Systems (Faculty of Medicine ‐Federal University of Bahia). The activities consist of games with questions and answers about anatomy topics covered during the semester. Participation in the games occurs voluntarily. The students are grouped in alphabetical order in competing teams. Questions are decoded through QR CODE or drawn through PRIZE WHEEL, a roulette wheel produced with recycled material, color graded in 16 divisions, with possibilities to answer questions, win or lose a point, try it again or lose the turn. Indirect questions are use in HANGMAN GAME and revelled the structure, there are new question about his function, location or clinical application.RESULTSGamification has contributed to the sedimentation and application of anatomical knowledge, stimulating motivation and enthusiasm for student self‐learning. Unlike the conventional methodologies of teaching anatomy, anatomical games achieved their purpose by allowing the development of specific skills and competences such as cooperation, organization, time management and creativity, which were continuously stimulated during the games. Students shared their learning and doubts and sought to solve the issues presented through the socialization of information and integration of the team. The proposal also allowed the establishment of relations between the morphological sciences and the medical clinic, in an attempt to bring the discipline closer to the practical reality of the medical professional, as recommended by the national curricular guidelines of the medical course. The success of the activity was evidenced from the high participation rate of the class in the second edition of the anatomical games, held in the following semester. The competition between the teams, although studies point to anxiety as a negative point, has the potential to boost performance academic. In this sense, the fraternization at the end of the activities served to illustrate that, in addition to the competition and having a team with a higher score, all win in the learning area.CONCLUSIONFrom this project, the gamification is playful and can be used as a complementary activity of medical course. The use of new games, software and application of evaluation questionnaires are foreseen in future. In addition to contributing to sediment and consolidating the learning of the discipline, gamification has enabled the personal and academic growth of those involved and shows that, regardless of the winning team, success is in improving the learning process.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

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