Traditions in the education of any country have always been the basis for building a national educational system, since only folk traditions accepted in society and tested by life are axiomatic. The need to meet the current and future needs of society, the economy, and the labor market forces the departments of medical universities to seriously transform teaching programs, technologies, and educational policy in general to meet the current and dynamically changing demands of society. This article aims to summarize the experience of creating, implementing and developing additional teaching programs at the morphological departments of medical universities in Russia and neighboring countries. As materials for the study, the content of the reports of the interregional workshop «Relevance of the implementation of additional teaching programs in anatomical departments» within the framework of the XII National Congress with international participation «Ecology and human health in the North» (December 2, 2021, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Analysis of the materials presented at the workshop showed that all additional teaching programs implemented at the departments or on the scale of the university can be implemented at the pre-university stage, at the level of all specialist courses, residency in various clinical specialties and advanced training in the system of continuing medical education. In the conditions of growing competition in the market of educational services, the search for sources of additional funding, medical universities are actively transforming, striving to meet the needs of specialists of all levels of training. forgings. Under these conditions, the classical departments of fundamental medical education are faced with the urgent task of finding new directions for increasing effective activity, including full-scale participation in the implementation of various levels of additional teaching programs, including undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At the same time, the introduction of new teaching programs and forms of education should not destroy the classical methods and approaches, the effectiveness of which has been tested by time, primarily with the use of classical anatomical preparations and technologies.

Despite some progress in studying the impact of COVID-19 infection on the human body, many issues related to emerging pathological processes after the transfer of the disease, as well as the development of the so-called «post-COVID» syndrome, remain unresolved. One such issue is the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on male fertility. The results of previous studies in this direction are contradictory, and therefore at the moment there is no clear evidence of direct damage to male gonads by coronavirus. Thus, the hypothesis of potential testicular targeting for SARS-CoV-2 needs to be confirmed. The aim of the study was to assess the molecular genetic profile of samples of testicular tissue preparations from patients with COVID-19. Testicular tissue samples from patients with confirmed COVID-19 (n=96, age 25-91 years) were studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction to determine the expression of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA and genes encoding protein complexes of ACE- 2 and Furin. The exclusion criteria were: mumps, infertility, sepsis, bacterial infection, carriage of HIV, hepatitis B and C, Epstein-Barr. The control of observations (n=20) consisted of archival paraffin blocks of autopsy material of normal testicles, obtained no later than 6 hours after the declaration of biological death, without macroscopic signs of the presence of an inflammatory and / or tumor process, all patients of this subgroup were fertile and had not previously been exposed to toxins or drugs. As a result of the study, in patients affected by COVID-19, the presence of the genetic material of the coronavirus in the testicles was recorded. In addition, an increased expression of ACE-2 and Furin was found in the testicular tissue, which determines favorable conditions for SARS-CoV-2 damage. Thus, based on the results of PCR testing of testicular tissue preparations for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA, assessment of the expression of ACE-2 and Furin, it is possible to assert with a high probability the potential targeting him on male germ cells, Sertoli and Leydig cells.

The study and analysis of intravital magnetic resonance imaging is relevant both from a theoretical and practical point of view as a supplement to the available data on the clinical anatomy of the male pelvis for radiologists and urologists. Purpose of the study: to obtain new data on intravital anatomy and topography of the prostate gland in conditions of its benign hyperplasia according to magnetic resonance imaging. The data of magnetic resonance imaging of 195 urological patients were studied and interpreted, including 100 patients with signs of benign prostatic hyperplasia and 95 patients without it. Linear dimensions were assessed in three orthogonal planes - sagittal, frontal and transverse, the volume of the prostate gland, the distance from it to the bone structures of the pelvis, the area of ​​​​adjacency of the prostate gland to the bladder and the extent of adherence to the rectum. It was revealed that the frequency of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia increases with age, in the 1^st period of adulthood it is 18,2%, in the 2^nd mature age period – 46,7%, in the elderly – 81,8%, in old age - 100%. The size and volume of the prostate in such patients also increase with age: in the 1^st period of adulthood, the average prostate volume is 30,1 cm³ versus 23,1 cm³ in other patients, in the 2^nd period - 41 cm³ versus 26,0 cm³, in the elderly – 58,1 cm³ versus 23,3 cm³ (respectively), in old age – 108,6 cm³. There is a decrease in the distance from the prostate to the bone structures of the pelvis with age, a closer location of its base to the plane of the entrance to the small pelvis. With benign prostatic hyperplasia, there is also an increase in the area of ​​​​adjacency of the prostate gland to the bladder and the length of adherence to the rectum. The presented results can be used in the diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia in males of the first and second age groups.

Morphological changes in the liver, as the main organ in which Opisthorchis felineus is localized, according to the literature, are characterized by significant structural differences in the acute and chronic phases of the disease. Comparative characteristics of the morphological changes in the liver in different phases of opisthorchiasis in the experiment in rabbits, such as Oryctolagus cuniculus, was not carried out. To simulate the acute and chronic phases of invasion, the animals were divided into two observation groups. The histological material was processed by standard methods, liver tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and according to Van Gieson to identify connective tissue structures. Histological preparations were studied by the methods of light-optical microscopy with immersion, video microscopy with morphometry. As a result of the study, it was found that in the acute phase of opisthorchiasis, the general infiltration of the portal tract area prevails compared to the infiltration of the bile duct wall, in the chronic phase, the thickness of the infiltrate of the bile duct wall approaches the total values. The cellular composition of infiltrates is characterized by the presence of lymphocytes, fibroblasts, epithelioid cells and cells of foreign bodies in both phases, if macrophages predominate in the acute phase of invasion, then fibrocytes and mast cells predominate in the chronic phase. Hepatocytes in the acute phase have disturbances in the tinctorial properties of the karyolemma and cytoplasm, mainly due to grain segregation. In the chronic phase of opisthorchiasis, polyploid hepatocytes are found. The connective tissue of the portal tract region in both phases quantitatively predominates in comparison with the connective tissue of the region of the boundary plates. The maximum amount of connective tissue in the area of ​​the portal tract in the chronic phase increases by 4.4 times compared with the acute phase of the parasitic disease. Thus, morphological changes in the liver of rabbits in different phases are characterized by both commonality and significant differences, consisting in different cellular composition of the invasion zone, the amount of connective tissue formed in different areas of the organ, and changes in hepatocytes.

Computed tomography of the skull has undeniable advantages over classical craniometric studies. With its help, it is possible to carry out a reliable assessment of the topographic and anatomical relationships of intranasal structures, which is especially important in choosing the tactics and extent of surgical intervention in a number of diseases of the upper respiratory tract, as well as computer modeling of various conditions in rhinology. For their successful implementation, precise knowledge of the morphometric parameters of the nasal cavity and intranasal structures is important. The purpose of the study was to determine the morphometric parameters of the nasal cavity and intranasal structures using computed tomography data, to determine the main features of their structure in narrow (leptocavitary), medium (mesocavitary) and wide (platycavitary) forms. A morphometric evaluation of computed tomograms of the head of 200 men and 198 women was performed, on which the shape of the nasal cavity, topographic-anatomical and morphometric characteristics of intranasal structures were evaluated. Computed tomography was performed on a spiral computed tomograph. The studies were performed in the axial scanning plane with a slice thickness of 0,625 mm and the same interval between them. Typical differences in the sizes of the nasal cavity and intranasal structures, as well as a number of parameters characterizing their topographic-anatomical relationships and angular characteristics with different forms of the nasal cavity, were revealed. In both male and female groups, the wide form of the nasal cavity, in contrast to the narrow one, is characterized by a decrease in the height of the nasal cavity in the anterior and posterior sections, a short middle turbinate, a greater angle of inclination of the main plate and a greater angle of inclination of its free end, a wide anterior end of the middle turbinate, narrow middle nasal passage, greater angle of inclination of the clivus. In persons with a mesocavitary form, the described craniometric signs have intermediate values. It is shown that the nasal cavity in women is distinguished by the largest number of craniometric features with a high degree of variability. The revealed features of the structure of intranasal structures should be taken into account when performing rhinosurgical and neurosurgical interventions.

In recent years, the incidence of traumatic brain injury has increased significantly, closely related to the increase in the number of high-speed vehicles and other associated factors. The problem of diagnosis and effective treatment of open craniocerebral injuries is one of the most important for emergency physicians and neurosurgeons in providing timely qualified assistance, and is also of interest for studying pathological processes that prevent the development of their complications. The purpose of the study was to create a model of dosed open craniocerebral injury using experimental animals and to assess the dependence of anatomical and functional disorders on the degree of brain damage. In laboratory white rats, the traumatic impact was carried out through a trepanation window with a diameter of 3,5 mm, while maintaining the dura mater. The brain of all animals was examined using a BioSpec 70/30 USR magnetic resonance tomograph on the 9th day after injury and by neurohistological methods. Morphometric measurement of the amount of damage on the 9th day after exposure showed the dependence of the increase in damage to brain structures on the force of impact. Histological studies also confirmed the direct dependence of the volume of brain damage on the magnitude of the damaging factor. Modeling of acute craniocerebral injury also revealed a correlation between the lethality of animals and the magnitude of the damaging factor. With longer follow-up periods, the model makes it possible to evaluate the therapeutic effect of pharmacological drugs and choose the most effective method of treatment. The phenomenon of the presence of exofocal foci with ischemic damaged neurons in the contralateral (intact) hemisphere detected by neurohistological methods was noted. The formation of such ischemic lesions is explained by the development of post-traumatic edema of the brain tissue, which leads to displacement of the subcortical structures and compression of the marginal vessels. The results of the study prove the direct dependence of the morphological picture observed in the brain in acute traumatic brain injury on the degree of exposure to the damaging factor.

The study in the Laboratory of osteological monitoring of archaeological excavations of the Department of Human Anatomy of the Smolensk State Medical Institute contains the femurs of adults from the «Pyatnitsky Konets» necropolis in medieval Smolensk. In order to avoid difficulties in interpreting the results of research work with a potentially huge amount of information and to improve it, the osteological material, which, according to archeological data, dates back to the 12th–18th centuries, was systematized. The general theory of systems makes it possible to use the concept of a biological system (mathematical model), on which, as a result of abstraction, adaptation, evolution, and other processes can be reflected to a minimal extent. The aim of this study was to analyze the stability over time of the osteometric parameter of the greatest length of systematized, but initially disparate right and left femurs of human remains of the 12th–18th centuries. The objects of study were 288 left and 295 right femurs of the remains of adults from the necropolis of medieval Smolensk. The osteometric parameter of the greatest length was measured with a modified Reed tripod between the highest point of the femoral head and the lowest point of the medial condyle according to the classical method of Russian anthropologist Valery Alekseev (1966). Epochal stability was determined by statistical analysis of variation series of the parameter using descriptive statistics techniques. The results of a statistical study of two variation series of values of the osteometric parameter of the greatest length of 288 left and 295 right femurs turned out to be close in values. A normal symmetrical distribution with the most negative flat-top kurtosis for both variation series without division into several vertices is obtained. The results reflect the statistical typicality of the parameter, its small oscillations, the homogeneity of the bone objects of the studied osteometric parameter, which have been under the modifying influence of environmental factors for seven centuries. This allows us to conclude that in the statistically artificial system of 583 femurs, the same type of epochal stability of the parameter of their greatest length was found in the time period of several centuries.

Exposure to synthetic estrogens and hormones in the prenatal period affects the formation, morphogenesis, and growth of the gonads in male and female offspring. The aim of the work is to study the somatometric parameters of the born offspring of laboratory mice under the influence of a synthetic analogue of estrogen - synestrol by injection the drug to their mothers during pregnancy. On the 11th day of pregnancy, laboratory female mice underwent a single intramuscular injection of various doses of a synthetic analogue of estrogen - synestrol. The intact group of females remained without any effect (physiological pregnancy), the control group of females was injected with the solvent of the drug - olive oil at a dose of 0,2 μg/kg (n=5) in volume equal to injected volumes of different doses of the drug, the first experimental group was injected once , intramuscularly synestrol in the form of a 2% oil solution at a dose of 25 mcg/kg (n=5), the second experimental group at a dose of 40 mcg/kg (n=5), the third experimental group at a dose of 50 mcg/kg (n=5). In the resulting offspring, somatometric studies of body weight, body length, tail length, head length and width, anogenital distance at the age of 1 month of postnatal development were carried out, the obtained parameters of the offspring of the experimental and control groups were compared in pairs with similar parameters of the offspring of the intact group of animals. As a result of the study, it was found that in male offspring under the prenatal exposure to synestrol, a dose-dependent decrease in both weight and body length occurs, while there are no similar changes in female offspring. The distance between the bases of the auricles (width of the head) in the female offspring increases significantly in all experimental groups. The anogenital distance in the offspring of the experimental groups decreased regardless of animal sex. The results obtained prove that the hormonal background of pregnancy can have a significant effect on the somatometric parameters of offspring in the early period of postnatal ontogenesis in laboratory mice.

Choroid plexuses of brain ventricles play a special role in the functioning of various brain structures and the formation of cerebrospinal fluid. Through the cerebrospinal fluid, biological, immunological, protective functions are realized. Any deficiency in its production in laboratory animals leads to malnutrition of the brain and spinal cord and impaired adaptive behavior. From this point of view, the study of the features of the structural organization of the choroid plexuses of the ventricles of the brain in laboratory animals in the age aspect seems relevant. The objects of the study were 134 white Wistar rats of different ages - 3, 10, 28 days and 5, 8, 12 months of postnatal development. A histological morphometric study of the choroid plexuses of the ventricles of the brain was carried out. To assess the age-related dynamics of the volume of the cerebral ventricles, sections were selected in which their cross-sectional area was maximum, the values ​​of the indicator were determined on digitized microphotographs with a fourfold increase by tracing the boundaries of the ventricles of subsequent calculations in the Image J morphometric computer program. Determination of volumetric fractions of the choroid plexuses in the ventricles of the brain was carried out stereologically on serial sections using an eyepiece grid with 60 equidistant intersection nodes at a magnification of 400 times. The results of the study indicate that after birth, the choroid plexuses of the ventricles of the brain of Wistar rats develop as an integral tissue system, the most intense changes were noted in the lateral ventricles during the first month of life of the animals. The lateral ventricles are characterized by an accelerated growth in size, outstripping the rate of development of the choroid plexuses. According to the calculations, the increase in the volume of the choroid plexus is largely due to the growth of blood vessels and connective tissue. In the III and IV ventricles, a similar trend is traced, but this process is less pronounced. Since the choroid plexuses are a source of cerebrospinal fluid formation, the revealed quantitative patterns indicate the age-related involution of the ventricles of the brain, which possibly leads to a decrease in the functional activity of their choroid plexuses and impaired cerebrospinal fluid dynamics.

Applied anatomical studies of the structure and topography of peripheral nerves and experimental surgical interventions on them using laboratory animals are an important stage in the development of new and improvement of existing methods of reconstructive microsurgery of the peripheral nervous system. The aim of this work was to find effective methods for contrasting the structure of peripheral nerves for precision morphological studies and topographic and anatomical substantiation of intra-truncal reconstructive interventions on the nerves. On the anatomical material, which included 18 by usual formaldehyde techniques fixed upper limbs of human corpses and 10 non-fixed corpses of laboratory rabbits, methods of contrasting the main structures of the nerve trunks were tested. The key techniques were the sub-perineural and sub-epineural injection of a photocontrast mixture and the installation of an X-ray contrast marker in the nerve trunk to study the features of the nerve trunk skeletotopy at different levels in an integral block of tissues without preparation. The developed method allowed expanding the possibilities of precision topographic and anatomical studies and qualitatively improving the demonstrativeness of preparations. The best results of injection of individual perineural sheaths were observed when using non-fixed anatomical material. On fixed and weakly fixed material, injections of a tinting composition under the external epineurium contributed to an increase in the quality of anatomical research methods, which is especially important when studying the intrastem microtopography of the nerve trunk bundles. The introduction of the thinnest metal conductor into the nerves through the opened perineural bundle with subsequent x-ray examination of preparations, based on our experience, is a technically feasible and demonstrative method for studying the topography of the nerve trunks, including methods for assessing the degree of their displacement at various positions of the limb segments. Thus, the developed method for contrasting peripheral nervous structures expand the possibilities of applied morphological studies of their intrastem topography, and the use of non-fixed anatomical material makes it possible to perform contrasting of individual perineural sheaths with liquid formulations.

Congratulatory article dedicated to the 85th Anniversary of the Doctor of Medical Sciences, the Leader Scientific Employee, the Honored Worker of the Science of the Russian Federation, the Scientific Employee of the Group of the Neuron Functional Morphology and Physiology of the Scientific Department of Visceral Systems Physiology of the Pavlov Institute of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Oleg S. Sotnikov.

Memorial article dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Doctor of Medical Sciences, the Corresponding Member of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the Honored Scientist of the Chuvash Republic, Professor Dina S. Gordon