5-14
EXAMPLE OF ANATOMY BEING USED TO HELP EXPLAIN CERTAIN HEALTH
PROBLEMS (RATHER THAN BEING TAUGHT SEPARATELY):
Topic: Diseases of the liver
Objective: To learn about common diseases of the liver—cirrhosis,* hepatitis,
amebic abscess—and how to recognize, manage, and prevent them.
Instead of beginning the class with a description of the liver and its functions
(which could be very dull), a common liver problem is ‘brought to life’ with a
role play. For this, one of the students is prepared before the class:
With a red pen,
draw a few tiny
artery ‘spiders’ on his
neck and chest, like this:
Draw 2 or 3 blue,
swollen veins from
his belly to his chest.
With water colors,
color his face and
nails somewhat
yellow.
Pick a student
who is thin and
can stick out
his belly, like this:
The class begins without the
group knowing what it is about.
The instructor announces that a
guest, who is ill, will visit the class.
He asks for 2 or 3 volunteers to
play the roles of health workers and
try to figure out what illness the
guest has, why, and what advice or
treatment to give.
The ‘guest’ arrives (fully dressed)
and the students ask him about
his problem. He says he has been
losing weight and feels weak and
sickly. If they ask his age, he says
he is in his forties.
Have him rinse
his mouth with an
alcoholic drink so
his breath smells
(or he can carry a
bottle).
Fill his stockings
with cotton or
sand, so his feet
look and feel
swollen. (If you
push the swelling,
it will leave a
‘Pit’.)
The students continue to ask
questions and examine the guest.
Using their books, they try to identify his problem. The guest (who has studied the
signs and causes of cirrhosis before the class) answers the questions as a person
with cirrhosis really might, but not always ‘truthfully’. He might say, for example,
that he has not had an alcoholic drink in years. Yet the smell on his breath will give
him away—if the students are observant enough to notice.
The health workers decide that their guest probably has advanced cirrhosis of
the liver.
*In some countries, cirrhosis of the liver is a leading cause of death in adults.