Recently an increasing interest in medical anthropology and anthropometry has been observed among anatomists and clinicians throughout the world [1-6]. In our country, it is largely due to the development of personalized medicine which is one of the priority areas of the "Strategy for the development of medical science in the Russian Federation until 2025" [7].

To identify factors affecting the mental and physical health of first-year medical students during the period of rapid SARS-COV-2 spread in the COVID-19 pandemic to develop effective strategies for managing student well-being and education quality during global pandemics. 656 first-year students of Sechenov University aged 17 to 23 years (17.91 ± 1.01 years) were included in an online anonymous survey. The study consisted of two assessment phases: in traditional training in September-December 2021 and in distance learning in January-March 2022. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Beck Depression Inventory, the Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale, and an original questionnaire were used for evaluation. During the rapid COVID-19 spread in COVID-19 pandemic, most first-year medical students had a high level of reactive anxiety, accompanied by depressive disorders and vegetative-somatic manifestations that significantly reduced their adaptive potential, life quality and academic performance. All first-year students regardless of age were shown to be sensitive to stressful situation. The females demonstrated more pronounced psycho-vegetative changes compared to the males. Students of medical, pediatrics and medico-preventive faculties reacted more strongly to the current situation than students of dental and pharmaceutical faculties. The identified changes in the psycho-vegetative student status were associated, first of all, with the difficult sanitary-epidemiological SARS-COV-2 situation and related financial problems. Students considered the transition to distance learning to be the most important support measures. Temporary transition to distance learning led to the significant decrease in the anxiety level, correction of depressive and vegetative manifestations, and significant increase in the life quality that was of great importance for the education quality. Significant student support measures during COVID-19 pandemic were also financial, psychological and informational assistance. The obtained results made it possible to develop the effective strategies for managing student health and education quality during global pandemics.

The main cause of ischemic stroke is the atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid arteries. Unlike other arteries, carotid arteries have unique anatomical structure and hemodynamic characteristics, which are significantly related to the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Thus, a proper understanding of the functional anatomy, local hemodynamics of the carotid arteries and their relationship with the atherosclerotic process can improve the quality of early diagnosis and treatment of carotid artery stenosis, which, in turn, will reduce the risk of developing of the ischemic cerebrovascular diseases.