Background: Formative assessment with feedback is part of the assessment program in medical education to improve students’ learning. Limited research has focused on its application and impact on practical anatomy education. Methods: This study aimed to examine medical students’ perceptions of formative assessment in practical anatomy sessions of body systems-based educational units and explore its influence on final practical exam performance. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected from 173 Year 2 medical students through a survey that addressed their perception of process and importance of formative assessment and feedback. The survey employed a 5-point Likert scale. Two open-ended questions were appended at the end of the survey. Students’ performance in Unit 3 (where formative assessment was conducted) was compared to their performance in Unit 2 (where no formative assessment was conducted) and with the performance of the previous academic year’s students in Unit 3 (where no formative assessment was conducted). Descriptive statistics were used. The level of statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05. Responses to open-ended questions (qualitative data) were counted, categorized as themes, and presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: The survey showed high internal consistency, and its validity was established through exploratory factor analysis. Results showed that the mean mark for the unit with formative assessment and feedback was significantly higher than for the units without formative assessment and feedback. Students showed positive perception of formative assessment and feedback conducted after practical anatomy sessions. They reported useful insights regarding the benefits they gained from formative assessment and feedback as well as constructive suggestions for future improvements. Conclusion: The study indicates that students positively perceived formative assessment and feedback sessions after practical anatomy sessions. Findings also refer to a positive effect of formative assessment on students’ performance in summative practical assessment in anatomy.

Aripiprazole, a third-generation atypical antipsychotic drug, crosses the placental barrier, yet its developmental skeletal effects remain unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate impact of prenatal aripiprazole exposure, administered at three different doses, on the ossification of axial skeleton in 20-day old rat fetuses. Forty pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to four groups: control and three aripiprazole treated-groups receiving 3 mg/kg (low dose aripiprazole), 6 mg/kg (high dose aripiprazole), and 12 mg/kg (double high dose aripiprazole [DHDA]) daily from gestational days 6-19. Fetuses were delivered on gestation day 20, weighed, and processed for skeletal evaluation using Alizarin Red staining. Ossification of craniofacial bones, hyoid bone, vertebral centra and arches, sternum, and ribs were assessed and categorized as complete, delayed, or absent. A total of 151 fetuses were analyzed. Aripiprazole exposure induced a dose dependent reduction in fetal weight and in the number of completely ossified skeletal centers. Craniofacial bones, particularly parietal, interparietal, supraoccipital, and presphenoid, were the most affected. Significant impairments were observed in vertebral centra and arches across cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal regions, with the DHDA group exhibiting the greatest deficits. Sternebrae ossification showed marked reduction, whereas rib ossification remained unaffected. A strong positive correlation was found between fetal weight and total number of complete ossification centers across all groups. Prenatal exposure to aripiprazole leads to dose dependent fetal growth restriction and delayed ossification of axial skeleton in rat fetuses. Future investigations should focus on the molecular mechanisms and consequences related to prenatal impacts of aripiprazole.

Background: Formative assessment (FA) coupled with structured feedback is increasingly recognized as a means of supporting learning in human anatomy, a foundational yet challenging discipline for first-year nursing students. This study examined first-year nursing students’ perceptions of FA and feedback in theoretical and practical anatomy sessions and examined their association with performance in the summative examination, which incorporates both written and practical components. Performance comparison is exploratory and non-causal. Methods: This study combined a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of student perceptions with a single-group, sequential within-cohort (quasi-experimental) comparison of summative examination scores at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University (CMHS-AGU), Bahrain, during the 2024–2025 academic year. First-year nursing students received standard anatomy instruction without FA in semester one (Anatomy I) and the same instruction with a structured FA-and-feedback intervention in semester two (Anatomy II). A 21-item, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire plus two open-ended questions was administered at the end of semester two; 226 students responded (response rate 90.4%). Summative marks from both semesters were available for 244 students who sat both examinations and were compared using paired-samples t-tests. Questionnaire reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and construct validity by exploratory factor analysis (EFA); subgroup differences by independent-samples t-tests, and open-ended responses by thematic analysis. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The questionnaire showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.93), and EFA supported a three-factor structure explaining 56.63% of the total variance. Student perceptions were strongly positive, with an overall satisfaction mean of 4.66 (±0.61). Mean summative marks were significantly higher in Anatomy II (with FA: 72.82 ± 16.24) than in Anatomy I (without FA: 71.78 ± 15.33; t = −2.43, p = 0.016), but the mean paired difference was approximately one percentage point (95% CI 0.20–1.88) and the effect size was small (Cohen’s d_z = 0.16), indicating limited educational significance. Perceptions did not differ significantly by gender, country of origin, or prior FA exposure; however, students from national high-school curricula reported higher satisfaction than those from international curricula (p = 0.041). Qualitative responses emphasized preparation for the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE), improved conceptual understanding, and reduced exam anxiety, with requests for more questions, wider question formats, and dissemination of FA materials via the learning management system (LMS). Conclusions: Structured FA and feedback were positively perceived by first-year nursing students and were associated with a small, statistically significant difference in summative examination scores. Because the program was introduced for the entire cohort in the second semester, this association cannot be separated from semester-related progression, differences in course content, and increasing student experience. The findings support the acceptability and perceived educational value of FA in this setting. However, controlled, multi-institutional studies are needed before firm recommendations about its effect on examination performance can be made.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is linked to injuries to many organs including the nervous system. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common complication of diabetes; it can result in disruption of Schwann cells (SCs) function, degeneration of nerve axons and demyelination. SCs provide trophic support to neurons and myelin formation and their role in nerve injury and regeneration is very crucial. Caffeine, a psychoactive beverage, was found to reduce the risk of many disorders including nervous system degeneration. The purpose of this study was to address the role of caffeine in peripheral nerve degeneration in a rat model of T2DM. Wistar rats were fed with a high caloric diet and injected with a single low dose of streptozotocin (STZ). Caffeine was administered to the rats orally for 5 weeks and was given one week before injection of STZ. The rats were sacrificed, then sciatic nerves were harvested, and processed for histological and electron microscopic evaluations. Immunohistochemistry was also done using the primary antibodies: anti S-100 (Schwann cell marker), anti-MBP (myelin basic protein) and anti-VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor A). Examination of the sciatic nerve of diabetic rats revealed degeneration of SCs and axons, myelin, and connective tissue coverings. There was decrease in immunostaining of S-100 and MBP and increase in VEGFA, in diabetic rats. Administration of caffeine to diabetic rats resulted in improvement of histological and ultrastructural changes and upregulation of S-100, MBP, and downregulation of VEGFA. There were degenerative changes of the sciatic nerve of diabetic rats that were ameliorated by the administration of caffeine.