Introducing the BEME Collaboration and the CEMBE The Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) Collaboration is an international group consisting of individuals, universities and professional organizations committed to conducting and publishing studies on medical education (and health professions) through the publication of systematics reviews of educational literature. This type of information allows lecturers to make more solid and better quality decisions, address unmet needs and create a culture of decision-making based on the best available scientific evidence (similar to the Cochrane Collaboration in social care). The major objective of BEME is to provide the synthesis and make available the most current […]

What are the origins of this institute, its creation, founders, and key moments in its history? Anatomy is a very old subject. The first Medical School in Portugal dates back to 1290 and was founded in Lisbon. At the time, it had three core subjects, Anatomy being one of them. Indeed, Anatomy is one of medicine’s oldest subjects, not just here but all over the world. However, a service or faculty department with its own structure called Institute of Anatomy only emerged at the beginning of the last century. This Institute was founded in 1911, shortly after the establishment of […]

History of the Institute of Anatomy Abstract The author makes an historical review of the Institute of Normal Human Anatomy of the Lisbon Medical Faculty since its creation following the 1911 University Reform. He emphasizes the important role it has played in Teaching and Research in Anatomy, in the training of different generations of doctors, and how it succeeded in adapting and responding effectively to the challenges posed by modernity and progress over distinct periods. It stresses the responsibility of the legacy received from past eminent anatomists, which lecturers have expanded on over the years, continuing even today to account […]

The Newsletter of the Faculty interviewed Dr Lia Neto, a neuroradiologist and researcher at the Institute of Anatomy. She is working on her PhD thesis involving the study of the brain nucleus called human nucleus accumbens with the aim of advancing science regarding the treatment of some psychiatric disorders that are medically intractable, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and severe anxiety, as this nucleus is involved in the so called brain reward mechanisms. The subject matter of my PhD thesis is the human nucleus accumbens. This brain structure has been well characterized in research involving the brain of animals, […]

What are the main activities you carry out at the Institute of Anatomy?   My main specific duties are directly related to the operation of the Anatomical Theatre, from receiving the corpses to their preparation and optimization. At the moment the new plastination laboratory I am responsible for, under the supervision of Professor Gonçalves Ferreira, is almost finished. However, like many other employees, I am totally versatile, performing other tasks at the Institute of Anatomy. To what extent does your activity contribute to the training of new doctors?                                         With regard to human parts, for example, it is extremely important that they […]

The history of the Library-IDC of FMUL unfolds over nearly two centuries, crisscrossing with the history of medical education in Portugal. Its distinguished students and professors figure prominently, and they contributed significantly to the patrimonial and intellectual enrichment of this library, trusting their personal libraries to its care so that they could be preserved, looked after and made available to students. Examples include the legacies of Simão José Fernandes and Sousa Martins, among others. Its origins date back to 1814 with the creation of the Surgical Library at the Royal and National São José Hospital at the request of assistants […]