Anatomy of the Calvaria and Skull Base

Are YouTube videos about skull bone anatomy useful for students?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the content, quality, and functionality of YouTube videos on the anatomy of skull bones and to measure their educational usefulness. In this cross-sectional study, the keywords "skull bones" and "skull anatomy" were searched in the YouTube search tab. Demographic data such as type, source, duration, upload date, and view rates of the videos were recorded. The quality and content of the videos were measured using the total content score (TCS), modified DISCERN scale, JAMA score, and Global Quality Scale (GQS). SPSS 26.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Twenty-five (34.7%) of the first 72 videos found by keyword searches were included in the study. According to the GQS criteria, six of them (24%) were considered useful and 19 (76%) not useful. There was a strong statistically significant correlation between the GQS and DISCERN scores (r = 0.813, p < 0.001). There were strong statistically significant positive correlations between TCS and GQS scores (r = 0.887, p < 0.001) and between TCS and modified DISCERN scores (r = 0.691, p < 0.001). Additionally, there was a moderately strong statistically significant positive correlation between GQS and JAMA scores (r = 0.507, p < 0.05). There were also moderately strong statistically significant correlations between JAMA score and DISCERN score (r = 0.521, p < 0.001), video length (r = 0.416, p < 0.05), number of comments (r = 0.457, p < 0.05), and number of "likes" (r = 0.608, p < 0.001). There was a moderately strong statistically significant positive correlation between TCS and JAMA scores (r = 0.431, p < 0.05). Most YouTube videos have insufficient information about skull bones to meet the expectations of medical and dental school curricula. Anatomists and institutions should be encouraged to prepare and present YouTube videos using assessment systems such as DISCERN, JAMA, GQS, and TCS, in line with current anatomy curricula.

Rethinking the Origin of the Primary Respiratory Mechanism

Spheno-occipital synchondrosis (SOS) is the joint regarded as the most important foundation for understanding cranial osteopathy and craniosacral therapy. SOS is the origin of the primary respiratory mechanism (PRM), a movement between the posterior surface of the body of the sphenoid bone and the anterior surface of the base of the occipital bone. From the PRM perspective, an alteration of the position between the two bone surfaces would create cranial and/or craniosacral dysfunction. These positional alterations of the SOS (in adults and children) would determine specific and schematical movements of the bones of the entire skull, whose movements are recognizable by palpation by trained operators. PRM expression is influenced by other elements, such as movement of the cranial bones, inherent movement of the central nervous system, cyclic movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), mechanical tension of the cranial meninges, and passive movement of the sacral bone between the iliac bones. The article reviews the most up-to-date information on the evolution of cranial sutures/joints and meninges in adulthood, the fluctuations of the CSF, brain, and spinal mass movements. Research should reconsider the motivations that induce the operator to discriminate the palpable cranial rhythmic impulse, and probably, to rethink new cranial dysfunctional patterns.