John Hunter, often called ‘the Father of Scientific Surgery’, was one of the leading surgeons of the late eighteenth century. Unlike almost all of his clinical contemporaries, his surgical practice was informed by observation and experiment in true Enlightenment fashion. ‘Why not try the experiment’ Hunter wrote to his first pupil, Edward Jenner (a pioneer of vaccination). That question motivated Hunter throughout his life. When not attending his patients, much of his time was spent either teaching or at the bench, working on topics such as bone growth, venereal disease, organ transplantation, tissue repair and regeneration, heat regulation and inflammation. When Hunter died in 1793, his museum contained nearly 14,000 specimens of over 500 different species of animals and plants. How did a recalcitrant schoolboy who left school at 13 to work on the family farm, become a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Surgeon Extraordinary to King George III and the Surgeon-general to the British army? It’s an interesting journey

Chronic pain is one of the most serious health problems in humans, with patients also often suffering from negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression. Although a great deal of money is spent globally on chronic pain treatment every year, treatment is often ineffective and prone to relapse because the neural circuits and underlying mechanisms associated with chronic pain and its comorbidity have not been elucidated. To reveal these mechanisms, we have employed morphological and functional approaches. Our main findings to date include: (a) observations that the neurons in the thalamic midline and medial nuclei (TMMN), such as the paraventricular thalamic nucleus and central medical thalamic nucleus, receive pain sensation from the parabrachial nucleus; and (b) the connection and function between the TMMN and the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex and central amygdaloid nucleus, are involved not only in pain information transmission and regulation, but also in negative emotion. These results suggest that the TMMN might be a potential target for chronic pain and negative emotion treatment in clinical practice.

The Visible Korean, a collection of sectioned images from cadavers, is a high resolution anatomical resource which portrays true body colour. In 2020, Min Suk developed the instruments and technology to produce sectioned images (intervals, 0.2 mm in general) and since then has led the Visible Korean project which includes eight data sets (three male and five female). These data have been used by Anatomage to manufacture a virtual dissection table and Min Suk has also independently developed teaching resources from these. As part of his teaching practice, Min Suk publishes comics which depict mnemonics and incorporate anatomical humour. Survey data show that the comics aid student learning, positively influence students’ attitudes toward anatomy, and that students enjoy sharing these with their colleagues and friends. Min Suk will share his experiences of the Visible Korean programme and his comic work, both of which are novel tools for engaging students in anatomy teaching and learning.

During the course of a day as humans, we use our hands thousands of times – over 7000 to be precise in just an 8 hour period typically in the grasp of objects performing tasks that define our daily lives. We take for granted what an important part of the human body our hands are and how they allow not just the ability to perform tasks, but also social interactions and communication. Typically an upper limb difference is the result of a traumatic accident, with the person motivated to return back into society – but often limited and frustrated by the current technology available.
Since the earliest reported prosthetic hand described in 77AD fitted to a Roman General, upper limb prosthetics have evolved but despite the latest advances they still leave users disappointed with their ability to function with the activities of daily living. This presentation will cover the TASKA Prosthetics evolution from idea to the current state of art and how it allows its users to do more.

This presentation will explore sources of uncertainty in our working lives, and explore strategies we can engage for adaptively responding to this uncertainty. Together, we will define and name features of uncertainty (e.g. complexity, ambiguity, and probability) in the academic context, and explore to what extent nature versus nurture impacts our responses to uncertainty. By drawing on diverse workplace sectors (e.g. education, healthcare, business and economics, and science), we will explore strategies, tools and skillsets we can draw upon to help us to appropriately address uncertainty today, and tomorrow for ourselves, our peers, and our students. We will discuss the evidence that such adaptive responses to uncertainty can lead to improved system resilience, workforce wellbeing and retention, and a more inclusive working environment.

The MARS imaging system offers a spatial resolution of 90µm and multi-energy (5 bins) spectral photon counting capabilities, designed for both pre-clinical research and point-of-care clinical applications. It facilitates the identification and quantification (µg/µL) of lipid, calcium, water, and contrast agents, including iodine, gadolinium, and nanogold.

Pre-clinical research has explored its applications in musculoskeletal medicine, oncology, and cardiovascular pathology. As the technology progresses, its clinical use is expected to expand.

In New Zealand, clinical research has focused on point-of-care imaging in various settings, from acute care to community clinics and outpatient units. The MARS system has been used for imaging evaluation in over 75 patients.

Based on studies from New Zealand, the MARS imaging modality may offer diagnostic capabilities beyond conventional CT systems. Additionally, MARS presents as a low x-ray dose point-of-care scanner, enhancing patient access to advanced cross sectional imaging.

Physiology has evolved to exploit the fundamental physical limits of the world we live in, just as much as evolution through genome mutations and gene transfer mechanisms has allowed species to exploit the habitable niches in that world. Species have evolved to detect one electron (ion channel gating), one photon (in the retina), and one molecule (olfactory sensors). Another extraordinary example of approaching physical limits is the inner mitochondrial membrane where an electrostatic potential difference of 180mV across the 6nm thick membrane maintains a spatial gradient of 30 million V/m. This is the voltage gradient seen in a bolt of lightning! The size of that membrane, if spread out for all mitochondria (1015) in one person covers an area equivalent to four football fields (14,000m2). The proton pumps create the proton gradient that drive an estimated 5000 F0-F1 ATP-synthase pumps per mm2, spinning at 6000 to 30,000 revolutions per minute to generate the flow of energy in the form of ATP needed per second to keep us alive. The energy flows in the body to keep us active are staggering. The physics of physiology is important!

Physiology is also notable for its multi-disciplinarity. The study of most physiological systems requires consideration of all types of physical process. The basic functions of a cardiac myocyte, for example, require one to think about mechanics (myofilament contraction), electrical potentials (membrane action potentials), biochemical transport and signalling (calcium fluxes and phosphorylation of key proteins by second messengers), and heat flow (metabolic energetics). It is clear that any quantitative understanding of physiological mechanisms is highly dependent on the disciplines of physics, chemistry and mathematics, but what is perhaps less appreciated is that a physiological understanding of the intact human body also needs a unifying framework in which to organise the highly integrated processes that govern life. In this talk I will discuss an energy-based framework for representing physiological mechanisms.

People living with Parkinson’s disease are offered drug and deep brain stimulation treatments that provide symptom relief. To improve treatment outcomes, biomedical researchers focus on developing more selective treatments to provide greater symptom relief with fewer side effects. However, at the early stages of developing improved therapies, accessibility and equitable outcomes for diverse peoples are rarely considered.

Louise will share the pathway translating changes in single neuron activity in models of Parkinson’s disease to developing an implantable optogenetic stimulation device that might become a future treatment. She will share reflections that the device would produce inequitable outcomes for Māori and older people, and how that has redirected her research to examine if dietary components and lifestyle factors can delay the onset of Parkinson’s disease or slow symptom progression.

It is very important to reveal the neural mechanisms of different brain dysfunction. The key molecules and neuroplasticity are important for the regulation of diverse behaviors in physiological and pathological conditions.
Brain dysfunction often manifests as abnormal behavior. Those abnormal behavioral performances in many cases reflect the plasticity changes, including the morphological and functional changes, in microscopic molecular level and macroscopic circuit level in the brain.
The key molecules and their involvement in the regulation of neuroplasticity is also considered to reflect the strength of functional connection among different neurons and nuclei. With the innovation of various new technologies and expertise, in the field of morphology, molecular biology, electrophysiology, genetics, etc, will also inspire and encourage scientists to exchange their ideas.

There are two goals of the session. The first goal is to encourage scientists to report their research progress in key molecules, neuroplasticity and related behavioral changes. The second goal is to provide academic exchange opportunity for young researchers.

Our body structure is as the same as it is thousand years ago, but with the help of the innovative technology, we can see and measure the body structures we could not see or measure in a traditional way.
In this session, six speakers from China, Korea and Austria will introduce the innovative technique they are interested and how they applied the innovative technique in clinical anatomy and what they have found.
The topics include the P45 plastination technique, new forms of fresh cadaver used for surgeons training, a simulation study to standardized biomechanical experimental setup, a novel method to measure the dynamic distances between the anatomy structures during gait cycle, the deep learning algorithm model to establish a high sensitivity and accuracy method for scoliosis measurement pre-operation and Myodural Bridge Complex, which is the structure found by using P45.

‘BANI’ is an acronym that represents the real-world condition today, which is described as brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible. This concept has replaced the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) environment that is no longer sufficient to explain the current adversities faced by the society.
In education context, the BANI framework extends beyond addressing the need for adaptability in challenging educational environment—as emphasised by the VUCA framework— but it focuses on the drivers of change and the need for innovation.
This symposium aims to discuss the concept of BANI framework in the context of medical and anatomy education systems, and how it affects the anatomy education curriculum, practice and learning environment.
The symposium will: (1) ensure a better understanding of BANI framework and its application to reshape the medical education system; (2) reinforce the focus on the implementation of BANI concept in developing resilient anatomy curriculum; and (3) enhance the awareness of anatomy educators and anatomy societies of the importance of fostering a transnational BANI-world anatomy education environment.
Such insights are highly valued by the leaders of anatomy societies, medical and anatomy educationists, and anatomy educators, considering the need to design an innovative system that could cope with chaotic and unpredictable changing educational environment.

Mesoscopic anatomy provides morphological insight into the scale existent between microscopy and macroscopy. Mesoscopic anatomy is a rapidly evolving field in morphological study, and it offers the structural basis for both basic science and clinical practice.
In this symposium, six speakers from Australia, Austria, China, Japan and New Zealand will present on their latest research in the filed of the mesobiomechanics (Prof. Hammer, the anatomist, Austria), mesoscopic neural connectomes (Prof. Guoqiang Bi, the neurobiologist, China), mesoscopic anatomy of the deep fascia (A/Prof. Ming Zhang, the clinical anatomist, New Zealand), the pelvic floor (Prof. Keiichi Akita, the clinical anatomist, Japan), penile suspensory ligaments (Mr Ross Calodedos, the urologist, Australia) and intralaryngeal soft tissue configuration (Dr Qin Wang, the ENT-Head & Neck surgeon, China).
Their presentations will highlight some both challenges and opportunities that are brought forth by the study of mesoscopic anatomy and will foster a closer collaboration between the mesoscopic anatomy and its translation into various practical disciplines.

“Digital human” refers to the complete digital representation of the human body, encompassing its organizational structure, physical attributes, and physiological functions. This advanced technology enables the human body's intricate organization to be observed and analyzed through a computer interface.
The research on digital humans addresses the problems in modern medicine, such as the difficulty in obtaining human specimens, poor visual representation, limited reusability, and high costs. In order to promote the latest researches in this field and explore their applications, we organized the symposium during the 10th Asia Pacific International Congress of Anatomists.
There are six lectures in this seminar, which focus on the exploration of the digital human research, including “The research and applications of the digital human with high resolution”, “Digital Human for Science Popularization”, “Deformable Digital Human Phantoms Based on Large Medical Image Dataset”, “Application of "digital visual children" head, neck and chest reconstruction”, “Mapping fetal brain development of 10 weeks gestational age with 9.4T magnetic resonance imaging and histological sections” and “Mapping human fetal thalamus development during the second trimester with 7.0T magnetic resonance imaging”.
It is designed to develop participants’ understanding of the recent advances in digital human research, and their applications in various fields. This seminar is organized by Sectional and Image Subsociety of the Chinese Society for Anatomical Sciences.

The Symposia on Applied Anatomy for MedTech is designed to explore innovative applications of anatomy in the field of medical technology and to share effective implementations that provide safer, more precise solutions, and personalized healthcare interventions.
This symposium will acknowledge the fundamental role of applied anatomy in enhancing the development and efficacy of medical devices and instruments for diagnostics, monitorisation and therapeutic approaches.
The primary goal of the symposia is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds to discuss the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in applied anatomy for MedTech.
By fostering interdisciplinary partnerships and promoting the integration of anatomy with emerging technologies, this symposium aims to emphasize the crucial role of applied anatomy for optimizing medical device design, improving the functionality of digital twins, developing brain-inspired frameworks for building new types of artificial intelligence, and enhancing diagnostic modalities in order to advance the field and ultimately improve patient care.

"Literature reinforces the high educational value that access to donor material and physical anatomy environments has on student learning. However, we are often constrained by high student numbers, timetabling, budget and scheduled class time to rely solely on these physical environments to deliver high quality anatomy learning and teaching. Novel digital technologies provide immersive alternatives and extended learning opportunities outside of the physical laboratory environment to address these curriculum design and resourcing challenges.

"This symposium will showcase recent development in digital anatomy environments that simulate physical anatomy and/or clinical spaces or resources to inspire the future design of anatomy learning in your Institute. Speakers will share their experiences in creating and implementing creative digital solutions, to provide practical tips and recommendations for technology selection and adoption. Furthermore, each speaker will summarise evaluation data to quantify effectiveness of the digital technology on student learning in anatomy.

"Our diverse speaker list represents academic leaders in digital anatomy learning across five universities and three countries. Digital technology topics include 360-degree technology, haptic virtual reality, digital neuroanatomy, multiplanar reformation of medical images, motion capture of ultrasonographic images and digital clinical scenarios. By engaging in this symposium, you will learn how to further advance your learning and teaching practice by implementing immersive and authentic digital anatomy environments that complement and strengthen physical anatomy labs and resources."