Learn about the development of the Osmosis histology series, a hot topic that you’ll be required to learn as part of your health professional program!
Histology is one of the most challenging topics to learn in medical school. Many of the students we’ve spoken to have compared histology to Where’s Waldo? because histology challenges you to identify the tiniest details in a sea of tissue, which, at first glance, all look the same. Histology is also regarded as a very dry topic, but Osmosis is here to change that perception and show you that learning histology can be fun!
The Osmosis Histology series consists of 38 videos. Their development was led by three physicians on the Osmosis team: Dr. Justin Ling, a video animator and scriptwriter; Dr. Ghassan Tranesh, an Osmosis Faculty Reviewer and Histologist who teaches at the University of Arizona’s Department of Pathology; and Dr. Rishi Desai, our Chief Medical Officer.
What can learners expect to learn from the Osmosis Histology video series?
DR. GHASSAN TRANESH: The goal for this series is to create an approachable way to study histology, with clear explanations and bright visuals. However, it also offers a very deep dive into the topic, covering what medical, dental, and nursing students need to be ready to ace their exams. It’s very practical, exam-oriented, and very easy to follow, step by step.
DR. JUSTIN LING: Each video in the Osmosis Histology series is relatively short and contains easily digestible introductions to the “normal” histology of various organ systems. The goal was to produce a video series that helps students quickly learn the key histological features and characteristics found in each organ system:
- Identify important landmarks, common artifacts, typical staining patterns, and common alternate stains used
- Take note of distinguishing features between similar structures
- Connect histologic structures to their function/physiology
- Learn key findings or characteristics that would be seen in certain pathology/diseases
What are the main challenges students studying histology often face?
GT: Histology is a foundational aspect of studying pathology, yet many students jump into studying pathology before they understand histology. This creates a significant gap in their education. In addition, most histology teaching modules are very dry and not oriented to the clinical aspect. We made sure that all of these aspects are covered and very easy to grasp.
JL: I think Dr. Tranesh covered it pretty well! This series is about recognizing the importance of histology and how it’s connected to and applies to other areas of medicine, like physiology, pathology, biochemistry, and anatomy.
How do Osmosis Histology videos help students better understand this topic?
GT: These videos are very comprehensive and exam-oriented. They’re also very oriented to the clinical side of studying medicine—this makes them very practical and really clarifies the reason why studying histology is important. Dr. Ling’s illustrations are very simple and easy to understand, with multiple real microscopic pictures that correlate with human tissue.
JL: All of the above, and they also occasionally point out relationships or connections between diseases/pathology and their histology (I suppose it’s technically histopathology) while explaining why and how one affects the other.
Do you have any advice for studying histology or recommendations for effectively using Osmosis to study it?
GT: I recommend watching the videos several times and then reading the script. If you’re about to study for a big exam, I personally prefer reviewing histology at the beginning of your journey.
JT: Everyone has their own study style, but I think after getting an understanding of histology from the Osmosis videos, it can be useful to study as many images of the same type of tissue as possible. That’s because even with the same tissue, there’s a decent amount of variation that can sometimes make them hard to identify or understand. However, with lots of repetition and viewing a lot of images, you can start to see patterns and recognize important features, even if an image isn’t very clear. Watching the videos should help guide learners to know what to look for, regardless of any normal variations between tissue samples and image/slide quality.
Try Osmosis today! Access your free trial and find out why millions of clinicians and caregivers love learning with us.
Leave a Reply