IFMSASCORE - fena

Prof says 'If you want to continue this next year or whenever we'd be happy to have you; Spain is nice, the people are nice, the girls are nice, Asier is nice.'

Hottest June in Madrid's history - packed three sets of jeans and wilted in the heat.

9am-3pm days of deciphering (the pictures of) Spanish dissection textbooks and cutting up una pierna, plus countless prayers that I wouldn't butcher any hepatic vessels by accident (ha ha ha), desperate suturing (oops), multiple hand cramps, spraying liver bits and six pages of Spanish history, and maybe my dexterity has improved?? (Yeah totally). One can always hope. Also never thought I'd be squinting at renal plexuses, holding cadavers down while their skulls got sawed open, admiring the orbit, gawking at how plastic surgeons dissect hands, watching people water their friends' long-dead-totally-beyond-saving plants in their med student council room, drinking hot chocolate on the stone steps of a bullet-riddled building or working under big-shot anatomy profs who bring all their colleagues to peer at your unimpressive work and say things like 'Pablo plays grass hockey', but well.

Also castles and turrets and aqueducts and sleepy Saturdays spent climbing Alcalá cathedral towers with rickety (scary scary scary) wooden stairs, stalking storks, melting in my no-fan-no-aircon room, jumping into pools and lounging in the garden, watching the sunset, terrace dinners at 10pm and karaoke.

Background of the project:

Hepatic arterial variation has been reported in approximately 20% of the normal population, with the most common variation being the right hepatic artery, the chief blood supply to the bile duct, arising from the superior mesenteric artery rather than the celiac trunk via the common hepatic artery. (Noussious et al, 2017). This has had implications on surgical preoperative planning, liver transplants and interventional radiological procedures such as transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma (Khubutila et al, 2014). However, variations in hepatic venous and portal venous systems have not been so well characterized, despite their importance on the identification of the various anatomical sections of the liver. The hepatic arteries and veins lie between segments while most portal veins - except the left main - lie within them. A detailed map of the venous vasculature on top of hepatic artery anatomy thereby help to better delineate the margins of the various sections, with potential implications in diagnostic radiology and hepatobiliary surgery.

Aims and Objectives:
- To identify any variation in intrahepatic portal and hepatic veins
- Determine the prevalence of such variation in the general population
- Estimate the accuracy of locating of liver lobes using venous anatomy

Supervised by

Prof. Jose Ramon Sanudo, Anatomica y Embryologica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Chief Editor of the European Journal of Anatomy, and

Dr. Teresa Vazquez Osorio, Head of Centro de Donation de Cuerpos y Salas de Diseccion, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Transport is brilliant.

Metro runs ~5am-1am; there are also night buses

3 day pass for 18eu which is not too bad.

24eu for a month's pass if <25yo

*Central Madrid (Gran Via-Plaza de Espana-Opera-PrincipePio-Callao-Sol-Atocha/Atocha Renfe) is very very very walkable, so I'd suggest you go google-map and star everything first then plan accordingly by location!

Sightseeing (Mostly within walkable distance from Sol)
Royal palace of Madrid
Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, 0km mark - large public squares with restaurants and things around

Plaza de Cibeles

Almudena Cathedral

Temple of Debod - Egyptian temple, in a parkland area to picnic at and see view of Madrid; nice at sunset
Parque de Buen Retiro - large park with a boating lake, statues, rose garden, 'glass palace' etc; book fairs on Sun; nice to run in.

Parque de El Capricho - smaller, much further, only takes in a certain amount of visitors a day, but landscaped
Circulo de Belles Artes: views of Madrid, rooftop restaurant

The Literary Quarter - street with quotes by Spanish literary figures eg Cervantes

Museums
Museo Nacional Del Prado: famous works by Velazquez, Goya etc.
Museo de Reina Sofia: more modern; has Picasso and Dali
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: 1000+ paintings chronologically
Sorolla Museum: preserved house of Sorolla, with his paintings

Also others eg archaelogical, naval museums.

*google timings, as there is free entry to most palces at certain times (eg 6-8pm on certain days)

Other activities
Sol-Gran Via are the shopping areas.
El Rastro market is a flea market; KEEP YOUR BELONGINGS SAFE
Theaters (Teatro Real) are 90% off for students - can buy same day tix if got anything interesting.
Night life's very vibrant: Many clubs/bars near Sol - around ?Calle del Príncipe; Largest is Kapital (7 storeys with diff themes, and free on Thursdays before 11pm (or after 11pm cant rmb pls check))

Food (lunch 2-3pm, dinner 9-11pm!!)

Tapas: 100 Montaditos (pronounced as cien montaditos) from 1eu; others are good too; De Patatas Madre has a potato form (v filling)
Churros: San Gines is classic hahaha - the default is milk chocolate but can try asking for other types.

Sangria: a good wine-ish one is at Las Cuevas de Sesamo (but KIV that it's underground/looks vaguely shady and has no phone/internet reception HAHA BUT IZ GOOD). 100 Montaditos has a fizzy version. Cheap version: vino tinto

Menu del dias (two main courses, bread, wine/water and dessert for a fixed price eg 10eu for lunch: any random restaurants

San Miguel Market: hipster tourist food
Mercado de la Cebada: wet market with seafood++, cherries+++ and also food and wine, and an amazing 5eu burger (can't rmb name but it's on the first floor, looks v unassuming.)
Lizzaran: typical spanish food/tapas at reasonale prices
Goiko Grill: burger chain

Don't bother getting the calamari sandwich - it's not bad, but it's a very touristy food that the locals never eat.

Outside Madrid (1-2h by train/bus):

Segovia: castle that inspired Sleeping Beauty's, Roman aqueduct
Toledo: medieval town; Jewish monastery, castle, old museums, bridges (Note: very hilly)

San Lorenzo de El Escorial: Renaissance palace, war monument, hiking with good views

Araquez: palace, large park (KIV: 40min walk from train station)

Alcala de Henares: where Cervantes lived

photography

COURAGE, dear heart.

1-27 June 2017, Madrid, TMax 44*C

ANATOMICA

UNIVERSIDAD
COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID
FACULTAD DE MEDICINA

Soundtrack

IFMSA RESEARCH EXCHANGE JUNE 2017: overview

Anatomical Variations in the Intrahepatic Venous Vasculature in Cadaveric Livers

MADRID-TRIPPING

Images and snapshots

To my friends: Thank you for making this place a little like home. (Also for the 2000 photos and insufficient memory space)

HE AQUÍ MI SECRETO, QUE NO PUEDE SER MÁS SIMPLE: SÓLO CON EL CORAZÓN SE PUEDEVER BIEN; LO ESENCIAL ES INVISIBLE PARA LOS OJOS.

Barefoot on the grass

+65, Singapore