Information about an individual structure is called a surface palpation lesson. The total package of surface palpation lessons is called the Surface Palpation Guide. Each lesson contains information indicated by the icons at the top of the page. Empty space to the right of an icon indicates that there is no information for patients/clients relative to this topic.
In the methods section, please note that the clinician would always request permission to touch a patient/client. In most cases, this information is not repeated in each Lesson. In a few cases in which permission to touch a very sensitive area is requested, this information is included within the Lesson.
The dissection window displays the structure in each lesson in a consistent way. On one side, the individual structure is displayed. On the other side, the surrounding structures are included to allow perspective, depth, nearness to the skin surface, etc. of the structure. The side with the individual structure is alternated between right and left.
Changing the Screen Resolution:
The screen resolution can be changed through Control Panel >> Display >> Settings. Changing the resolution
will affect the size of the VH Dissector windows and the movies.
Lesson Navigation:
To navigate within the lessons of the Surface Palpation Guide, the navigation links within the
Lessons window should be used. These commands are at the very top of the Lessons window. In the
Shoulder Complex >> Bones unit for example, these commands are:
Surface Palpation - Shoulder Complex - Bones
Clicking on any of these words will navigate you to that particular point.
Click on a RED word to bring up the corresponding 2D and 3D Visible Human anatomy. Click on any blue words in the index lists to take you to more pages of lessons.
Click on the movie icon for each structure to play the corresponding movie.
In order to return to the structure page after playing a movie, you may use "Return" above the movie.
VH Dissector Navigation:
*These directions apply to VH Dissector version 4.1.
The drop down "Lesson" Menu on the very top window bar refers to the VH Dissector program, not the Surface Palpation Guide.
For example, the "Return to Index" command will take you back to the VH Dissector's main table of contents.
The VH Dissector allows the user to quickly toggle between the Visible Human Male and the Visible Human Female Pelvis by using the drop down menu at the top of the Dissection Area. However, all 2D and 3D anatomy used in the Surface Palpation Guide is from the Visible Human Male Dataset, so it is important to have the Visible Human Male selected. Go to the drop down "Lesson" Menu and turn on "Update Dataset" to assure the Surface Palpation Guide structure links always open in the Visible Human Male Dataset.
The tabs below the drop down menus will take you to the different navigation windows of the VH Dissector. The Index Tab contains
all the structures in the VH Dissector. The Regions, Systems, and Tissues Tabs provide similar functionality to the Index Tab, but present their information in hierarchical trees rather than flat lists. The Lessons Tab provides a mechanism for interaction in the context of a lesson plan, such as this Surface Palpation Guide.
While reading or navigating lessons, all the capabilities of the VH Dissector are still enabled. Anatomy can be added or deleted from the Dissection Area, the image can be rotated (using the center thumb wheel in the Dissection Area), the image can be zoomed (using the left-hand scale slider in the Dissection Area), and the skin opacity can be changed (using the right-hand slider in the Dissection Area).
*There is a complete tutorial within the VH Dissector program, which can be referenced for any questions about the use of the VH Dissector program. Select "VH Dissector Help" from the Help menu to open the Tutorial.