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Visual mnemonics for serum protein electrophoresis

September 2013
Medical Education Online 18(1):22585

DOI:10.3402/meo.v18i0.22585

Source
PubMed

License
CC BY 2.0

Authors:

Carlos E. Medina-De la Garza

Autonomous University of Nuevo León

Marisela García-Hernández

Autonomous University of Nuevo León

María de los Ángeles Castro-Corona

Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, México

Right-hand position for serum protein electrophoresis mnemonics.

…

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Available via license: CC BY 2.0

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Visual mnemonics for serum protein

electrophoresis

Carlos E. Medina-De la Garza

1,2

*, Marisela Garcı

´a-Herna

´ndez

2,3

and Marı

´a de los A

´ngeles Castro-Corona

1,2

Immunology Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Auto

´noma de Nuevo Leo

´n,

Monterrey, Mexico;

Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences (CIDICS),

Universidad Auto

´noma de Nuevo Leo

´n, Monterrey, Mexico;

Biochemistry and Molecular

Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Auto

´noma de Nuevo Leo

´n,

Monterrey, Mexico

Received: 13 August 2013; Accepted: 23 August 2013; Published: 24 September 2013

Mnemonics are systems to improve and assist

memory. These learning techniques are widely

used in different settings; its name was de-

rived from the Greek goddess of memory, Mnemosyne,

daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Medicine learning is no

exception for use of these tools (1). Mnemonics based in

letters and word listings, however, have natural limita-

tions because the language used may not be of general

knowledge and therefore not at general reach. On

the contrary, visual mnemonics may have a broader

reach and be useful regardless of language or cultural

background.

Since its description and introduction to clinical

practice, serum protein electrophoresis has been useful

as a first-line test for serum albumin and globulins and to

identify monoclonal gammopathies, agammaglobuline-

mia, polyclonal production of immunoglobulins, and

increase/decrease of other proteins (2). The electrophor-

esis drawing provided by laboratory shows five main

protein fractions of serum. Nevertheless, it is some-

times difficult for students, residents, nurses, and non-

specialized medical practitioners to remember and

recognize these fractions. After dealing with this difficulty

with medical students and residents, we propose here an

easy to remember, visual mnemonics for this purpose.

In Figure 1, ‘‘A’’ shows the schematic representation of

a normal serum protein electrophoresis densitometric

scanning with the albumin fraction a-1, a-2, b, and g

peaks. By holding the right hand as shown ‘‘B’’, we can

recall the shape of the normal electrophoresis, from which

we can derive changes in its profile indicating abnorm-

ality, mainly in clinically relevant gamma fraction (i.e., a

spike for monoclonal gammopathies, a broad peak for

polyclonal gammopathies or absence for agammaglobu-

linemia) (2). Although this hand-aided outline is by no

means a diagnostic mnemonics for itself, to recall the

normal profile and the five main peaks of serum pro-

tein electrophoresis scanning is the first step to detect

(page number not for citation purpose)

Fig. 1. Right-hand position for serum protein electropho-

resis mnemonics.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Medical Education Online 2013. #2013 Carlos E. Medina-De la Garza et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any

medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Med Educ Online 2013, 18: 22585 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v18i0.22585

changes/anomalies and alert for further testing and

diagnosis by proper techniques.

References

1. Yousaf S, Chaudhry M. Mnemonics for medical undergraduates.

Knutsford: PasTest Ltd; 2006.

2. O’Connell TX, Horita TJ, Kasravi B. Understanding and

interpreting serum protein electrophoresis. Am Fam Physician

2005; 71: 10512.

*Carlos E. Medina-De la Garza

Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences (CIDICS)

Universidad Auto

´noma de Nuevo Leo

´n

Av. Carlos Canseco s/n and Av. Gonzalitos, Mitras Centro

Monterrey, N. L. 64460 Me

´xico

Tel: 52(81) 1340 4370 Ext. 1705

Email: carlos.medina@uanl.mx

Carlos E. Medina-De la Garza et al.

(page number not for citation purpose) Citation: Med Educ Online 2013, 18: 22585 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v18i0.22585

The Use of Mnemonic Techniques in Teaching Human Anatomy

Article

May 2022

The development of a methodology for the effective assimilation of various information is one of the urgent problems of scientific and pedagogical activity. The course of anatomy, due to its specificity, is one of the most time-consuming subjects in medical education. In the preparation of first-year students at the Department of Human Anatomy, a phased level of education is used with a gradual complication of the information received. The use of mnemonics is impossible without certain knowledge about the features of memory, its forms and types, as well as the processes underlying memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. There are very few mnemonics available for studying human anatomy in the medical literature. The purpose of the study was to offer mnemonics, especially rhymed, to improve students' memorization of human anatomy and thus to improve the knowledge of the subject. Results and discussion. The article presents the results of the study of mnemonics (rhymed, alliteration and visual schemes) and explains the features of their use for encoding, storage, and retrieval of educational material from different sections of human anatomy by students. Basic principles of mnemonics, such as the use of associations, elaborative encoding and creating the emotional bonds can be successfully integrated into the study of anatomy. One of the most effective methods in teaching human anatomy is schematization, that is a conditionally simplified image of the structure of morphological formations. While preparing for lectures and practical classes, anatomical drawings and diagrams are selected and adapted. The scheme allows to imagine and to understand the anatomical structures in various projections and different sections, to trace the topographic and functional connections of individual organs and systems as a whole. Thus students form a certain anatomical image as the basis for future clinical thinking. It is noted that memorizing the right terms, words, concepts, and explanation of some anatomical facts is much easier in the poetic form. Conclusion. By transforming anatomy teaching material into the form of visual image or by comparing it with existing knowledge using associations and rhyming provides more consistency, involvement in obtaining new knowledge, interest in classes. Association formation has a positive effect on the brain, helps to improve student's skills of synthesis, analysis and the ability to systematize knowledge, helps to memorize large amounts of information faster and more efficiently. The use of mnemonics, especially the method of rhyming, visual mnemonics, acronyms for human anatomy makes it possible to improve the quality of knowledge of the subject

Application of serum protein electrophoresis in multiple myeloma

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ANESTH ANALG

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Understanding and interpreting serum protein electrophoresis

Article

Feb 2005
AM FAM PHYSICIAN

Serum protein electrophoresis is used to identify patients with multiple myeloma and other serum protein disorders. Electrophoresis separates proteins based on their physical properties, and the subsets of these proteins are used in interpreting the results. Plasma protein levels display reasonably predictable changes in response to acute inflammation, malignancy, trauma, necrosis, infarction, burns, and chemical injury. A homogeneous spike-like peak in a focal region of the gamma-globulin zone indicates a monoclonal gammopathy. Monoclonal gammopathies are associated with a clonal process that is malignant or potentially malignant, including multiple myeloma, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, solitary plasmacytoma, smoldering multiple myeloma, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, plasma cell leukemia, heavy chain disease, and amyloidosis. The quantity of M protein, the results of bone marrow biopsy, and other characteristics can help differentiate multiple myeloma from the other causes of monoclonal gammopathy. In contrast, polyclonal gammopathies may be caused by any reactive or inflammatory process.

Mnemonics for medical undergraduates. Knutsford: PasTest Ltd