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The aim of this study is to analyze differences in participation, and in the results obtained in the anatomy and histology exams, over two academic years of the Sport Sciences degree course. During the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020 both the lectures and the exam took place face-to-face, while during the academic year 2020/2021 everything was done online. Statistical analysis revealed that the online modality was especially advantageous for the anatomy exam. Students' opinions were also assessed through a short questionnaire. The results showed that teachers involved themselves in both groups. Students needed to interact socially with teachers and colleagues and to ask them questions. Even if the differences were not significant, the difference was greater for face-to-face students in most comparisons. Finally, the most common methods of peer communication were by social media., (© 2021 The Authors. Clinical Anatomy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Clinical Anatomists.)

The social distancing measures necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the migration of human anatomy lessons to virtual platforms. Even student communities have had to relocate online. The virtual replacement of visual-spatial and social elements, essential for studying anatomy, has posed particular challenges for educators. Our department used Microsoft Teams, an online communication platform, in conjunction with Visible Body, a 3D anatomical modeling program, EdiErmes online resources, and Leica Acquire for teaching microscopic anatomy. We delivered about 160 h of both synchronous and asynchronous lessons for students on the medical degree program per academic year. In this study, we compare face-to-face and distance teaching in order to define these different approaches better and to evaluate the final student scores. The aim is to debate the relevance of distance learning pedagogy to the design of new online anatomy teaching courses and the development of online learning. Analysis of the final scores showed that anatomy examinations after the online course had a statistically significantly higher average value than those obtained at the end of the face-to-face course. The experience at the University of Genoa shows that distance learning in the teaching of human anatomy was perceived by most students as useful and positive. Distance learning can be an effective support for anatomy teaching, facilitating a different mode of learning in which lessons and study are more sensitive to the individual's schedule and needs. Of course, we should not and cannot exclude face-to-face teaching., (© 2021 The Authors. Clinical Anatomy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Clinical Anatomists.)

The interaction between lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells and two types of target cells with different susceptibility to natural killer (NK) activity was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In NK-susceptible tumor cells (K562) a different mode of conjugation with the effector was observed as compared with NK-resistant targets (THP-1-0). In LAK-K562 pairs, the contact region was characterized by the presence of long microvilli, blebs and ruffled membranes forming an intertwined and interdigitated binding site. Conversely, when LAK cells were conjugated with THP-1-0 cells, the surface structures of the target cell did not undergo significant modification and the interacting cells did not appear to establish close contact. In addition, cell lysis of the sensitive target was often characterized by plasma membrane blebbing, leading to cell death. In contrast, in the low percentage of resistant targets which underwent lysis after conjugation, cell death always occurred without formation of bulb- or bleb-like structures.