Almost a whole week of Phase IIA is already past, before I have even had the chance to blog about it!
Yes, it’s rather exciting – we’ve begun a new phase! Up until now in Phase I, we were learning the basic fundamental sciences relevant to medicine. Now in Phase II, we’ll be starting a block-by-block review of the body’s organ systems and their associated diseases.
The very first block of Phase II is the musculoskeletal system (MSK). MSK refers to all of the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the body that form a skeleton of support for softer organs, and generate movement.
For the first aspect of MSK, we’ve been learning from the orthopaedic surgeons (bone doctors) about traumatic injuries to muscle or bone. That includes fractures, sprains, ligament tears etc. MSK pathologies are broadly divided into traumatic vs. chronic conditions. Later in the block, we’ll delve into the chronic diseases of muscle and bone such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
