BIOEE 3780

Digital Morphology through CT

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This course is an introduction to CT visualization for its applications in comparative biology of the vertebrates. Students will learn and practice the exploration of vertebrate anatomy with OSIRIX 3-D visualization software or its future replacement; work on student-designed projects and/or a large survey of the vertebrates based on CT scans from specimens in the Cornell museum as well as the Smithsonian and other museums around the world.           

When Offered Fall (weeks 1-7), Spring (weeks 1-7).

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: BIOEE 2740.

Course Attribute (CU-UGR)

• CT-Visualization and Methods: Perform the following basic functions: work with three separate 2-D slices of anatomy (3D-MPR) to orient each of the frames to a desired coordinate system; find organs across multiple views and delineate them as 3-D regions of interest (ROI's); apply different Color Look Up Tables (CLUTs) to images; produce simple single-orientation videos moving through one dimension of 3-D structure. Discuss the pros and cons of different staining and scanning methods and resolutions, and describe the strengths of the different software packages used in the class.
• Vertebrate Anatomy: Recognize in CT images all the major organs of the avian digestive, circulatory, respiratory, excretory and reproductive systems as well as all major bones.
• Comparative Biology: Discuss the fundamental challenge of comparative biology in the context of anatomy: teasing apart phylogenetic and functional influences on anatomical character variation. Discuss the concept of homology and the interpretation of anatomical features across representatives of multiple clades.
• Projects and Hypothesis-Testing: Present the results of their first CT explorations of vertebrate anatomy as a powerpoint presentation to the group. These presentations will include an outside rendering of the specimen plus one video through one of the planes of view.

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