Dissection is a teaching tool which has attracted a great deal of world-wide debate, but whose teaching value remains unresolved. This is largely because of differing opinion of what the objectives of dissection actually are. The rat is the most commonly dissected animal in schools in the UK, and students in the UK object much more (on moral grounds) to performing dissection than do their counterparts (who are more likely to dissect frogs) in the USA.

FARID is intended to provide a realistic learning alternative to performing a rat dissection (Quentin-Baxter and Dewhurst, 1995*). This program may also be useful for better preparing students prior to performing dissection, or for revision. As with traditional dissection, it is expected that teachers will contextualise use of the program and guide students to study specific parts. It contains at least 10 'learning' hours and is a useful adjunct for any course which involves the study of anatomy and mammalian dissection.

FARID was a finalist in the European Academic Software Awards, May 1996.

*Quentin-Baxter, M. and D.G. Dewhurst, 1995. An interactive laser video disc to teach the functional anatomy of the rat, Journal of Biological Education, 29(1), 34-39.

Video disc technology still provides a relatively cheap and flexible method of delivering broadcast quality video in an interactive learning environment. Graphical detail on the computer screen is minimised to keep the software file size small. This program runs on any Apple Macintosh running HyperCard Player 2.0 (or better) with a Sony Laser Video Disc player and any PAL-compatible Television monitor (Technical Details).

(Use external helper (or Netscape 3+) and 000's of colours to view jpegs and mpegs etc., where possible.)
• Broadcast quality video. [Image35K][Example]
• Highly interactive. [Image80K][Example]
• Male and female rat. [Image13K][Image17K][Example]
• Can be viewed from two angles (above and side). [Image24K][Image29K][Example]
• Full dissection including
  • examination of the external features of the rat;
  • dissection and study of the abdominal structures (gastrointestinal, urinary and reproductive systems);
  • dissection and examination of structures in the thoracic cavity;
  • dissection and study of structures in the neck region;
  • exposure, removal and examination of the brain;
  • 300 histology images showing up to 4 magnifications of cellular detail [Image48K][Example];
  • some diagrams.
• Annotations appear on the computer screen to identify every structure and the dissector depresses and turns structures on the video to illustrate turgidity and attachments. [Image60K][Example][Example]
• Balloon Help and comprehensive textual Help.[Example]
• Information - locates and highlights the extent of structures on an image, and returns relevant textual information. [Example]
• Questions - automatically generated around the image on the screen. For incorrect answers FARID can show students where the structure is located or students can attempt questions again.[Example]
• Questions Score - details overall score, most recent question series, and number of questions correct after two attempts.
• Go Back - allows backtracking over your path through the dissection.
• Navigational Map - any image in the program can be accessed from the Map. [Example]
• Can be configured (password protected) by [Example]
  • adding new images to the program (automatically inherit functionality such as Annotations, Information and Questions);
  • automatically changing Annotations and labels (on a single image or globally);
  • changing contents of Balloon Help and textual Help;
  • adding, altering or deleting Information text.

Move the pointer around the computer screen. This activates Balloon Help (which can be switched off) and the Video Disc which updates the picture on the TV monitor, depending on what structure is lying under the mouse pointer. The video responds to the action of the mouse pointer moving over the graphic image on the computer screen and a mouse-click.

Was: GB250.00 : Rat Anatomy Disc and Video Rat Stack (site license*) - see downloads below
Was: GB100.00 : Video Rat Stack (site license*) - see downloads below
Free : WWW details when used for non-commercial purposes and appropriate credit is ma de. For details see the Copyright Statement.

*to purchase contact the author, Megan Quentin-Baxter, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, NE2 4HH.

• Download a full copy of the Video Rat Stack software. Mac Only ~1.5MB
• Download a MPEG version of the full high colour video disc as a single continuous video (link to further description). This is free for educational use, you may download, reply, edit, reuse and otherwise make use of the materials available in this MPEG file. Unfortunately the software (videoratstack) does not interact with the digital MPEG.

Ideally FARID will be converted properly to an interactive WWW / CD-ROM format, but this requires more resources. If any computer science students are looking for an interesting project then please let me know. See the current technology Detailed Technical and Installation Information, How to View These Pages and The Future of FARID.

This project began in October, 1989, and was funded for 3 years (GB£30,000) by the Lord Dowding Fund (NAVS). Due to the challenges of developing a video disc from scratch, much of FARID has been programmed since the project ended in 1991. Many thanks go to Graham Irving University of Bradford, Steve Mera Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds Metropolitan University Media Services and Iain Massey Final Cut. Unmeasurable thanks are extended to family and friends. Megan Quentin-Baxter* & David Dewhurst+

*University of Newcastle, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle UK NE2 4HH
+Leeds Metropolitan University, Health & Social Care, Calverley Street, Leeds UK LS1 3HE