MD Education Insights

Diastasis Recti Abdominus I'm partially writing this blog post for my wife who, after carrying and delivering our two wonderful children, has experienced a persistent, narrow gap along the linea alba of her rectus abdominis muscles. Definition :  Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA) is a separation along the linea alba of the rectus abdominis muscles. The image below shows a transverse section of the abdominal wall. In the center, the connective tissue band called the linea alba can be seen. In DRA, the rectus abdominis splits along this line.  Etiology :  DRA is most prevalent in postpartum women, occurring in 33-89% in the early postpartum period and persisting in approximately 30% of women at twelve months postpartum. (1) DRA can also occur in men. Typically, it is associated with factors like advanced age, abdominal obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity.  Pathophysiology :  In pregnancy, hormones such as relaxin, progesterone, and estrogen relax connective ti...

Lessons on Learning - First Two Years of Medical School The best analogy I have heard to what learning is like during medical school is that it is like drinking from a fire hose. The first two years are traditionally when most of the classroom learning takes place, and students must learn the entire anatomy of the human body including the musculoskeletal, nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems; the pathology of hundreds of major diseases of each body system; the workings of hundreds of different infectious agents; embryology, biochemistry, genetics, and how to interview a patient, glean the important information, perform a physical exam, generate a list of possible diagnosis, and begin to make a treatment plan. And this is only scratching the surface! Although it is rigorous, the learning strategies I developed in undergrad and have refined over the past two years have helped me to excel, passing all of my exams and maintaining a 4.0 GPA in both undergrad and medical school. The l...