The Prof. Dr. Talia Bali Aykan Multidisciplinary Laboratory is an advanced medical education facility designed to enable the microscopic analysis of cellular, tissue, and pathological processes covered in the medical education curriculum during the preclinical stage, while reinforcing theoretical course content through hands-on practical applications.
What is the Prof. Dr. Talia Bali AYKAN Multidisciplinary Laboratory? / What is its Purpose?
Main Purpose: The primary purpose of the Prof. Dr. Talia Bali Aykan Multidisciplinary Laboratory is to enable students of the Faculty of Medicine to transform the theoretical medical knowledge they acquire in Histology, Embryology, and Medical Pathology courses into practical hand-eye coordination skills by examining educational specimens obtained from human and animal tissues.
Key Features: Our laboratory is located within the Faculty of Medicine at the university's NP Campus. One of the unit's most distinctive technical features is its centralized imaging network, which enables simultaneous and collective instruction. Through the instructor-controlled teaching microscope equipped with a camera and the projection/imaging systems directly connected to it, the educational specimen being examined can be displayed simultaneously to all students as a group. Following this collective demonstration, students have the opportunity to independently analyze the specimens and practice at their own pace using the binocular microscopes available at their individual workstations.
Academic Contribution: The laboratory supports a memorization-free, meaningful, and lasting model of medical education by enabling students to identify normal tissue histology, stages of embryological development, and pathological manifestations of diseases at the tissue level directly under the microscope.
Equipment and Technical Infrastructure Available in the Laboratory
Key Features: The Prof. Dr. Talia Bali Aykan Multidisciplinary Laboratory is equipped with optical and digital technologies that facilitate the examination of cellular and tissue structures at high resolution and support interactive course participation:
- Camera-Equipped Teaching Microscope: A high-resolution, integrated camera microscope system that enables the instructor to digitally transmit the area of focus, cellular details, and pathological formations observed on the specimen.
- Integrated Imaging Systems: A digital broadcasting infrastructure that simultaneously (in real time) transfers live images from the camera-equipped teaching microscope to the screens or projection system in the laboratory, allowing all students to observe the same educational specimen simultaneously.
- Student Binocular Microscopes: High-performance optical examination devices individually used by students, designed for binocular viewing and providing depth perception when examining tissue sections and cellular structures.
- Educational Specimen Collection: An extensive archive of slides and coverslips containing healthy and pathological tissue sections prepared in accordance with the curriculum topics of Histology, Embryology, and Medical Pathology courses.
Research and Application Areas
The laboratory hosts practical and research applications in the following fundamental disciplines, which are of critical importance during the preclinical stage of medical education:
- Histology Applications: Microscopic examination of the normal structural characteristics and organization of the major tissues that make up the human body, including epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous tissues.
- Embryology Practicals: Examination of prenatal developmental processes, embryonic stages, and organogenesis (organ formation) through histological specimens.
- Medical Pathology Practicals: Microscopic analysis of cellular changes, tumor structures, inflammatory processes, and pathological morphologies such as necrosis occurring in diseased tissues.
- Collective Specimen Analysis: Interactive examination and interpretation of complex or rare medical cases with the entire student group through the teaching microscope and imaging systems.
Contributions to Students and the Industry
- Interactive Learning and a Rapid Learning Curve: By observing the areas of focus demonstrated by the instructor live on the central screen, students learn much more quickly what to look for and how to examine specimens using their own microscopes.
- Optical Instrument and Manipulation Skills: By manually adjusting the illumination, focus (macrometer/micrometer), and objective magnification settings of binocular microscopes, students develop advanced laboratory manipulation skills.
- Strong Foundation for Clinical Diagnostic Processes: Medical students who are trained by directly observing the differences between normal tissue (Histology) and diseased tissue (Pathology) under the microscope develop a strong professional perspective for future clinical diagnosis and interpretation of laboratory results.
