Unit of study_

SURG5027: Head and Neck by Dissection

2026 unit information

This is a face-to-face teaching course suitable for students planning or undertaking surgical training. The areas covered by the dissection include scalp and face, anterior and posterior triangles of the neck, cranial cavity, gross neuroanatomy, superficial neck, salivary glands, infratemporal fossa, pterygopalatine fossa, deep neck, suboccipital triangle, mouth, pharynx, larynx, thyroid, parathyroid, root of neck, and osteology of the skull and cervical spine. Teaching primarily occurs on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday) as workshops, complemented by online resources. Candidates dissect in supervised groups, according to a daily dissection schedule, utilising team-based learning (TBL) methods. Throughout this course there is a strong emphasis on surgical anatomy by dissection. Supervision is by anatomists and/or specialist surgeons, and surgical registrars. All candidates are given allotted tasks to prepare for class prior to dissection. The student is expected to have read and learnt the appropriate texts before coming to class. There are ongoing SCORPIOs carried out during the dissection, with opportunity for revision and practice assessments. Teaching can be modified depending on the student’s experience and interest. At the end of each module there is a summative examination. Candidates dissect in supervised groups, according to a daily dissection schedule, utilising team-based learning (TBL) methods. Throughout this course there is a strong emphasis on applied clinical and surgical anatomy. Supervision is by anatomists and/or specialist surgeons. All candidates are given allotted tasks to prepare for presentation to the class prior to dissection. There are ongoing SCORPIOs carried out during the dissection and teaching can be modified depending on the student’s experience and interest. At the end of each module there is a summative examination.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Medicine and Health

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Surgery
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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This course is recommended for students who are preparing or have completed the GSSE or for a SET program.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the head and neck region of the body
  • LO2. Recognise and explain all common and important characteristics of an anatomical structure
  • LO3. Develop an understanding of key relationships and common variations of topographical regional anatomy which are important to surgeons in the management of patients in clinical and operating rooms
  • LO4. Correlate clinically relevant regional anatomy with core systematic anatomy of surgical importance
  • LO5. Interpret transition regions of the body and sectional anatomy regions of the body using modern imaging techniques

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2026
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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