Prairie Doc Perspective Week of June 15th, 2025
“Anatomical Variations: Connecting Physicians and Anatomists”
By Ethan L. Snow, PhD


It’s remarkable how much anatomy education and medical practice overlap, yet anatomist-physician collaborations are often underutilized for improving student learning and patient care outcomes.


Becoming an anatomist or a physician requires commitment to many years of education and practical training. Both generally require four years of comparable, comprehensive baccalaureate coursework followed by four or more years of concentrated graduate/medical education and practical training. Amid both career paths, students work diligently to achieve predefined benchmarks for competency in complex human anatomy, meticulous clinical applications, and interrelated skills. Nevertheless, it is natural for anatomists to lose insight about practical clinical skills and physicians to lose insight about anatomical intricacies – most notably while the other person is keenly maintaining expert-level knowledge and knowhow of that very information. Anatomical variations offer a course of action for efficiently and effectively addressing the “use it or lose it” principle for both experts.


Human anatomy is taught and learned according to its foundational morphologic norm – that is, the typical configuration, form, and function of structures in the body. Understanding typical anatomy allows physicians to draw clinical insights from patients’ chief complaints. For example, knowing the typical arrangement of bones, muscles, nerves, and vessels in the body allows orthopedic physicians to discern differential diagnoses and establish safe and effective surgical and therapeutic treatment plans for patients with musculoskeletal issues. However, anatomical variations – structures that do not present in typical location or form – are common and can complicate both learning and medical practice.


As authorities in the granularity of human anatomy, anatomists develop and maintain expertise about the development, presentation, and impact of anatomical variations, especially as they uncover specific cases during routine cadaveric dissection. As authorities in the minutiae of patient care, physicians develop and maintain expertise about adaptive clinical practices to address anatomical variations, especially as they come across specific cases during patient examinations and surgeries. In these regards, each professional can strategically benefit from the other’s expertise to create better outcomes, and this “bench-to-bedside” collaboration is known to promote translational medical education, high-definition patient care, and exemplary interprofessional behavior.


Despite their inherent benefits, strategic anatomist-physician collaborations appear underutilized. Investigating anatomical variations cases permitted by cadaveric donors and/or living patients offers one way to encourage these collaborations. Common field interest seems to effortlessly reciprocate enthusiasm from both parties. Anatomists can leverage workload designated for research/scholarship and physicians can fulfill contractual service obligations, thus offering a manageable framework for each to strategically contribute expertise and achieve high-quality and high-impact productivity. Simultaneously involving students can further distribute workload while providing them with meaningful research experience and influential mentorship.


As indicated, cadaveric donors and living patients play a critical role in this framework by willfully permitting analysis of their associated tissues and records. Human cadaver dissection offers complete and unrestricted views of anatomical variations, and patient records (diagnostic imaging, physician summaries, etc.) convey the clinical presentation and impact of variations. Anatomists, physicians, and students remain extremely grateful to each for their incredible contributions to advancing medical education and patient care.


Ethan L. Snow, PhD is an Anatomist and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Innovation in Anatomy at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads. Prairie Doc Programming includes On Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program (on SDPB), providing health information based on science, built on trust.

Prairie Doc Perspective Week of June 8th, 2026
“Pain Science: Rethinking How We Experience Pain”
By Kory Zimney, PT, DPT, PhD is a professor at the University of South Dakota
Pain is a universal human experience, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood aspects of health. Traditional views often equate pain directly with physical injury, but modern pain science challenges this simplistic understanding. Pain is a multifaceted phenomenon involving sensory, emotional, and cognitive factors. This perspective advocates for a holistic approach to pain management, emphasizing the nervous system's role and empowering individuals to retrain their pain response. 
Pain and Injury Are Not Always the Same
Most of us can think of a time when we had an injury but no pain. Maybe you noticed blood on your body when out gardening, only to see a significant cut on your arm, or waking up and noticing a large bruise on your body, and you don’t recall what caused it. Sometimes, pain may have emerged after you saw the cut or bruise, but not when the injury happened.  The opposite side further exemplifies the disconnect between pain and actual tissue damage: we can use the example of phantom limb pain, where individuals experience pain in a limb that no longer exists. These examples highlight that pain is not always a direct indicator of physical damage. In the first situation, we have injury and no pain; in the second, we have pain with no injury.
Pain as a Complex, Multidimensional Experience
Pain is not a simple signal proportional to the extent of tissue damage. The pathway of sensory information from the body travels to multiple areas of the nervous system, including the somatosensory cortex (for location and sensation) and the limbic system (for emotional processing). This interconnectedness underscores the sensory and emotional components of pain, making it a complex experience.
The Brain's Role in Predicting and Protecting
The brain plays a crucial role in interpreting signals and predicting potential threats, which can influence the experience of pain. For instance, gently stretching your finger backwards can cause discomfort before actual tissue damage occurs – a protective mechanism. Chronic pain often results from an oversensitive or overprotective nervous system, where the brain's predictions sensitize the pain response. People are not faking pain, and the pain is not made up in their head; the nervous system actually changes to make it more sensitive. Think of it like the motion detection lights outside your house, the sensitivity dial has been ramped up, a leaf falls off your neighbor's tree, and your lights go on, it is overprotective. Your brain also uses more than just sensory information to process pain or potential threats. Psychological factors (for example trauma, fear, thoughts, and emotions) and sociological factors (such as environment, stress, and lifestyle) interact with biological factors (immune and endocrine systems) to shape an individual's pain experience. 
Understanding Pain is Crucial for Recovery
Understanding that pain doesn't always mean your body is damaged and that your sensitive nervous system can be retrained empowers individuals to challenge limiting beliefs and actively participate in their pain management. It involves a holistic approach, including improving lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, quitting smoking, etc.), addressing psychological factors (decreasing stress, reframing negative thoughts, and more), and promoting movement and daily activities. 
Understanding the complex nature of pain empowers individuals to actively participate in retraining their nervous system to reduce the impact of chronic pain and improve overall well-being.


Kory Zimney, PT, DPT, PhD is a professor at the University of South Dakota, School of Health Sciences Physical Therapy Department and director of the PhD in Health Science program. He received his Master of Physical Therapy from the University of North Dakota in 1994. He completed his post-professional Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Des Moines University in 2010 and graduated with a PhD in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 2020. Dr. Zimney is part of the Center for Brain and Behavioral Research at the University of South Dakota and the Therapeutic Neuroscience Research Group conducting research specifically in the areas of pain science and therapeutic alliance. Understanding Pain and What to do about it | Kory Zimney | TEDxUSD. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, and on social media. Watch On Call with the Prairie Doc, most Thursday’s at 7PM on SDPB and streaming on Facebook and listen to Prairie Doc Radio Sunday’s at 6am and 1pm on SDPB Radio.

Prairie Doc Perspective Week of June 1st, 2025
“Teen Mental Health”
By Curstie Konold MPH, CSW-PIP, QMHP

The start of summer brings a sense of excitement for many teens. Take a moment to reflect back to your teen years. As we reminisce, we can likely all say that our adolescent years were a unique and informative time of our life. Mental wellbeing habits are often formed during this time as teens strengthen their social and emotional skills, laying a foundation of habits for the rest of their life. Consider what habits you perhaps formed during this time and what supports you had or needed when you were a teen.

There are a variety of important skills that can enhance positive mental wellbeing, and by encouraging teens to practice them, it increases the likelihood of them utilizing them throughout their life. Mental health and physical health are interconnected, so when we encourage physical self-care, we also encourage mental self-care. Healthy nutrition, exercise, and staying active help to maintain positive mental wellbeing. Emotional self-care can also impact mental wellbeing, and it can be practiced through staying active in enjoyable hobbies, music, journaling, play, or spending time outdoors. 

Another important factor impacting mental wellbeing that teens face today is the growing use of social media. Having open conversations with teens about their social media use and how it can impact their mental health is crucial to supporting positive mental wellbeing. The Family and Youth Services Bureau guides parents to educate themselves on social media platforms, have an open-minded conversation about the benefits and risks of social media use, establish rules about privacy and boundaries, model healthy social media use to teens, encourage a balance of social media use with other activities, understand critical thinking and media literacy skills, and provide a safe space for teens to come to parents about managing difficult situations like cyberbullying. 

One of the most impactful things adults surrounding teens can do to support positive mental wellbeing is allowing themselves to be vulnerable enough to talk openly about mental health with teens. Mental health stigma is a large influence in deterring individuals from seeking help, and in order to combat this stigma, open and truthful conversations can encourage teens to not fear discussing their own mental health challenges. These conversations can open the door to understanding what is going on in a teen’s life, providing opportunity to practice healthy skills to promote positive mental wellbeing. 

Understanding brain development can also help adults recognize how to support positive mental health for teens. The pre-frontal cortex in the brain allows us to critically think, make sound decisions, and control our impulses; however, this part of the brain is still developing during adolescence and into early adulthood. This helps us understand why impulses and risk-seeking behaviors are common among teens. Having open conversations with teens allows for discussion of harm reduction strategies to reduce risk-seeking behaviors. Harm reduction seeks to meet teens where they are at in a nonjudgmental way. An example of this might be helping a teen access professional support services to manage mental health concerns and learn healthy coping skills. 

As you think of teens in your life and reflect back on yourself as a teen, consider what type of supportive adult would have positively impacted you during that time. You have the ability to provide a sense of connection and hope for a teen. You have the choice to be a caring adult in the life of a teen that guides them to practicing healthy skills to establish positive mental health for years to come. 

Curstie is a private independent practice licensed social worker and holds a Master of Public Health degree. She is the Associate Director at the Center for Rural Health Improvement (CRHI) at the University of South Dakota. Curstie owns Mindful Matters, LLC where she provides mental health services and promotes trauma-informed care to her clients. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, and on social media. Watch On Call with the Prairie Doc, most Thursday’s at 7PM on SDPB and streaming on Facebook and listen to Prairie Doc Radio Sunday’s at 6am and 1pm.