Pithing frogs, slicing fetal pigs and dissecting roundworms are certainly among the more enduring memories from high school. But for students in 23 Sacramento-area high schools who prefer the formaldehyde-free approach to biology the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has an electronic option. Meanwhile, campus veterinary students are finding a new and more efficient way to study and stash the vast amounts of information they encounter on their way to a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Both the veterinary and high-school students are "clicking" on to new software programs produced by the vet school's Computer Assisted Learning Facility, located at the end of the maze-like corridors of Haring Hall. Established a decade ago by George Cardinet, then associate dean of academic programs for the vet school, the facility was designed to assist faculty members in developing software as part of the school's curriculum. It has evolved into a software-creation center for the entire school with 200 programs to its credit, according to facility programmer and designer Rick Hayes. Janine Kasper, a veterinary anatomy lecturer, coordinates the staff of three that includes Hayes, programmer Dave Magliano and photographer Don Preisler. That team is charged with producing classroom computer software programs, helping to manage the school's network of more than 100 non-administrative computers and teaching the annual introductory computer course for incoming veterinary students. "The computer is a great way to funnel a lot of existing material to students," Hayes says. "And anything that can facilitate efficiency in learning for veterinary students is a definite plus." Using a dog's heart as a model Take, for instance, the "Virtual Heart," a program detailing the structure and function of a dog's heart. Created just last summer, it features a photographic image of a dog's heart that can be rotated, complete with the names and descriptions of its various parts and an explanation of the heart's cycle of operation. Choosing audio options, students can listen to a normal heartbeat and the sound of a heart murmur or other abnormalities. Microscopic and ultrasound images also are included. The "Virtual Heart" program was first conceived by the campus-based UC Center for Animal Alternatives in hopes of providing high-school students with an alternative to using animals in the laboratory. "We decided that the issue of alternative teaching methods was not being addressed," said Lynette Hart, director of the center, which explores methods of decreasing the use of animals in teaching and research activities. "The veterinary school had already established leadership in the use of computer software, and we thought if we could carry this to the high schools, it would be clear that this technology could be used in all levels of education." "We wanted to focus on a fundamental system that would teach the students a lot about anatomy," said Lee Zasloff, associate director for the animal alternatives center. "We decided to produce a software program on canine cardiology, because the dog's heart is a good model for a mammalian heart and the basic images had already been created." Bayer helps get the project going With funding for the project provided by the Bayer pharmaceutical company, Hart and Zasloff turned to the Computer Assisted Learning Facility and to Dallas Hyde, then chair of the anatomy, physiology and cell biology department, for help in producing the program. Hyde recognized that the proposed software would provide an opportunity to assist area high schools and improve the undergraduate anatomy course taught through his department. John Pascoe, executive associate dean of the vet school, agreed with Hyde and directed Hayes and colleagues to team up with anatomy instructor Mike Guinan in producing the software. "A cast of thousands was brought in," says Hart, recalling the melding of veterinary, computer, photographic and design talents to create the "Virtual Heart." Local high-school science teachers responded to the new software with overwhelming enthusiasm, Hart said. "Plastinated" hearts, created through a process that slowly replaces an organ's fluids and tissues with a plastic substance, also were given to the teachers so that students can examine the real thing while studying its image on the computer screen. The plastinated organs are made by Bob Parmelee, a staff research associate in the vet school. The "Virtual Heart" has been so successful that a similar software program now is being considered to feature the anatomy of a fetal pig. This program would be used in Bay Area high schools. Self-paced necessities for vet students While such software programs are new and innovative teaching tools at the high-school level, they are necessities of life these days in veterinary school, where students quickly must learn the inner workings of a host of animal species. Computer software provides students with self-paced audio-visual reference sources that, unlike anatomy labs, can be revisited around the clock at home or school. For veterinary faculty, the computer software provides an additional tool for presenting laboratory and lecture material. While some faculty members like to prepare their own software programs, most simply don't have the time to spare, Hayes said. "We try to make it as easy as possible for faculty to just provide us with the content and we'll take it from there," Hayes said. Last spring he and co-workers had the opportunity to lend a hand to Professor Laurel Gershwin in preparing a program for her immunology course for first-year veterinary students. Gershwin found herself with too much material to fit in the course curriculum. To make matters worse, she unexpectedly lost the teaching assistant charged with setting up her laboratories. A call came from the dean's office, requesting that the facility staff offer assistance. Gershwin provided her lecture material on immunofluorescence--the use of antibodies tagged with fluorescent dyes--plus visuals and accompanying explanations. "We were able to colorize the charts for the lecture and incorporate the immunofluorescence slides into the program," Hayes said. "That increased the efficiency for students by augmenting the two available immunofluorescence microscopes with the same images in the computer program." "They did an outstanding job," Gershwin said. "Now I expect to eventually create programs to go with each one of my immunology laboratory sessions. Particularly with our current budget crunch, this is one way to use fewer fresh materials and supplies, without decreasing the learning experience for students."