Alfaisal medical student Mr. Ala Al Ras is first author on a peer-reviewed letter to the journal Clinical Anatomy. The letter, written with Dr. Bernhard Juurlink a Professor in the College of Medicine, outlines why the muscle Gastrocnemius should be renamed Biceps tibialis.
After two weeks in the review process by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, the letter was accepted. The letter arose in response to Ala asking why gastrocnemius is not called biceps since it has two muscular heads.
Dr. Bernhard said, “I prompted Mr. Ala to add a descriptor to Biceps and after a few moments of thought he came up with Biceps tibialis – in line with other muscles that have two heads and have a descriptor that relates to the bone over which much of the muscle belly lies. I then asked him to write a paragraph outlining the need for the name change, revised it, and then sent it off to the journal. For an undergraduate student just out of high school I think this is quite an achievement.” Congratulations to Mr. Ala!
