Your browser is unsupported

We recommend using the latest version of IE11, Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

Locating and Using Multimedia Resources

It can be a challenge to find suitable photos, illustrations, icons, sound files, videos, etc. for use in development of curricular content. Most people use Google and use the most appropriate image for their purpose, but do not verify that the image is actually sharable; most images have some sort of copyright on them, so if you use an image without checking for copyright or creative commons rights, you could be violating the creator’s rights.

Resources that might be paid or subscription are indicated with an asterisk.

Specific Subject Resources Heading link

We are collecting specific subject resources to help our colleagues locate useful multimedia. If you have a suggestion, contact the director of instructional design and learning innovation to recommend it for inclusion on this site.

Anatomy, Embryology, & Histology

When discussing histology slides, it’s imperative to pay attention to how you are describing things on the slides. Some people are colorblind and therefore are not sure what you are referring to when you point out something and use color to describe it. A better practice is to describe it by shape and location.

Historically, dermatological images in health professions education have been primarily caucasian to review dermatology subjects. This is a known issue and has been increasingly discussed in larger circles to determine how to increase the representation. Here is one article that talks about it: https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/21/dermatology-faces-reckoning-lack-of-darker-skin-in-textbooks-journals-harms-patients-of-color/

VisualDx

We have access to a database called VisualDx. It is a diagnostic tool for creating a differential and more. Out of almost 50,000 images in the database, approximately 30% of them fall within types 4-6 on the Fitzpatrick scale. This scale measures color of skin from type 1 (lighter) to type 6 (darker). You can find this powerful database here: https://researchguides.uic.edu/az.php?a=v. It also connects with Osmosis and UpToDate, which is helpful.

To be more inclusive, here is a short list of resources for more broad representation. If you know of a resource and want to add it, let us know.

  • EDUCAUSE. (2022). Inclusive language guide. Link. Note: this is updated regularly.
  • Elston, C. A., & Elston, D. M. (2019, March 20). Identifying lesions on skin color. Medscape. Link Note: you will need to create a free account with Medscape to access this article & images.
  • Ethnic Dermatology: Principles and Practice (by Ophelia E. Dadzie, Antoine Petit, and Andrew F. Alexis through UIC ProQuest Ebook Central)
  • Lawson, C. N., Hollinger, J., Sethi, S., Rodney, I., Sarkar, R., Dlova, N., & Callender, V. D. (2015). Updates in the understanding and treatments of skin & hair disorders in women of color. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 1(2), 59-75. Link
  • Love, P. B., & Kundu, R. V. (2016). Clinical cases in in skin color: Medical, oncological and hair disorders, and cosmetic dermatology. New York: Springer. Link  
  • Reddy, K. V., Lenzy, Y. M., Brown, K. L., & Gilchrest, B. A. Racial considerations: Skin of color. In L. A. Goldsmith, S. I. Katz, B. A. Gilchrest, A. S. Paller, D. J. Leffell, & K. Wolff (eds.), Fitzpatrick’s dermatology in general medicine (8th ed). Link
  • Vashi, N. A., & Maibach, H. I. (2017). Dermatoanthropology of ethnic skin and hair. New York: Springer. Link
  • MedPics (Pathology) from UC San Diego School of Medicine

Sound Effects

Stock Photography & Illustrations