Faculty Information for M.B., B.S. Programme

The Faculty of Medical Sciences and Dentistry offers a six year academic programme towards the M.B., B.S. Professional degree for students admitted by entrance (JME) examination, 5-year programme for students admitted by direct entry. The constituent Departments of the Faculty offer the courses leading to this single professional degree.

Philosophy, Scope and Objectives of the Programme

The objective of the M.B., B.S. degree programme is to prepare students for a career in all spheres of Medicine - academic, research, general and specialist patient care, and administration. As a result, the programme aims at providing the students with a broad and sound scientific and professional foundation for the practice of medicine in any part of Nigeria or the world. The scope and content of the programme is such that the medical graduates should be competent to either practice on their own in any part of Nigeria, urban and rural, or undertake postgraduate training in local or foreign institutions. They should be conversant with standard clinical methods for the assessment of patients, be able to analyse all available data and use them to constitute an appropriate plan of action.

Job Opportunity

Successful graduates of the M.B., B.S. degree programme are well equipped (after housemanship) for careers in Government hospitals, private practice, teaching and research in Universities or Research Institutes and Administration. They are also qualified for post-graduate training anywhere in the world.

Surgical Separation of Siamese Twins

No birth defects have stirred the minds of people with such intensity and amazement as the birth of conjoined twins (Siamese twins). Most conjoined twins are still born, products of miscarriages, or victims of traditional rituals. The apparent incidence is recorded as 1 per 50,000 to 60,000 births. As of date 400 conjoined twins have either still joined or surgically separated in the entire world.  Within the period, 1987 to 1991, a team of surgeons, anaesthetists, and nurses at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital embarked on the surgical separation of 3 different sets of conjoined twins namely - Pygopagus (joined by the buttocks), Craniopagus (joined by the head) and Ischiopagus (joined by the pelvis).
The Pygopagus twins was amongst a set of female triplets born (16 November, 1987) by spontaneous vaginal delivery. This birth procedre is outrightly condemned as it is engraved with high mortality for both mother and offspring. Delivery of all conjoined twins must be made by planned elective Caesarian section. Pre-natal diagnosis must be made by means of ultrasound scan, Radiology and other available investigations. At the age of 51 days, the conjoined pair were surgically separated (on 8 January, 1988). The babies (all three) are now about 13 years. The surgical success stems from adequate pre-operative study of the union and shared organs; efficient operative and post-operative management.
The Craniopagus pair (born on 9 March 1989) were surgically separated and reconstructed on 6 June, 1989 but the babies died shortly after surgery. This was a total vertical Craniopagus with an extensive fronto-parieto-occipito-temporal union. They shared an abnormal circumferential and cerebral sinus for which the surgical world has not recorded a success.
The Ischiopagus conjoined twins (born on 28 January, 1990) lived together for about one year before surgery (on 7 January, 1991). One baby died 6 hours and the other 5 weeks after surgery. In addition to other organs, they shared a single liver, pericardium and abdominal aorta. The unavailability of parental nutrition reduced their chances of survival.