anatomy help!!!

"Just Do It!"

There's a hell of a lot in that Nike slogan.

 

Get a model of the arm and go to town! Colored regions help and just stare and stare and stare and stare until the regions allstart toblendinto onebiguglyblur

 

What I did for all the muscles (we had upper AND lower extremities plus pelvis on our exam...only 52 muscles would've been great!) was to make flashcards. Muscle name on front, innervation, origin and insertions, and actions on back. Individual heads of biceps, triceps, etc. each got their own flashcard as well if they were different or significant.

Flashcards aren't usually my style, but this way I could sort them differently while reviewing them--by area (shoulder, upper arm, forearm, wrist flexors/extensors, etc.), innervation, action, etc.---whatever helped me remember it. When it got down to the wire, I did a quick run-through, pulled out all the ones I knew, and kept plugging away on the ones I had trouble with. Some of the details I remembered only b/c I could remember what other muscles I sorted it with. It really worked well for me, and actually didn't take me a long time (or much thought) to make.

smurfette

 

you're rite...cards do help...especially when you are on the run...u can use it while waiting for the bus...waiting for the que line at lunch...just use those time when u do nothing but waiting...the cards would really help...

but in my room...i usually use this big posters n draw the upper limb from the front n back view...and I mean big...don't have to draw them nicely but as long as it fits all the info about each muscle...(i luv to draw)...but if that takes lots of time (since your paper is on monday)...then Netter is always there to help you. Study the muscles in groups and states all the innervations and blood supply at the same time...try not to seperate them. Then tell them back to your friend...that would be a challenge..but trust me that's the only way i know i really understand n remember...(my best friend is my cookie monster).

Good luck!

ps: consistency and persistent is the key in medicine. I finally applied that in 2nd year...i realized that when i was in 1st year..hehe

 

It is really hard when that first set of muscles (and nerves, and actions, etc.) stare you in the face.

Like people say, flashcards can help, but I found I would make them and never use them.

I think you can save yourself a little time by using the Tulane "Human Mental Image" technique. It sounds real self-explanatory, but once you get the hang of it, you aren't really memorizing anymore.

1) First know where the bones are: spine, ribs, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna. That is the key, the skeleton is literally the framework of anatomy. Visualize them off of Netter, or your lab skeleton, or even on your own body.

2) Then lay a muscle down. E.g. - the supraspinatus. In your mind you should see it laying on top of the spine of the scapula, posteriorly, and the lateral end goes toward the superior humerus.

3) Now lay the neurovasculature down. What arteries/vein go under the SS? What nerves are near there and what nerve penetrates (innervates) the SS? One thing I didn't learn till late in anatomy is that nerve course matters SO MUCH. Where does it start, where does it finish? Where are nerves (arteries, veins) vulnerable to injury (in terms of a fracture, gunshot, etc.,) because that is how test questions are presented?

4) Now that you know where it is, you can deduce the actions. Since you know it is attached to the scapula and humerus, and you know the scapula is pretty much not going anywhere, if you mentally contract the muscle, the only thing that can happen is that you raise your arm. Now, think about what happens if you have a deficit? How is function changed? In this case, you know that initial abduction of the humerus would be impaired, but you also know that the other abductors can get you through if you actively initiated it.

Now, I know this sounds "Duh", but I was going nuts at the beginning with my damn flash cards. So, I opened up Netter, stared a bit, and did what our profs told us (outlined above). It worked really well. And if you see it on a real body after seeing Netter, it will totally stick.

I know it seems insurmountable, but 20,000 American MD/DO students do it every year, so I know you can do it too. It is just a pain getting started.

Good luck,

Simul

 

nice post, simul...i must concur with your assesment!

the best thing for me was to understand function. that made insertion/orgin easy. as for nerves/veins i learned as well as i could, and moved on to clinical relevance. that is what made things stick, and if you understand the clinical importance, the basic structure/pathway is easy to deduce.

so, in short my advice is find what is interesting (typically function/clinical relevance) and learn what is functional and clinically relevant about the region you are studying. then, you are done, and you have an a. simple.

 

Buy Rohen, it got me through anatomy without spending every waking minute in lab.