Anatomy Practicals

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ArmadilloWilly

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Hi folks, I am a podiatry student but since that thread is deader than my gold fish , and our labs are similar I had a question:

How do you guys identify structures in practicals. Like the different parts of the intestines (jejuneum, ileum, duodenum, etc)? They all look so similar.
 
What? You go over abdominal anatomy in podiatry school? Ok. Well. The answer to this question is: pay attention in anatomy lab, as that's what they are teaching you.

Lol. please keep the podiatry insults away. The answer is yes, we do study everything, or atleast 3/4 of what medical students study for the first semester.
I do pay attention but still, looking for tips since all bodies are different and some structures are hardly defined versus others. Nerves and vessels are so close to each other
 
Duodenum has 4 parts 1st part horizontal after the pyloric sphincter of the stomach, 2nd part descending, 3rd part horizontal again (pancreas head b/t the first three parts SMA goes over 3rd part i believe), 4th part ascending suspended by suspensory lig
Of dudodenaljejunal flexure, jejunum is "feather like"(easier to tell on radiograph) i believe, ileum will be terminal part of small intestines hooking up w/ the cecum. Other than those identifying landmarks idk how to tell jejuneum vs ileum in their mid portions

Id definitely suggest learning the branches of the celiac trunk, SMA, and IMA those are very helpful landmarks

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Lol. please keep the podiatry insults away. The answer is yes, we do study everything, or atleast 3/4 of what medical students study for the first semester.
I do pay attention but still, looking for tips since all bodies are different and some structures are hardly defined versus others. Nerves and vessels are so close to each other

I don't think it was necessarily meant as an insult, I think most med students genuinely don't know that podiatry school actually teaches any anatomy/major phys above the ankle. Additionally they should be telling you in lab how they want you to identify the structures they're going to tag. If they don't, then they're being lazy/crappy teachers.

As Scrubs said, try and look for landmarks. The thing that sucks about anatomy practicals is that unless they give you a textbook example or specifically say "know where X is on this specific body", there can be a certain amount of gray area. If they're going to mark something ambiguously or mark a vessel that doesn't have the surrounding area cleaned out decently then they're just being a-holes, so take your best guess and move on.
 
Duodenum has 4 parts 1st part horizontal after the pyloric sphincter of the stomach, 2nd part descending, 3rd part horizontal again (pancreas head b/t the first three parts SMA goes over 3rd part i believe), 4th part ascending suspended by suspensory lig
Of dudodenaljejunal flexure, jejunum is "feather like"(easier to tell on radiograph) i believe, ileum will be terminal part of small intestines hooking up w/ the cecum. Other than those identifying landmarks idk how to tell jejuneum vs ileum in their mid portions

Id definitely suggest learning the branches of the celiac trunk, SMA, and IMA those are very helpful landmarks

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
I don't think it was necessarily meant as an insult, I think most med students genuinely don't know that podiatry school actually teaches any anatomy/major phys above the ankle. Additionally they should be telling you in lab how they want you to identify the structures they're going to tag. If they don't, then they're being lazy/crappy teachers.

As Scrubs said, try and look for landmarks. The thing that sucks about anatomy practicals is that unless they give you a textbook example or specifically say "know where X is on this specific body", there can be a certain amount of gray area. If they're going to mark something ambiguously or mark a vessel that doesn't have the surrounding area cleaned out decently then they're just being a-holes, so take your best guess and move on.


Thanks for the responses guys!. Yes we do have a crappy anatomy professor (For this part of anatomy). He doesnt have notes just asks us to read 100-200 pages of the book per week. Ill try my best!.
 
Hi folks, I am a podiatry student but since that thread is deader than my gold fish , and our labs are similar I had a question:

How do you guys identify structures in practicals. Like the different parts of the intestines (jejuneum, ileum, duodenum, etc)? They all look so similar.
Um, spend lots of time in the lab with the cadavers?
 
I think that this question is different for different types of learners. I found that I did exceedingly well in anatomy practicals once I had built my own internal "atlas" of where things were in relation to eachother. To tie back into the "types of learners" discussion - I have always had the ability to think spatially, and to place objects in three dimensional space in my mental image. This means that what worked for me and other spatial learners may not work for you.

Are you an auditory learner? Do you learn via pictures? Do you memorize locations? Or are you basing your knowledge in relation to other objects? Or perhaps you learn best in systems, and can picture what a nerve must be via thinking about the actions that it might be innervating in the objects it touches. I suggest you find someone in your class who has a similar learning style to you, preferably a TA or someone ahead of you, that you can pick the brain of and find out how they got through succesfully.

Best of luck.
 
In addition to some of the good resources previously mentioned, I found these videos to be so helpful for anatomy. They're well done and they give tips and landmarks for helping to identify. I watched them to prep for labs and then again before practicals for a refresher.

Sapiens Medicus

If the link doesn't work, go to YouTube and type "anatomy dissection videos" and it's the Sapiens Medicus channel


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Hi folks, I am a podiatry student but since that thread is deader than my gold fish , and our labs are similar I had a question:

How do you guys identify structures in practicals. Like the different parts of the intestines (jejuneum, ileum, duodenum, etc)? They all look so similar.

You school should provide you with a list of objectives and the subtle differences or landmarks you can use to differentiate. Know those. Then go over the objectives using multiple cadavers.

I actually felt like anatomy practical preparation was the one time studying in a group was beneficial. We quizzed each other and discussed the variety of methods they could demonstrate an objective. For example, hanging the intestines over the lights and then sticking a pin somewhere. A more serious example, pinning an objective, but covering many of the other landmarks with a sheet.
 
Generally the practical will be set up so landmarks are clear. Use them as guideposts. If they ask what part of the small bowel you're seeing, maybe they'll clearly have the Sphincter of Oddi visible next to the pin. Then, it's the duodenum.
Large intestine has haustra, small intestines don't.
Some websites show pictures of cadavers rather than a pretty Netter's. I'd get comfortable quizzing yourself on the cadaver as it's harder than using Netter's and will be more like your exam.
 
Generally the practical will be set up so landmarks are clear. Use them as guideposts. If they ask what part of the small bowel you're seeing, maybe they'll clearly have the Sphincter of Oddi visible next to the pin. Then, it's the duodenum.
Large intestine has haustra, small intestines don't.
Some websites show pictures of cadavers rather than a pretty Netter's. I'd get comfortable quizzing yourself on the cadaver as it's harder than using Netter's and will be more like your exam.
Is there a list of landmarks that aid in identification ? Unfortunately our school has not provided use with pointers such as those , and nor has it provided us with a list of those landmarks. Or am I overthinking this and I should just use what ever is in front of me and prominent to orient myself spatially to answer these questions?
 
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