anatomy questions - how do i memorize all this

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

TalinAagam

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2013
Messages
146
Reaction score
8
so
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
You don't necessarily have to follow the lectures (unless you are tested pretty much daily). 1st of all get familiar with the basic terminology by reading the 1st few pages of any good anatomy text.

And then if you are studying the upper limb, you could try reading it from a textbook to get a general idea and then when you are familiar with what it is and how it "looks" - you pick your atlas and course notes and just memorise it (by repeating it over and over again). There should be tables with info about muscles and you generally need to learn what's in them (or at least that's what I would do).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Origin is the typically the point of attachment most proximal (closest) to the midline. It is a fixed location. Insertion is the point most distal(farthest) to the midline. It is normally movable and moves in the direction of the origin. Action--what it does. Innervation--the nerve that makes it move.

Yes you need to know all four things about every muscle in the body. Many actions just make sense; some you have to memorize. Group them, make a mnemonic, find what works for you. But it is just brute force memorization to get to that point.
 
TalinAagam said:
so our course for anatomy has a bunch of muscles of the upper limb that we have to memorize the origin, innervation, insertions, and action.

I was wondering how one goes about doing this task.
we started with this and didn't even discuss what innervation or insertion or origin means. nor have we gone over the words.

These things are completely foreign to me and I'm not sure how a prof can go right into this material.

also, our prof doesn't seem to follow any textbook. instead they seem to be going in random order according to the coursepack.

im just wondering if memorizing these things withing ever hearing the words before is a common practice amongst anatomy classes? and how do I go about memorizing words that I have never heard of before?

All this and we have only done 1 lecture thus far .....
Click to expand...
Some people say you can reason the muscle movement based on the origin and insertion. Of course those people loved (I mean REALLY REALLY loved) Gross Anatomy. Charts help and flashcards help (I guess there is thing called Anki, or Firecracker, whatever). But as stated above yes, welcome to medical school.
 
Netter flashcards are good, as is BRS Anatomy. In my experience, origin/insertion is generally more important if it's a very specific landmark (e.g., greater tubercle of the humerus) and less important if it's a broad area (e.g., the latissimus dorsi). Maybe something to ask some M2s about.
 
Don't get overwhelmed.. You'll figure out what works for you and it will get better. Just keep chuggin' along. Also keep in mind that you are not the only person in your class feeling this way!

Good luck OP, welcome aboard.


Also get BRS Anatomy, it will help give you some structure to the mess that is Anatomy.
 
Netter's Clinical has some good tables and is an easy read. I found going section by section is beneficial...so shoulder- joint, muscles, vessels followed by axilla, then arm- joint, muscles, vessels and so forth. Also, try to think of origins/insertions in conjunction with the muscle's action as it will make more sense that way.
 
Last edited:
If you're looking for someone to hold your hands then you're in the wrong place. You're going to be teaching yourself most of the material. Look things up and read as much as you can, as many times as you can
 
Last edited:
TalinAagam said:
so our course for anatomy has a bunch of muscles of the upper limb that we have to memorize the origin, innervation, insertions, and action.

I was wondering how one goes about doing this task.
we started with this and didn't even discuss what innervation or insertion or origin means. nor have we gone over the words.

These things are completely foreign to me and I'm not sure how a prof can go right into this material.

also, our prof doesn't seem to follow any textbook. instead they seem to be going in random order according to the coursepack.

im just wondering if memorizing these things withing ever hearing the words before is a common practice amongst anatomy classes? and how do I go about memorizing words that I have never heard of before?

All this and we have only done 1 lecture thus far .....
Click to expand...

Pretty much all of med school is learning stuff you've never really heard of before, especially when you get into pathology and ESPECIALLY pharmacology.

Lectures are not the be all-end all of what you have to learn. If you don't understand something like what origin or insertion means, you look it up, and start getting used to doing that. They're pretty basic concepts. If it still doesn't make sense, ask the instructor or course director.
 
BRS Anatomy has tables with the origin, insertion, and neurovascular supply for every muscles. It's a must have book, IMO.

Either drill those tables or create sheets of your own and go over them again and again. Anatomy is something you almost have to hit daily when you're seeing it like that for the first time. I also like what @DermViser said about reasoning out the origin and insertion and action together. That helped me a lot and I would try and visualize things in my mind as I was going over a region (I am also one of those weird people that love anatomy but try it out).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Ah yes, now here's a thread I can believe a lot more than the "hey I've been in med school for 5 hours now and it's not so bad" threads.

Just brute force memorization is the key. In every course/block/whatever, there will be a period of adjustment where it feels like nothing makes sense and it's impossible. Just keep studying and eventually you'll get past that feeling and start remembering things. Digital flashcards like anki are great because it has the repetition thing built in, but truthfully any study that gives you multiple reps will work fine.

Some general tips:

1) Look for patterns. There are tons of these in anatomy. Because of how the body develops embryologically, there are patterns to innervation, origin, insertion, etc. For example, almost all the muscles of any upper or lower extremity compartment are innervated by the same nerve. You can basically memorize 4 patterns and you know almost all the innervations for upper/lower limb. Then learn the exceptions, usually muscles that straddle 2 compartments. You'll often find many muscles originating/inserting in the same basic area; learn the big picture and then add on which greater/lesser tubercle/groove/ridge. Start with large patterns and memorize inward and it will make things more digestible.

2) Talk with upperclassmen. Lots of them. Especially 2nd years who just took all these same exams. Find out what gets tested and how. For example, our profs REALLY loved innervation and blood supply and almost never tested us on origin/insertion. This will help you focus your efforts and invest your time wisely. Always remember that everything is fair game and exams can change, so make sure you know everything and know the high yield stuff really well.

3) As dissections proceed, take time to find structures on multiple bodies. Also, use lab time to review some of the other minutiae. Easier to remember origin/insertion as you find and touch those structures. Easier to remember innervation when you dissect out the nerve going to that muscle.
 
We're on upper limb right now too. As much as I hate brute force memorization, that's pretty much the only way I know to handle anatomy. I write/draw stuff over and over. Try to find patterns, like someone else said. Sometimes I use a "memory palace" type of approach to help keep track of a large amount of related info. Mostly repetition though. Yesterday I took a bunch of washable markers and drew the dermatomes on my own arm. Helped more than I thought it would!
 
To be fair, the beauty of anatomy is you really only have to learn a little over half of it.
 
lunalight said:
We're on upper limb right now too. As much as I hate brute force memorization, that's pretty much the only way I know to handle anatomy. I write/draw stuff over and over. Try to find patterns, like someone else said. Sometimes I use a "memory palace" type of approach to help keep track of a large amount of related info. Mostly repetition though. Yesterday I took a bunch of washable markers and drew the dermatomes on my own arm. Helped more than I thought it would!
Click to expand...

You have to memorize dermatomes?! :arghh:
 
lunalight said:
Sometimes I use a "memory palace" type of approach to help keep track of a large amount of related info.
Click to expand...

Lol hi Sherlock. 😀

TheShaker said:
You have to memorize dermatomes?! :arghh:
Click to expand...

You don't have to? You'll be expected to know it on rotations, especially distributions of the sciatic and radial/ulnar/median where people more often have paresthesias.
 
Ismet said:
Lol hi Sherlock. 😀
Click to expand...

:laugh:👍 I actually just learned a couple of days ago that's what that method was called. This whole time I've just been trying to explain that I memorize large amts of related info by "making it into a story."

I forgot to mention before that I really like Acland's Video Atlas of Anatomy. He uses non-preserved cadavers, so its a lot easier to see the structures. It's a good bridge between drawings and our dissection lab.
 
Just sleep on top of Gray's and you will learn by passive diffusion.
 
TalinAagam said:
so our course for anatomy has a bunch of muscles of the upper limb that we have to memorize the origin, innervation, insertions, and action.

I was wondering how one goes about doing this task.
we started with this and didn't even discuss what innervation or insertion or origin means. nor have we gone over the words.

These things are completely foreign to me and I'm not sure how a prof can go right into this material.

also, our prof doesn't seem to follow any textbook. instead they seem to be going in random order according to the coursepack.

im just wondering if memorizing these things withing ever hearing the words before is a common practice amongst anatomy classes? and how do I go about memorizing words that I have never heard of before?

All this and we have only done 1 lecture thus far .....
Click to expand...

You are expected to learn the basic terms on your own. The coursepack is your textbook. Yes, learning new things so you can eventually memorize them is what med school is about.

lunalight said:
We're on upper limb right now too. As much as I hate brute force memorization, that's pretty much the only way I know to handle anatomy. I write/draw stuff over and over. Try to find patterns, like someone else said. Sometimes I use a "memory palace" type of approach to help keep track of a large amount of related info. Mostly repetition though. Yesterday I took a bunch of washable markers and drew the dermatomes on my own arm. Helped more than I thought it would!
Click to expand...

Aren't you an MS2?
 
Psai said:
How do the bodies not disintegrate into a withered bunch of dried of human flesh
Click to expand...

Lol, They kind of do toward the end of 1st year! We get different cadavers for 2nd year. Once we're done, then the first years get them.
 
Ismet said:
I can't imagine having anatomy drawn out over several months. Ours were in pretty bad shape at the end and it was only 7 weeks.
Click to expand...
Ours is 13 weeks. I can't imaging going at twice the pace we currently are. Then again we're also taking histo and cell/genetics at the same time.
 
Ismet said:
I can't imagine having anatomy drawn out over several months. Ours were in pretty bad shape at the end and it was only 7 weeks.
Click to expand...
At least it's less material each exam. I guess it depends if you just want to get it over with quickly or prolong the misery over 2 years. I'm sure they're some people here who love Gross Anatomy from the bottom of their hearts.
 
Mehd School said:
Ours is 13 weeks. I can't imaging going at twice the pace we currently are. Then again we're also taking histo and cell/genetics at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yeah we only have 1 class at a time so it was all anatomy all the time for the first 7 weeks. Except for ethics and biostat once a week for the first semester.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
how is this possible
Replies
7
Views
1K
MDMechEngr
MDMechEngr
S
MD & DO What if I do nothing this summer?
Replies
8
Views
1K
GoSpursGo
GoSpursGo
V
Applying Vascular this year, is Houston Methodist all brand hype?
Replies
5
Views
873
ACSurgeon
ACSurgeon
A
anatomy
Replies
2
Views
760
pablo213
pablo213
I
M1 questioning how to do this?
Replies
4
Views
1K
operaman
O
Top