Anatomy without a textbook??!

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Okay guys, so anatomy started fairly recently. Our prof doesn't give any kind of reference to a text (as in page #s, etc.) as he's lecturing. No HWs, no required readings.

So I feel sort of like a headless fly as I walk into class and listen to him tick off a zillion details about various structures. Then I walk into lab and I'm basically trying to find structures that he listed, which I know nothing about (save for their names). And I miss some fairly basic relationships (such as this artery connects to that artery) until I actually walk into lab, because his lecture omits some basic detail (which a text no doubt would mention and explain).

Usually for class, I like to have some sort of reading material, which encapsulates the info given in lecture in a more in-depth fashion.

Yes I have Moore's, and no that book does not seem to help. For one thing, our lectures don't really correspond to the layout of the book.

Is this typical of anatomy?

 

[greatnt249]

Is this typical of anatomy?

Sounds like a crappy deal; all of our lecture notes have structures to know in bold as well as corresponding plate reference numbers in Netter's and Rohen's.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Why would you want an anatomy textbook. Get a netter or rohen atlas and refer to as needed. Other than that, what the hell do you think you're going to read in an anatomy text that won't be in your lecture packets?

If it isn't in your packets, you'll probably never need to know it.

 

[njbmd]

Okay guys, so anatomy started fairly recently. Our prof doesn't give any kind of reference to a text (as in page #s, etc.) as he's lecturing. No HWs, no required readings.

So I feel sort of like a headless fly as I walk into class and listen to him tick off a zillion details about various structures. Then I walk into lab and I'm basically trying to find structures that he listed, which I know nothing about (save for their names). And I miss some fairly basic relationships (such as this artery connects to that artery) until I actually walk into lab, because his lecture omits some basic detail (which a text no doubt would mention and explain).

Usually for class, I like to have some sort of reading material, which encapsulates the info given in lecture in a more in-depth fashion.

Yes I have Moore's, and no that book does not seem to help. For one thing, our lectures don't really correspond to the layout of the book.

Is this typical of anatomy?

If you have a syllabus with a lecture schedule, the skim the subject matter in Moore before you go to class. You don't have to read and memorize every word of Moore, but you should have a good idea of where to find structures and the layout of the neighborhood (deep, superficial, blood/nerve supply).

Our anatomy lecture didn't have specific references to texts but armed with a lecture schedule, I could photocopy plates in Netter and take notes on both the front and back of these sheets. In the end, I had the perfect Gross Anatomy study guides and honored anatomy. I also make check lists (before each lab) of the things that I needed to find from superficial to deep. I used the dissector to make my check lists which were on the back of my photocopied Netter plates. I would also use colored pencils/markers to outline specific structures as I found them in lab.

When we studied muscles, I looked at a skeleton (or the individual bone) where I could learn each origin/insertion and picture how the muscle would act. This was not something that the professor specifically taught but something that worked well for me. I never, ever went into anatomy lab unprepared. I had an armament of notes and diagrams of the things that I expected to find and identify complete with landmarks. I still have those notes today.

Also, don't forget that knowing your embryology well can greatly assist with the anatomy. You don't need to memorize every aspect of embryology but knowing that things have a common origin can help with some of the clinical aspects of anatomy.

Having (or not having) a required textbook for anatomy is neither an asset nor a liability. You have to be proactive about mastery of the material rather than relying on a professor to provide you with everything that you will eventually need to know. I promise you, as a surgeon, I can give any anatomy professor a run for their money. I learned the basics of anatomy from some excellent professors who only guided the process but most of the learning was done on my part using what I needed for mastery.

 

[mrmandrake]

Why would you want an anatomy textbook. Get a netter or rohen atlas and refer to as needed. Other than that, what the hell do you think you're going to read in an anatomy text that won't be in your lecture packets?

If it isn't in your packets, you'll probably never need to know it.

In the OPs post it seems like the material isn't in his packet but he feels like it is something he should know (since it's covered in lab). It seems like the lectures are incomplete in the sense that the notes don't fully cover what the prof is saying.

I say just listen for the major parts/nerves/muscles in lecture and find the pertinent info on them in Moore's (blood supply, insertion, origin, etc ...).

 

[-Goose-]

Essential: Netters + BRS anatomy

Great addition: Gray's

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Our text was written by our professor...

We also use Netter and others for an atlas.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Also, don't forget that knowing your embryology well can greatly assist with the anatomy. You don't need to memorize every aspect of embryology but knowing that things have a common origin can help with some of the clinical aspects of anatomy.

This is true. And while I'm not sure if this is done at your school, depending on who was writing the practical, we got the occasional "A. Identify the tagged structure; B. Identify its embryological origin" or something along those lines.

 

[doc totipotent]

Netter and Rohen seem to work the best for me. Rohen's real nice just because the real pictures look like what I'm going to see or already saw in lab.

 

[NERDY]

Our school use Gray's anatomy for students as the text along with the atlases. Good luck.

 

[Kfire326]

Okay guys, so anatomy started fairly recently. Our prof doesn't give any kind of reference to a text (as in page #s, etc.) as he's lecturing. No HWs, no required readings.

So I feel sort of like a headless fly as I walk into class and listen to him tick off a zillion details about various structures. Then I walk into lab and I'm basically trying to find structures that he listed, which I know nothing about (save for their names). And I miss some fairly basic relationships (such as this artery connects to that artery) until I actually walk into lab, because his lecture omits some basic detail (which a text no doubt would mention and explain).

Usually for class, I like to have some sort of reading material, which encapsulates the info given in lecture in a more in-depth fashion.

Yes I have Moore's, and no that book does not seem to help. For one thing, our lectures don't really correspond to the layout of the book.

Is this typical of anatomy?

Textbook = waste of time for anatomy (and everything in med school, IMO.. i just studied lectures). I pre-read Grant's Dissector for lab, then my group used it in the lab.

 

[silas2642]

Okay guys, so anatomy started fairly recently. Our prof doesn't give any kind of reference to a text (as in page #s, etc.) as he's lecturing. No HWs, no required readings.

So I feel sort of like a headless fly as I walk into class and listen to him tick off a zillion details about various structures. Then I walk into lab and I'm basically trying to find structures that he listed, which I know nothing about (save for their names). And I miss some fairly basic relationships (such as this artery connects to that artery) until I actually walk into lab, because his lecture omits some basic detail (which a text no doubt would mention and explain).

Usually for class, I like to have some sort of reading material, which encapsulates the info given in lecture in a more in-depth fashion.

Yes I have Moore's, and no that book does not seem to help. For one thing, our lectures don't really correspond to the layout of the book.

Is this typical of anatomy?

You need some sort of guide-- I used my school's syllabus. I also used the blue boxes in Moore's, which were really good. You're going to need an atlas; my preference was Netter's.