Hi Guys,
Here are a few things that helped me honor Gross Anatomy: First, I always studied with Netter's Atlas open. I found the plate that corresponded to my lecture notes and studied the atlas as I studied my notes. When it came to muscles, I reviewed each origin and insertion on a skeleton or bone so that I could see the action of the muscle in my mind's eye. I also studied cross sections for the three dimensional effects too.
Second, I always went to anatomy lab prepared. I made a list of structures from superficial to deep and checked them off as I found them. We devised a schedule so that we would always complete our dissections outside of lab time and teach the other folks just before lab started. It took about two extra hours a week for each person in the tank group.
Third, we shared every good dissection with the rest of the class. We kept a list of good dissections so that everyone could share them and learn from them. When you taught your fellow students something, it became more honed for you.
Fourth: I photocopied plates from Netter and colored over structures with colored pencils so that I could learn the structures as I was coloring. This was especially good for things like cranial nerves, plexi and vessels. I would take photocopies of plates to class with me and take notes on the plates.
Last: Every week, our tank group would have a session with one of our instructors. We would ask this person to be brutal with us and pimp us to the max. In the end, we all honored Gross because we helped each other. It was hard to adjust at first but in the end, everything worked out and studying/dissection/cleaning up became easier.
Anatomy takes some cooperative work and some solo work. Be very proactive about what you need. Dissection is best done in groups of two; one to dissect and one to point out things. Take turns and do not allow anyone to dominate this process. I was fortunate to have a great group of tank mates but others were intimidated by the whole process. Since one day, I knew that I would have to send my patients to one of my classmates, I made sure that everyone participated.
I hope this helps. My last bit of advice: Do not get behind. If you find that you are behind, catch up on the weekend and immediately go to where the rest of the class is studying now. Even if you miss a week, don't try to catch up at this point, do it on the weekend and in the evenings.
njbmd 🙂