Best way to learn anatomy *well*

[premed1234567891011]

I've been passing anatomy this year, but mainly through cramming and I forget it all very quickly after the exam. Does anyone have Anki deck recommendations for learning anatomy/study techniques they like to use?

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[theonlytycrane]

anki repeat high-yield topics and associations between structures

write out origin/insertion minutia over&over&over

do questions on Umich / BRS anatomy

look at Netter's / Rohen's / complete anatomy app

find some smarties to go to lab with and quiz eachother (PLEASE quiz your lab mates on high-yield testable stuff that you should all know. Do NOT be that person that quizzes people on random factoids that no one will know except yourself.)

 

[deleted407021]

I don’t like Netter’s because the pictures are a bit too cartoonish for my tastes. I really like the Gilroy atlas as the pictures are very high quality and detailed. I’d supplement that with UMich questions and their little walkthroughs.

I didn’t use Anki.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Pick one or two sources. Then repetition, repetition, repetition

 

[Save a life]

I agree with what’s been said. For the practical go to lab and quiz each other and use resources that test you on cadaveric pictures - my school has NetAnatomy.

For the written do practice questions. BRS, UMich, Netters student consult, whatever you have. Review your lectures.

 

[bananafish94]

Learning for written exams or practicals? For the written exams, I liked to make Anki occlusion decks of the lectures and do as many practice problems as possible. There are a lot of good resources out there (Gray's, UMich, SUNY Downstate) for practice questions. For the practical, you just need to spend as much time with the cadavers as possible. I liked to make study groups where we try to go through everything on the practical list on the cadavers.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Key #1 to learning anatomy well, don’t cram like you’ve been doing. Key to learning anything well, don’t cram.

 

[IMG69]

Learn anatomy through images - A picture says 1000 words.

 

[arcus]

The plastic surgeon professor from the UK but taught in Kentucky...whats his name? Brilliant videos, impeccable lectures, kinda scary and intriguing at the same time how he would fold back tissue x and talk about it like it had been his best friend....his name will come to me eventually. He passed away recently

Any who, some of my classmates and I got together with Netters and we took pens, markers and highlighters to our texts, and we marveled how much the Professor from KY knew. Elegant, classy, incredibly well spoken and a true delight to view

 

[naijacardriodoc]

The plastic surgeon professor from the UK but taught in Kentucky...whats his name? Brilliant videos, impeccable lectures, kinda scary and intriguing at the same time how he would fold back tissue x and talk about it like it had been his best friend....his name will come to me eventually. He passed away recently

Any who, some of my classmates and I got together with Netters and we took pens, markers and highlighters to our texts, and we marveled how much the Professor from KY knew. Elegant, classy, incredibly well spoken and a true delight to view

Are these the Acland lectures?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[arcus]

Are these the Acland lectures?


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Yes!!!! Thank you!!

Darn it. Its been a while and I totally forgot his name.

 

[Menander's Bust]

Netanatomy see if your library has it

 

[mcworbust]

I always did average/slightly above avg on the written, so idk any good advice there but what ppl have said above sounds good...

However, for practical exams I always got 96-100% doing the following:
-take charge of your dissection, and as others have mentioned spend your time with your group in lab asking and answering questions while dissecting. Take more time discussing the anatomy vs. the party last weekend...
-go around the lab and look at the structures on all the other cadavers, ask other groups do they have a really good ___ (insert structure here) because if they think it is good, it might be used on the practical, and if your anatomy prof told them it was "good" then it might be tagged.
- night before the practical go thru structures with a small group on ALL the cadavers. I would do this from about 5pm-1am, then sleep 6 hrs, and it paid off every time.
- go thru any an all gross anatomy pictures of the structures a few days before as well as right before the exam.

I was able to remember anatomy well for boards and for rotations (esp. surgery) because I knew it well practically first, but this may only work if you're a kinesthetic learner. For whatever reason because I learned it hands on first, I didn't need to review it over an over like every other subject to retain it, but again depends on how you learn.

 

[Goro]

I've been passing anatomy this year, but mainly through cramming and I forget it all very quickly after the exam. Does anyone have Anki deck recommendations for learning anatomy/study techniques they like to use?

Several SDNers (and my own students) recommend this:
TeachMeAnatomy

 

[Shirafune]

I've been passing anatomy this year, but mainly through cramming and I forget it all very quickly after the exam. Does anyone have Anki deck recommendations for learning anatomy/study techniques they like to use?

I started anatomy using Anki and did well, but not great. I dropped it in the second half, and my grades went up quite a bit. I would say don't fixate on one resource if it doesn't work, even if it works for a lot of other people.

Strategies that specifically helped me and may help you:

1. Does your school have a cloud service with many study resources on it? For example, previous classes at my school have created high-yield pinning lists based on how many times a specific structure has been pinned by faculty. Review these structures on multiple bodies and look for textbook examples while reviewing multiple bodies.

2. I personally cannot learn with Rohen's. I like Netter's idealized images because it teaches me the basic relationships. I can grapple with natural variation while reviewing in the anatomy lab.

Identification strategies:
1. What view are you looking from? Orient yourself first.
2. What are possible structures in this area? For myself, most questions missed on pinnings were because the structure's name didn't come to mind when looking at a particular area, even though I could show you it when asked to identify it. Review all terms frequently, so they are at least in your mind subconsciously.
3. Identify the tissue type. Is it a nerve, artery, lymphatic, muscle, duct, etc?
4. Identify landmarks. Where does this structure originate from? Where does this structure terminate? Where is it headed toward? Does it give off branches? Where do they go? What other structures does it run with? Can I identify those?
5. Put everything together: lateral view of the head; infratemporal fossa -> possibly branches of maxillary a., branches of V3, pterygoids, etc. -> looks like it originates from maxillary a. (confirm that it's the maxillary a. by looking for superficial temporal a.)-> originates kind of late, running superiorly and into a muscle that I identify as temporalis m. -> probably deep temporal a.

In short, orient yourself, get your brain rolling by thinking about what structures could be in the area, identify the tissue type, and use landmarks to support your identification.

 

[ChrisMack390]

In my opinion, you need 3 things to pass anatomy:

1) Your preferred method of memorizing facts. I like Anki, but others like drawing, charts, etc. What is going to drill "x muscle is innervated by y nerve" into your brain.

2) TIME IN LAB. Run through all of the important structures and do it on multiple different cadavers. Work with friends - teach and quiz each other. If a particular structure is giving you trouble, find it on every cadaver in the room.

3) Practice questions. I liked Grey's and Anatomyguy. I've heard good things about UMich and BRS as well. Just pick one or two.

I believe if you dedicate some time to each of these each day you can pass anatomy.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

For MSK anatomy, start lifting if you haven't already.