Bombed my anatomy practical, now what?

[fertidols]

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I bombed my anatomy practical despite the fact that it was really easy. Without the whining part included, what do you think I should do to do well in my final practical?

Also what do you think is the best way to study/review for an anatomy final with all the material being included?

 

[njbmd]

I bombed my anatomy practical despite the fact that it was really easy. Without the whining part included, what do you think I should do to do well in my final practical?

Also what do you think is the best way to study/review for an anatomy final with all the material being included?

Here are some things that worked well for me in Gross Anatomy:


Just about every tagged structure had something that serves as a locater. Spend some time getting to know, not just structures, but some of the nearby landmarks.

Find a strong study group and quiz each other on a regular basis. The more your do this, the better you become at identifying structures.

With the owner's permission, look at every body in the lab. Just systematically make a list of structures and make sure that you can find them on every body. Be respectful of the works of other students.

See if you can get a group of four or five students (more is too cumbersome) and have one of the lab instructors spend 20 minutes quizzing you on areas of anatomy.

I never went into the anatomy lab unprepared. This means that I made a list of structures from the dissection manual that I expected to find. I listed them from superficial to deep and checked them off as I located them. I also used the Netter atlas to figure out nearby landmarks. I would photocopy plates and color in structures as I located them with colored pencils.

Make a schedule but plan to spend at least 6 hours outside of your regular lab time, studying and honing your structure location techniques. Get help from one of the instructors if you don't have a systematic approach.


Finally, believe that you can get through this class. Figure out where you made your mistakes and correct any procedural problems long before the next lab practical.

In summary: If you get 1 minute per structure, spend the first 15 seconds getting your bearings, the next 15 seconds identifying the structure and the last 25 seconds confirming your choice. It should take about 5 seconds to write the structure.

If you can't ID the structure, then write something down (narrowed choices) and go back when you get to something that you could ID faster. Don't skip ahead and don't panic if you miss one thing. Chances are, you will correctly ID the next few items and then you can go back if you have written yourself a little note. Good luck and get some help!

 

[novastorm]

I'll really be honest. Unless the tag is really really obscure if you don't know what your looking at in about 10 seconds, you need to study more. Rohen's is also helpful since you can take it everywhere with you. Also make sure to look at different cadavers.

 

[dJBmd]

the key is repetition...i'm a first year student and i tend to go in the lab with different groups of people every time. it works because every person knows something different, has a different trick or perspective on identifying structures

when you're taking the exam, see if you can tell wat it is (nerve, artery/vein, or muscle/organ). our school tends not to tag veins, so i think about them last.

after you've identified the general structure, look at where its coming from, where it going, and a couple of things that are around it. its like driving...if you're lost, think about where you came from, where you're going, and try to see if your recognize any buildings!

good lucK!👍

 

[GZA]

the key is repetition...i'm a first year student and i tend to go in the lab with different groups of people every time. it works because every person knows something different, has a different trick or perspective on identifying structures

when you're taking the exam, see if you can tell wat it is (nerve, artery/vein, or muscle/organ). our school tends not to tag veins, so i think about them last.

after you've identified the general structure, look at where its coming from, where it going, and a couple of things that are around it. its like driving...if you're lost, think about where you came from, where you're going, and try to see if your recognize any buildings!

good lucK!👍

Agreed. Speaking with a variety classmates can be highly beneficial for those exact reasons.

 

[majik1213]

i spent about 1-2 hours *per day* (excluding only sunday) in the lab going over what we were going to cross teach or what we had been cross-taught. Try that.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Look at ****. Learn it.

I can read about anatomy, or look at it in Netter's all week long and not know anything. A couple hours in the lab, with a good group, going from body to body, and I know everything I need to pass the practical. I typically made A's and B's on our practicals.

Rarely would I ever miss an artery or nerve. Muscles tended to throw me off a little bit, I think because I did a poor job of orienting myself. Especially once we got to lower-limb, and the cadavers were in shambles.

 

[Monica Lewinsky]

You basically need to have an image in your head of where everything is in relation to everything else. Until you can reconstruct the body in your head, you won't be able to do well on practicals. Also, be very careful about distinguishing an artery from a nerve. If you can tell the difference, both by appearance and origination, then you will lose less points.

 

[RySerr21]

ive been wondering this for a while and I know I will learn it eventually, but I'll ask it anyway.

How do you tell the difference between a vein/artery/nerve on a cadaver? Is it the way it looks? Do you feel it? Theres gotta be something, becuse i know cadaver blood vessel and nerves arent nicely colored in red, blue, and yellow....haha. I imagine it would be difficult at first but eventually you get the hang of it, so I was wondering what your guyzs techniques were!

 

[Mayfly]

For most of the main/named vessels and nerves you can identify them by nearby structures or what spaces/muscles they pass through. However, not all bodies are the same and different bodies often will have very distinct differences in where nerves are or how arteries and veins branch.

In general, arteries tend to be hard (congealed blood still inside them) and their walls have thicker musculature. Veins are thinner and more flat, while nerves are more solid structures that can be difficult to accidentally cut through and have a shiny appearance to them. Identifying stuff definitely becomes easier the more you dissect!

 

[RySerr21]

For most of the main/named vessels and nerves you can identify them by nearby structures or what spaces/muscles they pass through. However, not all bodies are the same and different bodies often will have very distinct differences in where nerves are or how arteries and veins branch.

In general, arteries tend to be hard (congealed blood still inside them) and their walls have thicker musculature. Veins are thinner and more flat, while nerves are more solid structures that can be difficult to accidentally cut through and have a shiny appearance to them. Identifying stuff definitely becomes easier the more you dissect!

cool! that satisfies my curiosity for now 😀

 

[Jolie South]

My approach to lab is to read the book and look at flashcards the night before lab, so that I'll know what I'm looking for when dissecting. This is more just to know what structures exist and not necessarily to learn everything.

In lab, I look at the relationships. Afterwards, I tend to review the lecture and go through flashcards with the intent of memorizing.

Then, I go to the lab on the weekends with a friend to solidify what I've memorized. There's always a group that comes in after me, so I try to teach them what I know. That further reinforces my knowledge.

I do agree that it's good to go to lab with other people. Everyone's got different tricks and mnemonics for identifying structures.

 

[fireflygirl]

My approach to lab is to read the book and look at flashcards the night before lab, so that I'll know what I'm looking for when dissecting. This is more just to know what structures exist and not necessarily to learn everything.

In lab, I look at the relationships. Afterwards, I tend to review the lecture and go through flashcards with the intent of memorizing.

Then, I go to the lab on the weekends with a friend to solidify what I've memorized. There's always a group that comes in after me, so I try to teach them what I know. That further reinforces my knowledge.

I do agree that it's good to go to lab with other people. Everyone's got different tricks and mnemonics for identifying structures.

I agree with Jolie's approach - this is something that I did as well. In addition, I used resources like Acland's videos and Net Anatomy (which your school may or may not give you access to) to help me outside of lab so that I could look at what the muscles, nerves, arteries...etc looked at in a real human body. It helped me with identification once I got into the lab.

Also not sure if your profs would do this, but our profs will willing to meet with groups after class and go over things. It might be in the OPs interest to meet with the professor(s) to see where he/she is going wrong and how they can improve on any weaknesses. I think practicals can be very high yield if you approach it the right way, so get all the advice and help you can get now.