Embryology

[alphaholic06]

How in the hell are we suppose to make sense of this crap? Seriously guys any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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[drbatanay]

you are right

 

[BillyWitchDoctr]

I can't say I really ever understood embryology...good luck.

 

[Repeat]

Word!

It's impossible. And boring. And useless.

 

[tch001]

How in the hell are we suppose to make sense of this crap? Seriously guys any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I felt the same way at first! I found it really helpful to chart out exactly what cell layers turned into what other cell layers and eventual structures in a massive flow chart. On the top of the chart I put week of development and on the bottom I drew a picture of what the embryo looked like. Then I just stared at the chart until I could draw it from memory. That being said, I'm really really glad that unit is over! Good

 

[chanjurban]

I felt the same way at first! I found it really helpful to chart out exactly what cell layers turned into what other cell layers and eventual structures in a massive flow chart. On the top of the chart I put week of development and on the bottom I drew a picture of what the embryo looked like. Then I just stared at the chart until I could draw it from memory. That being said, I'm really really glad that unit is over! Good

Try finding a CD program or online program that animates the process. It really helps.

 

[jnuts]

Advice from a dev. bio major.

Cardinal rule: don't look at any slides until you can animate the whole proccess in your head!

Divide it into manageable chunks:
Time period<organ system<organ

Don't even think about chemistry until you have morphology cold.

Remember its poetry not pros; a.k.a. stocastic evolution not form and function (e.g. the mesonephros looks a lot like the reproductive/nephric system of the frog, and the twisting of the four chambered heart goes from fish up the ladder)

Good luck!

 

[ibavraham]

it kinda goes with this thread so i will ask it for those that took the step 1 recently-

what book have you guys found works best with embryology for the usmle? i know for the class, it is more important to know minutia and low yield stuff but what high yield? BRS? HY?

 

[Ashers]

One of my friends sent this out M1 year: http://www.indiana.edu/~anat550/cvanim/

I used HY embryology for boards... I thought it was overkill at the time, but considering devo wasn't one of my top scoring areas, maybe it wasn't.

 

[booswim542]

I have the BRS book and it's been helpful at least for the 1st 3 weeks of class. I like that it breaks things down, but I have just been using it to supplement lectures.

The only thing that would be nice is if it were in color to show the different layers of cells.

Alphaholic - if you want I can send you our lectures for a different point of view. Maybe they're organized differently. PM me

 

[ibavraham]

Ashers,

Was HY good enough? FA 2007 lists all these books in the back and I was wondering how well the grades they give are.

 

[-Goose-]

Try finding a CD program or online program that animates the process. It really helps.

I agree with this.

We did embyro during anatomy and I definitely just waited until the very end (like 3 hours before the test) and crammed the **** out of it. I did really well, but I don't remember anything. at all.

 

[LadyWolverine]

How I got through embryo (and I'm glad I did it this way - embryo was one of my strong suits):
Day 1: Langman's - watch the entire silly CD. I like the cool groovy music.
Day 2. Buy a dry erase board with the 24-pack of markers from Costco and draw, draw, draw from your lecture notes/powerpoint. Start with sperm/egg and then label everything as you go along BY DAY, from fertilization up to 2 weeks - use arrows to indicate what turns into what, etc. Make sure you label little details like ZP3, pronuclei, blastula/morula, Heuser's Membrane, etc. Spend 1 whole afternoon doing it. That's all it takes.
Day 3. Start with gastrulation. Also, MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHICH CAVITIES ARE WHICH. Start from Epi/Hypoblast and then draw out how things migrate and englarge. Once again, go BY DAY and draw out each step (Migration of cells through the primitive node/streak, formation of the notochord, neural plate, etc.). This 1 week (week 3) will probably take you a while.
Day 4. Next, do neurulation and somite formation. DRAW IT OUT AND LABEL EVERYTHING. Make sure you understand what the different parts of the somites become, and what molecular factors are invovled.
Day 5. Heart embryo. This will take FOREVER for you to understand. DRAW IT OUT AND LABEL EVERYTHING. I found this to become much more clear the second time around (i.e. coming from a different source). Thus, if you are overwhelmed by the lecture, read the book instead. If you don't understand the notes/powerpoint, try another resource. The more videos you can watch on heart embryo, the better.

And so on...hopefully, by that point, you'll be a pro. I didn't study as hard for UG/GI, eye/ear, limbs, and lung embryo as I did everything else. By that point, I stopped drawing it out and instead just looked at the slides. I got tired like everyone else. I also didn't have as firm a grasp on these subjects at the end of the block. Hmm.

Take the self-tests on this website: http://cna.uc.edu/embryology/contents.htm. Go back and review what you didn't understand/didn't do well on.

Good luck, and remember, the key to really understanding the first 4 weeks is DRAWING and LABELING.

PS Embryo is crammable for some people. Not for me.

 

[njbmd]

I used Moore's The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. The illustrations were excellent and the summaries at the end of the chapter were golden. Much better than Langman's and easier to understand and digest because the illustrations and clinical scenarios are great.

 

[Blade28]

I used Langman's - worthless! I hated Embryo but unfortunately am finding it very important in the understanding of all these congenital diseases now.

 

[SPARTANN83]

hmm embryology is the most fascinating subject.trust me!google dr.gerold schizadlo embryology .go to medicine links .u ll find the best lecture.even thou its lenghty if u really have a heart to tdo u lll find it useful

 

[SPARTANN83]

sorry tat wont work here is the link http://faculty.css.edu./gcizadlo/

 

[SPARTANN83]

sorry seems that too doesnt work.here is the final.google dr.gerald cizadlo embryology.go to medicine links

 

[SomeDoc]

How in the hell are we suppose to make sense of this crap? Seriously guys any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Try to visualize or memorize the flow of events (most important). What will follow is to make note of clinical significances, and the stages of development they are related to (easy to do if you've memorized the flow of events).

It will also take time to do this. Like an above poster already mentioned, cramming the material the night before will not help with long-term retention/understanding.

 

[SomeDoc]

Word!

It's impossible. And boring. And useless.

Hydatidiform moles, placenta previas/abruptiaes, congenital scoliosis, and much more... all are clinically relevant.

 

[gridiron]

You can try this website:

http://imc.meded.com

It is a clinical human embryology website with 3-D pictures

 

[sweet2th]

We use Simbryo animation site here which is helpful. I also draw out whats going on in each phase and color code the layers....i.e. epiblast is always blue, hypoblast is always red...continue with your drawings using the same colors. this really helps me. i memorize what layer becomes what (first), then I practice drawing it out...

 

[Bolo]

Yep..rote memorization sucks.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

3 things that helped me get through Embryology...

1) The Developing human text

2) Website: embryology.ch (just be sure to change it to English)

3) The program "symbryo."

 

[NCF145]

I used Moore's The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. The illustrations were excellent and the summaries at the end of the chapter were golden. Much better than Langman's and easier to understand and digest because the illustrations and clinical scenarios are great.

Moore came to speak to us during our first day of class for embryo (it was also our first day of med school). Apparently he is a big deal in the embryo and anatomy world. There was a ton of faculty that showed up to watch his lecture, but all of us students were like who is this guy and why should we care?

I'm not that fond of devo. I find it interesting but very hard to wrap my mind around the four dimensional structure of an embryo when it is portrayed as a two dimensional picture.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Moore came to speak to us during our first day of class for embryo (it was also our first day of med school). Apparently he is a big deal in the embryo and anatomy world.

Wow, he is a god amongst men. (Along with Robbins, if he were still alive!). Have you read Moore's anatomy textbook? It's amazingly well written! This guy is an educational genius. Was this in Canada, where he is an emeritus prof at one of those Canadian schools?

 

[Yehosh]

by far the most boring subject for me thus far, but these tips should come in handy

btw, I second anon-y-mouse on Moore's clinical anatomy

I have no clue how famous Moore is, but personally I think it's a great book for people who have never taken anatomy before (like me)

anon-y-mouse, Moore and Agur (the co-author with Moore for that book) are from U of Toronto, so is Grant (Grant's Atlas)

 

[NCF145]

Wow, he is a god amongst men. (Along with Robbins, if he were still alive!). Have you read Moore's anatomy textbook? It's amazingly well written! This guy is an educational genius. Was this in Canada, where he is an emeritus prof at one of those Canadian schools?

Nope, in Houston. We use his book for anatomy and embryo.