Had first anatomy exam recently- need advice for practical

[AspiringOne]

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I recently took my anatomy practical exam, and I am disappointed with my performance. I passed, but I was only a few points above failing, so I don't think it really means much because the weight it will have on my final grade will be similar. I think my written exam grade will be better, because I felt much more confident during that one.

Still, I'm curious to hear what people have to say about studying for the practical. I think my studying was oriented too much toward the written exam (i used netter's, greys for students, flashcards) but I think that was just because I didn't know how to study for the practical. I came into lab a few times outside of the normal class time, but I didn't know how to use that time effectively...I basically just wandered around and took a look at what other people were looking at. I hear the whole "quizzing each other" thing is good, but how do you know that your classmates will be giving you the correct information (i.e. they could simply be mistaken about something- after all, we are all learning this for the first time).

I've also heard that it would be a good idea to start looking at Rohen's to study for the practical.

 

[deleted263296]

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[username456789]

Don't underestimate how helpful some of the professors can (hopefully) be in the lab. There were some that weren't great in mine, but some who were outstanding, and would be able to teach you simple ways to remember structures within an entire region. Rather than just confirming that yes, indeed, I had just discovered X artery or Y nerve, there were a couple that would give me great tips on how to orient myself within the entire area of the body to know what should be where in relation to other things.

And in the end, relative positioning of various structures is pretty important.

 

[engineeredout]

Go to the lab with people and quiz each other, not just on identification but also on innervation and org/ins too. That and self-quizzing with a rohens.

 

[ztaw15]

We haven't had our first exams yet, but all the second year students have really been stressing relationships when studying anatomy. Knowing what a nerve innervates, where the muscles originate/insert, what nerves and arteries run together, where things run between and through and stuff. It really does seem to make identification easier, because you can look at a nerve and say 'I think it is this, so I'll check and see if it runs along with this artery, and if it stems from this place'. I am only in lab once a week outside of class for tutoring, and I feel like I get a lot of the identifications right.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I found it helpful to read through the dissector repeatedly and actually touch the structures I was studying. After that, I'd run through everything in a unit and name all the structures. I'd usually been through the dissector enough that I'd remember the little details, and if you know most of the structures, you can determine a lot of the relationships yourself.

Rohen's is an unparalleled resource for practical studying, so definitely get that. It'll prevent you from having to go into lab all the time, and the dissections are absolutely immaculate. I preferred learning in the lab, but Rohen's is fantastic for a quick run-through of the material that doesn't require you to go back to school. Rohen's really shines when you're looking for a structure that's hard to find and/or dissect.

 

[username456789]

I found it helpful to read through the dissector repeatedly and actually touch the structures I was studying. After that, I'd run through everything in a unit and name all the structures. I'd usually been through the dissector enough that I'd remember the little details, and if you know most of the structures, you can determine a lot of the relationships yourself.

Rohen's is an unparalleled resource for practical studying, so definitely get that. It'll prevent you from having to go into lab all the time, and the dissections are absolutely immaculate. I preferred learning in the lab, but Rohen's is fantastic for a quick run-through of the material that doesn't require you to go back to school. Rohen's really shines when you're looking for a structure that's hard to find and/or dissect.

I agree about Rohen's. Some on here will disagree, but I found it very helpful at times, and it kept me from having to drag myself into the lab on weekends before a practical. Sure, the dissections are immaculate, while none of the student dissections are. But for practicals, professors generally pick structures that are fairly clear. In fact, ours go into the lab the night before and often do some of their own dissecting on the bodies (and/or just clearing away extra tissue) to make sure the structures are pretty apparent. So what you see in Rohen's looks "perfect", sure, but chances are on your practical it won't look terribly different.

Having a Netter and Rohen side by side while you're studying for a practical is helpful - or at least was to me. You can see where the things SHOULD be according to Netter, then see where they actually are and how they look on someone who isn't a professional bodybuilder.

And, I found Rohen particularly helpful for the head/neck stuff, since our school really rushed that dissection and most of us just ended up having to hack through important nerves/vessels to get to other things.

 

[Bacchus]

I find Grant's dissector helpful and his atlas. I don't like Netter's lack of depth whereas Grant's succinctly explains each section.

 

[Celestine]

Yeah, I agree with using Rohen's to supplement going into lab. I am never awake at the same times as a lot of my friends, so I find it hard to go into lab with people who can actually help me understand what's going on. I like Netter's but our lab table has a Grant's Atlas for lab, so I guess I end up seeing a lot of both, lol.

If you want to do better on the practical, I think you should go in with another student or small group of students who actually seem to know what they're doing. If you just observe what they're pointing out as they go over the structures in different cadavers, you can actually pick up alot. Then, when you go back at another time, you'll have an idea of what to look for.

And yeah, certain professors can be invaluable with their explanations of things, so definitely utilize them when you can. Sorry I can't be much more help, I'm currently studying for my second round of anatomy tests, both written and practical. Bleh. 🙄