How to learn Anatomy on your own?

[stmclovin]

I am very anxious about Gross anatomy next year since I have not had an Anatomy class for the last 7 years. I was to spend remaining time to review some of the material to make my transition a little bit easier. Any suggestions on learning at least some of the anatomy before school starts? I thought I about getting Netter's atlas and flashcards. What else should I get?

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[TexasTriathlete]

Since you haven't had it before, I'm not sure most of it would mean much to you.

If I was starting from absolute scratch, I'd probably want to learn what some words mean. Maybe some bony landmarks or something like that. Maybe flash cards. I just don't think you can really get your brain around it unless you've got a cadaver or a muscle model or a skeleton in front of you though.

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[Old_Mil]

I am very anxious about Gross anatomy next year since I have not had an Anatomy class for the last 7 years. I was to spend remaining time to review some of the material to make my transition a little bit easier. Any suggestions on learning at least some of the anatomy before school starts? I thought I about getting Netter's atlas and flashcards. What else should I get?

Is your friend.

Is also your friend.

In general, you'll find that British medical textbooks are far superior to those published in America. They tend to avoid the verbal vomit that passes for writing in our tomes.

Elsevier, by the way, is an outstanding publisher. Somehow they seem to do an excellent job of quality control on the stuff that carries their name and it ends up being of higher quality than much of the competition.

 

[group_theory]

I definately would not recommend spending your free time studying anatomy

1. It is disorganized - you don't know yet what or where to study. Medical school anatomy is organized by regions, not systems. And at this point, you don't know what you need to know or don't need to know.

2. What you do study during your summer will be covered in one day (plus more). So you wasted a full summer to cover one or two days worth of class.


What would be helpful - learn basic anatomy terms and position. Dorsal versus Ventral, Caudal versus Cephalad, sagital plane/coronal plane, distal versus proximal, supination vs pronation, etc.

Learning minute details such as what passes through the foramen lacerum will be soon forgotten come start of the school year. Go have fun, make some money, make some memories, destroy a few liver cells, and spend time with family and friends.

 

[WoahMedicine]

Best way to self study anatomy....
feel yourself.

 

[KateGia]

I am very anxious about Gross anatomy next year since I have not had an Anatomy class for the last 7 years. I was to spend remaining time to review some of the material to make my transition a little bit easier. Any suggestions on learning at least some of the anatomy before school starts? I thought I about getting Netter's atlas and flashcards. What else should I get?

Seriously, don't bother. It's really not worth it. You will learn it when the time comes. Definitely do not buy a netter's seeing as most schools have some kind of club that gives you one for free (and it isn't that great anyway). Rohen's Color Atlas is pretty good for when the time comes. You will notice if you read previous similar threads that everyone tells you DO NOT STUDY BEFORE MEDICAL SCHOOL!!! Everyone says that for a reason. You are not different. When you get halfway through first year and realize what you studied was useless you will wish you had spent your time getting drunk or going to the beach, or making money somewhere.

 

[Eudjinn]

I remember that Netter's atlast is the one with the drawings of anatomy. Which is the "better" atlas that has actual cadaver pictures? Is that Rohen's?

 

[ATrain]

Better is subjective, but yes, Rohen's has cadaver photos

 

[jonb12997]

I loved Rohen for the numbers. ONCE I WAS IN THE CLASS AND NOT BEFORE, I'd take the book, cover of the answers and with a blank paper go through and name as many things from memory as I could... that's what helped me anyway.

 

[KateGia]

I remember that Netter's atlast is the one with the drawings of anatomy. Which is the "better" atlas that has actual cadaver pictures? Is that Rohen's?

I'm just gonna answer your q's on every thread...

Netter's is good for looking at where things SHOULD be. Since they are drawings, they're drawn ideally.

Rohen's is good for looking at a more realistic version, because it's actual cadavers, but they are professionally dissected and selected for the book, so they are also close to ideal. I liked it as my 2nd look, because it showed me what to look for in the body. It was also what I used to cram between my written and practical on exam days.

I may sound like a super nerd for saying this, but nothing beats going into the lab with your dissector, and finding things on as many bodies as you can. On the exams that I did this I scored significantly higher. Pick a time when there aren't a lot of people in the lab (my fiance used to go when we were done studying written material for the night). That way you have your freedom to look at whatever you want, and you don't have to worry about 15 people going "what are you looking at, what is that, no you're wrong, this is this....etc"

 

[SAvoodoo]

i'm learning it by dissecting a cadaver...it's awesome

/dead serious

 

[CDO2012]

You can try getting an anatomy coloring book, I see them everywhere. You can color and memorize at the same time haha

 

[Alteran]

I liked the "mini-moore" with Rohen's Color Atlas of Anatomy because it has actual photographs of prosected material (but its much too nice a book to take down to the gross lab, use a Netter's for that).

As far as how to study it I really can't advise you on that. The little anatomy instruction we had was terrible and the faculty intentionally left us to our own devices most of the time, so we each developed our own way to study. I will say though that you will have to figure out how you study best pretty quickly in medical school because there really is no time to be "experimenting" with learning modalities.

 

[gdk]

i think there is some good advice here. i tried to study before med school started and i ended up spending days on things covered in hours and i didn't remember it when we got around to what i had read over.

if you just can't take it and absolutely have to study, find out what your school covers first and start there, only for a few days. that will give you a head start for the first week and you'll maybe feel less stress. at mcg, we started in the back and spinal cord so erector spinae muscles, rhomboids, thoracic vertebral bodies, etc would be where we started.

muscle names, insertions and origins, actions, innervations and blood supply is a good start. that stuff you have to memorize anyway... seeing it in the lab will help, but you can get a start. again, only stuff for the first 1-2 dissecitons. past that and you'll spend too much time studying things that end up not being important or you forget later.


past that, you'll have to play by ear to see how your school organizes and you'll do better to follow their plan.

 

[futuredo32]

Acklands anatomy DVD series would be a decent way to get a lot of the basics down pretty good before you start med school.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Utilize multimedia whenever possible. Much better than any book.

 

[KeepJumping]

This comes up every year. New MS-1s want a head start. This makes sense, but honestly, covering anatomy in the summer will not be worth it. Instead, prepare for medical school in other ways. Some ideas include:

1. Buy all your supplies (paper, computer, printer, many binders, books, etc) and create a study space. You might need to buy some bookcases, a comfortable chair and/or a desk. You will spend a lot of time there, so make it comfortable and efficient. You will not have time for this for another year.

2. Read up on study techniques and find out what works best for you. Studying for med school will not be like undergrad. Your techniques will change over the MS-1 year, but it will be good to research new techniques and learning strategies. Again, you will not have time for this during your first year, so it might be a good idea to get a foundation of various study strategies. Resources include books, web sites, tests and your undergrad campus learning center.

3. If you'er not engaged in regular exercise or a healthy diet, begin those habits now, so they will flow through the school year. Many students drop those healthy habits because they are 'too busy studying.' Unfortunately, many students gain weight. If you don't know how to cook, learn to make quick, balanced meals.

4. Save some money and ask for Amazon gift certificates if anyone want to buy you a gift. Books are expensive, especially when preparing for boards!

5. Enjoy life now, and build up some energy. Do things you've always wanted to do. You are about to embark into a wonderful 7+ year marathon with one significant break (summer between 1st and 2nd year).

There are many other things to do besides studying for anatomy, in order to best prepare for your first year!

 

[toothless rufus]

Things I found useful were:

-Netters Atlas (good for the ideal)
-Netters Flashcards (good for impromptu quizzing)
-Rohen Atlas (good for reality)
-Grant's Dissector (good info and instruction)
-Ackland Videos: watched these intensely ONLY on the night before head and neck practical with hardly any other studying (or dissection,oops!) and scored my highest grade. Wished I would have found them sooner!

But yeah, DON'T waste ANY time doing anything else other than having as much FUN as you can before the NIGHTMARE that is medical school begins! Because it won't end for possibly NINE MORE YEARS!!!

 

[v-lander]

This comes up every year. New MS-1s want a head start. This makes sense, but honestly, covering anatomy in the summer will not be worth it. Instead, prepare for medical school in other ways. Some ideas include:

1. Buy all your supplies (paper, computer, printer, many binders, books, etc) and create a study space. You might need to buy some bookcases, a comfortable chair and/or a desk. You will spend a lot of time there, so make it comfortable and efficient. You will not have time for this for another year.

2. Read up on study techniques and find out what works best for you. Studying for med school will not be like undergrad. Your techniques will change over the MS-1 year, but it will be good to research new techniques and learning strategies. Again, you will not have time for this during your first year, so it might be a good idea to get a foundation of various study strategies. Resources include books, web sites, tests and your undergrad campus learning center.

3. If you'er not engaged in regular exercise or a healthy diet, begin those habits now, so they will flow through the school year. Many students drop those healthy habits because they are 'too busy studying.' Unfortunately, many students gain weight. If you don't know how to cook, learn to make quick, balanced meals.

4. Save some money and ask for Amazon gift certificates if anyone want to buy you a gift. Books are expensive, especially when preparing for boards!

5. Enjoy life now, and build up some energy. Do things you've always wanted to do. You are about to embark into a wonderful 7+ year marathon with one significant break (summer between 1st and 2nd year).

There are many other things to do besides studying for anatomy, in order to best prepare for your first year!

Probably the best advice ever given on SDN for what to do just before 1st year starts . Study habits and study environment are HUGE!

Anatomy-wise, the best thing to do is learn the directional terminology as mentioned above. The things that always seem to trip me up when encountering new information in any subject are the "background" info that are implied I should already know. In anatomy, that would be terminology related to normal anatomical position.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

When I have some down-time at work, I've been thumbing through my Netter's flash cards a little, and this **** is coming back to me quickly, and I'm picking up other stuff easily.

I have a pretty solid undergrad background in anatomy, particularly the musculoskeletal stuff. As a personal trainer, I keep up with a decent amount of it anyway too. I already know all the directional stuff. I think what's going to be challenging for me is all the innervation and blood supply stuff. We only gave that a quick once-over in undergrad, and we touched on a few nerves that athletes regularly injure, as part of the kinesiology stuff.

All I've ever done for anatomy is diagrams, bone boxes, and muscle models. Never a cadaver. So my knowledge of anatomy is not particularly realistic. I think I'm going to go over stuff on the flash cards, and refer to Rohen's simultaneously.

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[Amy B]

Do not study before med school. It is a waste!! Just enjoy your freedom and spend time doing things that you wont have time to do in med school. Seriously it's not worth it. Just enjoy your time off!!!

 

[HCE]

you might want to get used to bad smells.....stick your head in your hamper for an hour a day; wait until your hamburger goes bad, stick some in your nostrils and go for a jog...things like this.

 

[IgE]

I am very anxious about Gross anatomy next year since I have not had an Anatomy class for the last 7 years. I was to spend remaining time to review some of the material to make my transition a little bit easier. Any suggestions on learning at least some of the anatomy before school starts? I thought I about getting Netter's atlas and flashcards. What else should I get?

I don't think that's a bad idea at all. Netter cards are great. I would take a systematic approach (first learn muscles, then vascular supply and innervations). Those three things would give you a great head start. You could fill in the lymph drainage and specific systems and clinical correlation details later on. That's the way I learn anyway. Good luck!

 

[chopstick1]

anatomy recall is a great Q+A one liner book