How to study for Gross Anatomy?

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coralfangs said:
I just opened up my copy of Netter and I am freaking out.....
any tips?
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Do you have course/lecture notes as well? Focus only on recognizing the structures listed in your notes from class otherwise you're going to be overwhelmed by the detail in Netters. I'd try to spend some time in the lab and learn there because it seems to work a lot better when you're looking at a 3D object than a 2D drawing (especially when you're being tested on the cadavers - I assume at least). Look up neumonics for things too... These can be found all over the web if you just do a quick google search. Anatomy isn't as bad as you think. Good luck 😀
 
Take a deep breath and realize that anatomy is learning by immersion, like a new language. You're going to be exposed to this stuff via so many different channels you'll start to speak it as a first language (reading the text, answering review questions, talking about what you've found/not found with your tank mates, looking at netter, lectures). I thought the Netter CD was pretty useful, and a couple of review books.

Anka
 
penguinophile said:
Netter's flashcards...or, if you have $$ and an iphone you can get the iphone version
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Netter's flashcards are the ****. Quiz yourself with them every night just before bed and you'll ace anatomy.
 
Umichigan has an awesome website for anatomy, and also check out netanatomy. Good for learning relationships. I would also consider picking up a copy of Rohen's atlas (a good way to study for practicals). Beyond that, sit there and study.
 
Repetition is the key.....attacking the subject multiple times is the key to remember all that voluminous stuff (that and using the anatomy websites online; some of them even have quizzes which are really helpful)....
 
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coralfangs said:
I just opened up my copy of Netter and I am freaking out.....
any tips?
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You don't learn anatomy from Netter or Rohen, you learn it by getting your hands dirty. The books are there to help you review, reinforce relationships, provide some text background (if it's more than an atlas). It sounds like you haven't had lab yet. Once you do, you'll see that yes anatomy takes a lot of time, but it's not impossible, and your instructors will focus your attention where it needs to be focused. And repetition is always good. The more times you say the name of a structure out loud the more likely you'll be to remember it when test time comes around.
 
I guess you folks are right.
It's just that I had my first wetlab a couple days ago. When I first tried to review the stuff, I couldn't just review the stuff covered.
It's like "structure A.... hmmm, what does that do...... oh it connects to structure B" then you see this whole other set of structures related to structure B, and so forth .......
Well, you get the idea.
 
I recommend BRS Anatomy. You can read through the entire upper limb chapter (for example) in 2 or 3 days easily, the first time. Then you can go over it another couple of times before the test.

Learn the material from a book, (like BRS), an atlas (Netter), from lecture, and from lab as well. Balance your time between them. Your lectures will probably focus on the material that is most likely to be tested. Also, pick out the key terms in your dissector to make sure you find and understand them.
 
What really helped me was talking aloud about the relationships of the structures. As my professor said, "tell the story." When you actually take practicals, cadavers will all be different in terms of colors and sizes, but having a good knowledge of where each structure is in relation to other structures will be key. When you're looking at a particular artery, for example, knowing how it is in relation to the muscles/nerves that should be around it will allow you to reason it through.
 
I think Gray's for students is an excellent text. I have that + Netters, Rohens and flashcards. We were required to buy moores, but it sucks. I rarely use Rohens, just for some clarity/to quiz myself. Our instructor provided us with a CD of cadaveric images, so mostly just rohens and moores are collecting dust.

Grays + flashcards and keep a netters in the lab, and you'll be fine.

Oh yeah, and memorize your class notes and any study objectives offered.
 
nogolfinsnow said:
You don't learn anatomy from Netter or Rohen, you learn it by getting your hands dirty. The books are there to help you review, reinforce relationships, provide some text background (if it's more than an atlas). It sounds like you haven't had lab yet. Once you do, you'll see that yes anatomy takes a lot of time, but it's not impossible, and your instructors will focus your attention where it needs to be focused. And repetition is always good. The more times you say the name of a structure out loud the more likely you'll be to remember it when test time comes around.
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No, YOU learn by getting your hands dirty. OP, you have to find out what works for you. Everybody is different. Personally, anatomy lab is a waste of time for me, but obviously a lot of people find it helpful. It'll take some time before you find your study groove, and you may have to change it once you get to your next module, but probability is on your side that you will survive it. 😳
 
In my opinion, I found a combination of book prep and lab review to be helpful. I would use Netter's to understand the basic "textbook" anatomy of things (kind of formed a roadmap in my head) before heading into lab and dissecting. The dissecting part was a whole different story, because not all cadavers are textbook and there are tons of variations. I would just do my best to finish my part as cleanly as possible and not worry if I couldn't find every structure that was in the textbook.

For me, the highest yield stuff came from reviewing with a few of my friends a few days before the lab practical. Each of us would take turns teaching the others about certain parts of the gross anatomy (e.g. brachial plexus, pelvic vasculature, muscle anatomy, etc.) and quizzing each other about stuff, like "what are the 3 main branches of the celiac trunk" or "what nerve innervates the thenar muscles".

Some last tips:
- Know your landmarks. If a preceptor mentions a certain landmark for something (blood vessel, nerve, etc.), make sure you know it and can find it again. Also, ask your preceptors if there are any important landmarks you should know for certain regions.
- General knowledge of bone anatomy can help you when it comes to muscle anatomy (and vice versa). Don't know a particular muscle? You can probably figure it out if you know the bones that it's attached to (especially useful for neck muscles).
- See the big picture. Got a random artery/nerve tagged? Follow it to it's target or origin. This may sound like common sense, but your orientation can get thrown off, especially if the preceptors intentionally jumbled things up to try and trick you.
 
freelove said:
No, YOU learn by getting your hands dirty. OP, you have to find out what works for you. Everybody is different. Personally, anatomy lab is a waste of time for me, but obviously a lot of people find it helpful. It'll take some time before you find your study groove, and you may have to change it once you get to your next module, but probability is on your side that you will survive it. 😳
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In most instances I would agree with you; everyone should figure out their own way of studying. But a few years ago a few schools went away from gross anatomy and did all computerized dissections. There was quite an uproar because many people felt the students just didn't learn anatomy very well. 3rd and 4th year students who never had cadaver lab were having to go back to the anatomy labs (after they had re-instituted cadaver dissection) before doing certain rotations b/c their anatomy was so deficient. Docs in the hospital felt students had severe deficiencies in their knowledge of anatomy. Sure, you might not need the lab to pass anatomy, but I feel that getting in there the one time you'll really be able to poke and prod and trace and appreciate the 3D structure is something most students will benefit from in the long run. Of course, I haven't done any rotations yet, so maybe I will have forgotten all my anatomy by then anyway. But I think seeing it and touching it and smelling it will help it stick in the long run.
 
nogolfinsnow said:
In most instances I would agree with you; everyone should figure out their own way of studying. But a few years ago a few schools went away from gross anatomy and did all computerized dissections. There was quite an uproar because many people felt the students just didn't learn anatomy very well. 3rd and 4th year students who never had cadaver lab were having to go back to the anatomy labs (after they had re-instituted cadaver dissection) before doing certain rotations b/c their anatomy was so deficient. Docs in the hospital felt students had severe deficiencies in their knowledge of anatomy. Sure, you might not need the lab to pass anatomy, but I feel that getting in there the one time you'll really be able to poke and prod and trace and appreciate the 3D structure is something most students will benefit from in the long run. Of course, I haven't done any rotations yet, so maybe I will have forgotten all my anatomy by then anyway. But I think seeing it and touching it and smelling it will help it stick in the long run.
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Yeah, you're probably right. 👍
 
I just began my anatomy course and I don't know how to study and how much. Different people say different things and I am not sure I can afford to test different study methods before it's too late. I got "clinically oriented anatomy", grant's atlas, and our class's required dissector and BRS. I don't know where to start and what to memorize (the terms and labels are sooo much). I started medical school recently and i have other courses too. By the way, I found the first dissection lab sessions to be very messy and I didn't get anything out of it. I couldn't relate the artistic images in the atlas with the real thing. The problem is that we have a couple of practical tests that will depend on the cadavers we're working on. Lab is making me stress out and I don't want to do so. Also, I got many links suggestions from around SDN for anatomy. DO you suggest checking them? Or just stick with my books? Will anatomy pass? Thankssss
 
hardelto53563 said:
I just began my anatomy course and I don't know how to study and how much. Different people say different things and I am not sure I can afford to test different study methods before it's too late. I got "clinically oriented anatomy", grant's atlas, and our class's required dissector and BRS. I don't know where to start and what to memorize (the terms and labels are sooo much). I started medical school recently and i have other courses too. By the way, I found the first dissection lab sessions to be very messy and I didn't get anything out of it. I couldn't relate the artistic images in the atlas with the real thing. The problem is that we have a couple of practical tests that will depend on the cadavers we're working on. Lab is making me stress out and I don't want to do so. Also, I got many links suggestions from around SDN for anatomy. DO you suggest checking them? Or just stick with my books? Will anatomy pass? Thankssss
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If you have a second-year peer adviser, this is the time to have a meaningful interaction with this person. They can give you the best advice in terms of what is the best manner to approach your Gross Anatomy class.

If you feel that you didn't "get anything out" of your first lab and are confused, you may want to meet with your course instructor (or lab instructor) for some guidance. You cannot afford to get behind so meet as soon as you can schedule an appointment. Getting behind your class in anything is setting yourself up for disaster. You might also consult with a some of your lab partners as to how they are approaching this course.

It's pretty difficult for anyone on a public message board to give you anything other than general advice. There are loads of threads out there (as you mentioned) but specific advice needs to come for the folks at your school. You likely need to start with your instructors and lab partners with assistance from someone who went through the course last year and did well.
 
To be honest I only had 2 lab sessions till now. I am not sure if I should go for the professor's guidance at this level. Our grading system gives a big weight on the professor's assessment of the student. I don't want him to think I'm not up for the course. Or is this crap? Our lectures are very short and we're supposed to depend on self learning and dissection.
 
hardelto53563 said:
I just began my anatomy course and I don't know how to study and how much. Different people say different things and I am not sure I can afford to test different study methods before it's too late. I got "clinically oriented anatomy", grant's atlas, and our class's required dissector and BRS. I don't know where to start and what to memorize (the terms and labels are sooo much). I started medical school recently and i have other courses too. By the way, I found the first dissection lab sessions to be very messy and I didn't get anything out of it. I couldn't relate the artistic images in the atlas with the real thing. The problem is that we have a couple of practical tests that will depend on the cadavers we're working on. Lab is making me stress out and I don't want to do so. Also, I got many links suggestions from around SDN for anatomy. DO you suggest checking them? Or just stick with my books? Will anatomy pass? Thankssss
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The bad news is that the terms and labels in your atlas that are "sooo much" are pretty much all things you will end up needing to memorize. This is just the nature of the beast.
 
Anatomy is really not that hard. Just a lot of stuff to memorize in a short time. Just don't give up studying in whatever method you're following. It will eventually all start making sense. You don't really need to read the entire Clinically Oriented Anatomy textbook (that would be brutal). Just use it for reference. The Atlas should be your primary source of studying (along with the BRS book). I suggest you either get Netters or Sobotta or Rohen because they much more detailed than Grant's.

Do whatever works for you. Use Mnemonics, study with the help of study charts, anatomy tables (University of Michigan website), flash cards (either Netters or Grey's), or try watching some dissection videos online (again the Michigan site). I would strongly advise that you go through other threads on this topic on this forum. They will definitely not be a waste of time and you'll get some really good tips from other members. Good luck and hang in there...
 
One of the big things is to try to minimize your resources to a manageable number. Don't get too overwhelmed with 10 different books.

That said, we used Grant's atlas in lab (it's provided) and I really don't like it. Netter is fantastic for learning anatomy, with a Rohen by your side as well to see what it should look like in a cadaver. Moore and Dalley is decent, but don't try to read it all......use it as a reference as someone else said.

Also, get some Netter flashcards and go over the relevant structures each night.

Finally, and this is probably one of the biggest things . . . the best way to get a lot out of lab is to know what you're going to be finding/looking at the night before. If you look at your dissector and understand the structures you're looking for (this is where it's good to have Netter to first find them, then Rohen to see what the structures should actually look like the next day in your cadaver) it will make the following day's lab much easier.
 
I promise you what I'm going to say are the true "Words of Wisdom" for anatomy. Everyone on this forum is welcome to disagree with me and we can talk about it, however.

1. Anatomy is not the hardest course in medical school. It's just the first course. You are adjusting to everything, which is a mental energy drainer. Relax, and most likely you should be fine.

2. The Books: Netter is a must-have. Netter Flash Cards are highly highly highly recommended. Moore & Dailey (Clinical Oriented Medicine) is way too big for anyone to read. In fact, if you really want to read a textbook, I recommend "High Yield Anatomy." It's not really "high yield" for USMLE Step 1, but it's comprehensive enough to be a first-year study guide.

3. The Dissections: I think one of the biggest myth about anatomy is that "you learn from your cadaver." You do learn from a cadaver, but for a beginner anatomy student, it's way too timely inefficient. Dissection is like spending 3 hours cutting through the fat, and spending 10 minutes on studying the structures. Unless 1) the dissection attendance is mandatory 2) people in your dissection group really need you, don't go. However, a very important reason for doing dissection is to helping yourself get used to gross stuffs. Medicine is gross in general. Spending 4 months in an anatomy will enable you to eat lunch while studying gross pathology powerpoint in second year.

4. The Practical: we had practical tool. Rohen is the solution. It's a book by Dr. Rohen which has real pictures of well dissected cadavers. That book is far from being perfect, but it's the only book of its kind. You will find out how different the real anatomical structure is different from the cartoon illustration. That's why Rohen is useful.

5. How To Study - The Four Steps
a) For every lecture, you will be given a list of "must-know structures"
b) Look up each structure in Netter, so you expose yourself to them for the first time
c) Memorizing these structures by using Netter Flash Cards
d) Look up these structures again in Rohen, then memorize them

6. What Grade to Expect
Anatomy, to me, is a class that is easy to pass but hard to do well. Scoring high in anatomy requires a tremendous amount of effort, because there's always something you don't know or remember. However, just doing a-d in #5 for each lecture will almost guarantee you a passing grade. Always remember that failing anatomy is very realistic.

7. Last words
I think the best analogy about anatomy, especially the exam, is like a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" game. It's a trivia-recalling contest. Which structure is sandwiched by the superior mesentary artery? Duodenum. Which muscle in the arm is innervated by two nerves? Flexor Digitorum Profundus. Exam writers love them, so should you.
 
rogerwilco said:
the best way to get a lot out of lab is to know what you're going to be finding/looking at the night before.
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Absolutely true.

If you go to the lab without knowing the structures you are dissecting, man, it's simply a waste of time.
 
I thought the title of this thread said something else than what it does. That is all.
 
Here's a strategy that worked well for me during M1 year:

1) Take a quick look at Netter's/Grants before lab - not for memorization, but just to familiarize yourself with the region being dissected.

2) You're right - during lab, you'll mostly find it messy and unproductive. That's the reality - go back later on that day, alone or with 1 friend, and go down the list of required structures 1 by one. Recite the names out loud, touch the structure, trace it to its origin, recite its action or innervation, etc. As you complete 5 or 6 structures, go back and recite them all again.

3) Sleep.

4) In a few days - once you have an idea of what the structures are, what they do, where they insert/originate, etc., THEN read BRS or Moore's - it'll make much more sense after doing the practical stuff first.

5) Then, right before the test, go back to the lab and review the structures, on as many bodies as you can handle - everyone is different and you don't know what body will be on the exam1

6) THen, if you have time, do a little reading of Moore's blue boxes - the clinical correlates help.

This may or may not work in your school - here at Cornell we do first year by organ system, so we had about two-three weeks between anatomy exams, and studied the corresponding physio/histo at the same time, so I had time to do this. If your anatomy class is crammed into a smaller time period...maybe this won't work for you!
 
A condensed version of what everyone has said:

1) Going to anatomy lab without any idea of what you're looking at is useless.
2) Netters is essential.
3) Have a list of what you need to know and ignore everything else.
 
If you don't already, try to "study" Netter's before going to lab. Hopefully stuff will click for you while you're in there. And I think an important fact to realize is that time is the one thing you can't force when studying. Attempting to master a topic in the first go usually doesn't turn out that well. If you spent more time reviewing over a long period of time (with breaks in between), things might turn out better for you.
 
TheRealMD said:
A condensed version of what everyone has said:

1) Going to anatomy lab without any idea of what you're looking at is useless.
2) Netters is essential.
3) Have a list of what you need to know and ignore everything else.
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Sorry, but I have to disagree with number 1, i pretty much never study before lab and do fine. Matter of fact i use lab time to study whatever the hell we are looking at. Though, i'm able to do this because we tend to finish the dissection pretty quick and will still have an hour or so to dick around, so might as well study while i'm in there.

2 might be true, though i haven't used any other atlases, though i did see someone with one that had images of actual cadavers for reference, which i thought was pretty neat since the human body doesn't exactly look like a netter's image.
 
For learning anatomy you have to think mechanically
first learn BONES (this is the framework of any area)
next learn MUSCLES (You will find it easy to learn O and I when you just did the bones
next learn ART and NERVES ( since you have the framework and soft tissue memorized you can appreciate how these structures wind in and out of the specific area of interest
 
Good Yeast said:
Absolutely true.

If you go to the lab without knowing the structures you are dissecting, man, it's simply a waste of time.
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I concur. Your dissection speed will also increase dramitcally if you know where all of the structures are supposed to be. Also, it is a great idea to learn relationships as opposed to branching patterns.

Example: Netter's shows the Thoracoaromial artery branching before the Lateral Thoracic artery. On my cadaver and a good number of those in our lab, the Lateral Thoracic Branches first. You tell the difference by where the structures go. Same thing applies with the branches of Thoracoacromial. Who knows how they will branch, but the branches are named based on where the go.

I hope it gets better for you. I am truely loving my experience in the gross lab.
 
i just got done with anatomy and did fairly well. Like everyone mentioned earlier, Lab is KEY. Go to lab and learn the material right off the body. I know easier said than done, i had a huge problem in the beginning making good use of lab and thought it was a waste.. but then i started going through videos of dissections before the lab, which provided a frame work of what i needed to pay attention to in lab and made it a lot easier as things were not new.. or atleast i had heard the name before.

As for theory portion, Netter + BRS Anatomy (or equivalent) was a amazing combination for me. I tried the book up until my first exam, but soon changed afterwards lol. I would open the netter to provide a good visual and read the BRS at the same time.. did questions after each read to integrate and cement all the that i have learnt. Also, i highlighted my Netter, especially when you're looking at pictures with everything: muscles (orange), arteries (red), nerves (yellow) and veins (blue) --> just made it a little easier when i went over it again.

Oh and Netter Flash cards are kinda good too!
 
I'm not sure what should be done. I'm still not knowing how to deal with anatomy lab. We have around 17 students working on every cadaver and it's making it hard to me to even try to understand what's going on concerning nerves and vessels. I am frustrated as the cadaver is nothing as clear as some of the photos in some atlases. This anatomy thing is making me realling thinking of deferring to next year or something. I really need some advice.
 
17 students on a cadaver? Holy crap. No wonder you are so overwhelmed.

Of course the cadaver looks nothing like the photos. Those are prosections performed by expert anatomists and photographed by professional photographers. Our body resembled something closer to overcooked chicken meat, and there were definitely no fancy photo ops to be had.

First off, relax. There is no reason that you need to spend every waking hour in a cadaver to do well in anatomy. Spend time looking at prosections and plastic models, if they are available. The Netter Atlas is worth its weight in solid gold, as are the flashcards. Instead of spending time fighting your classmates for a first- (or second-) row view of whatever you are dissecting that day, spend time with the dissector and the atlas. I learned the vast majority of my anatomy from the atlas and flashcards, with a lot of time on the plastic models and prosections. I spent the least amount of time with my cadaver, as I was not interested in cutting and hacking, and had 2 lab-mates who were. We had a deal worked out where, if anything interesting came up, they'd let me know, and I'd come over and either help or look at the fruits of their labor. Otherwise, I mostly stayed out of their hair, unless there was a big job that required more than 2 pairs of hands (e.g. skinning, moving the body around, dissecting 2 different sites at the same time).

My point is that all is not lost. If you can't get into the cadaver during "regular" hours, can you come in later at night or earlier in the morning, when nobody else is there? Can you and your 17 lab-mates split up into 3 or 4 groups, and each come into lab at different times? I've got to admit, 17 is extreme. We had 5, and sometimes that felt like too many cooks in the kitchen. I can't imagine what it must be like for you. Best bet is to know your atlas/flashcards backwards and forewards, then move on to models and prosections. Once you know it cold, go to the cadaver and try to find stuff. Don't be frustrated if you can't, at first. It takes a bit of playing around to get oriented. But try to go at a time when you are not fighting a crowd to get a look.
 
PS did anyone else start singing when they read the title of this thread?

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDXvDo83Gs[/YOUTUBE]
 
By 17 do you mean 5 or 6?


hardelto53563 said:
I'm not sure what should be done. I'm still not knowing how to deal with anatomy lab. We have around 17 students working on every cadaver and it's making it hard to me to even try to understand what's going on concerning nerves and vessels. I am frustrated as the cadaver is nothing as clear as some of the photos in some atlases. This anatomy thing is making me realling thinking of deferring to next year or something. I really need some advice.
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I learned 95% of my Anatomy from the course notes, which were basically just netterlike illustrations....I had Rohans picture atlas but didnt really use as much and I didnt even use netter taht much either..I used virtual slides from time to time, which were basically Rohans pictures that the professor thought were especially clear and posted on the course website, but I mainly just knew the course lecture notes and knew would I should be looking for when examining any region of the body.

I think the key is to know what structures should be in the region that you are looking at and teaching yourself ways to be able to distinguish the structures in the area that may look alike. The easiest way to do this I think is to look at where the artery or nerve leads into..When we were studying the Axilla and as well as the neck area it became a bit difficult to distinguish some of the arteries and nerves from eachother because they can be moved around a bit or the cadaver could be oriented in a way that would distort the classic netter depiction of the structure. Just try to see what muscle the artery was leading into..it worked 95% of the time and made life a lot easier for me after my professor gave me that little piece of advice.

Otherwise I make up little neumonics and rhyms that help rememeber things that would otherwise be rot memorization..the stupider the rhyme the better.
 
Dude...go into the lab at night when less people are there. The more you see the structures, the more familiar they will become. Don't wimp out, you're supposed to be a medical student!
 
NRAI2001 said:
Otherwise I make up little neumonics and rhyms that help rememeber things that would otherwise be rot memorization..the stupider the rhyme the better.
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If by stupid you mean "obscene" then I agree entirely. 😎
 
hardelto53563 said:
I'm not sure what should be done. I'm still not knowing how to deal with anatomy lab. We have around 17 students working on every cadaver and it's making it hard to me to even try to understand what's going on concerning nerves and vessels. I am frustrated as the cadaver is nothing as clear as some of the photos in some atlases. This anatomy thing is making me realling thinking of deferring to next year or something. I really need some advice.
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Do you have access to prosections? If so, you might want to concentrate some time on those. Coming in at odd hours and looking at other people's cadavers might be a good idea. During the main time you might just want to take notes on what you will be looking at later rather than trying to figure everything out. I would suspect you just need to augment what you are already doing. Don't freak out. There is more material in med school than you can ever learn. Just learn as much as you can and realize that your classmates are in the same boat. It's going to work out. There are many dissection videos available also, such as those from Acland, online ones you can find by googling "anatomy dissection videos" such as http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/courseinfo/video_index.html Keep after it and it will start to make sense. It's hard work and it will pay off.
 
IHeartNerds said:
If by stupid you mean "obscene" then I agree entirely. 😎
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That was exactly whta I thought.. I've got a great one for remembering the cranial nerves:

Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel A Girl's Vagina: Such Heaven

And 17 dissection partners? Holy S*it.
 
bcat85 said:
That was exactly whta I thought.. I've got a great one for remembering the cranial nerves:

Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel A Girl's Vagina: Such Heaven
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I've seen this one written this way everywhere, but I really think that it's wrong.

The 8th cranial nerve is NOT called the "auditory nerve." Furthermore, hearing is not the 8th cranial nerve's only function.

The other way that I've heard it (and that I think is better) is: "Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel Virgin Girls' Vaginas: Ah Heaven." [For olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal]

[/thread hijack]
 
Just look at the Netter over and over. That's what I do. That's not to say that it works....
 
smq123 said:
I've seen this one written this way everywhere, but I really think that it's wrong.

The 8th cranial nerve is NOT called the "auditory nerve." Furthermore, hearing is not the 8th cranial nerve's only function.

The other way that I've heard it (and that I think is better) is: "Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel Virgin Girls' Vaginas: Ah Heaven." [For olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal]

[/thread hijack]
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Oh oh oh to touch a female virgin gets Victor all horny.
 
I think going into lab without having a firm grasp of what you are going to be looking for (from netters or notes) will make it much more frustrating than it should be. If you have a good understanding of what should be at a specific region of a cadaver when you actually go into lab it will make things much easier and smoother.

Once again just look at where the nerves and arteries lead into instead of how they are oriented and layed out persay...the best advice I got during anatomy lab.
 
Hi everyone,
I started med school a week ago, and I'm already finding a hard time memorizing all those details in the gross anatomy course. I happen to be bad at rote memorization, and I'm finding it difficult to keep up with all those details. In my undergrad years, I used to focus on understanding the material rather than just memorizing, and things turned quite well.
This course however is a whole different story. I can't see anything that can be understood; all I see are names and structures to memorize as is. We already started with the pectoral, axillary, and brachial regions... The method I'm sticking to is the following: the day before the lab, I prepare the assigned pages in the dissector manual (we're using the Grant dissector). During the dissection, I try to find and identify the different structures (muscles, veins, arteries, nerves), and when I study in the afternoon, I try to review the whole dissection. When I do this, I find it hard to remember what are the distal attachments of that muscle and what are the vessels are associated with that other muscle... If things are going well, I am able to remember some of the details in the next few minutes... However, the next day when I open the book and try to recall all those details, I find that I have forgotten most of them. Can anyone give me some advice on how I can get through all those details? Are there websites that offer animations or mnemonics that can help me remember the details or should I not waste my time trying to look for them and stick to the books (dissector and atlas)?
Your help is greatly appreciated
Thanks 🙂
 
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