How to study head and neck?

[Flaxmoore]

I've made it through everything from the neck down in Gross, but head and neck is scaring me. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sitting on a 73 average, so passing is my goal at the moment. Any hints to push me over, any review materials?

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[Flaxmoore]

Anyone? I tried doing a search, but I must have used the wrong terms- I got very little.

I'm passing, and my school is H/HP/P/F, but I'd like to secure the Pass.

 

[PBandJ]

Out of all our anatomy sections, I did the best in head and neck. I figured it's a ton of material, but it's all located in one place, so don't be intimated by it!!
Here's my advice:

1) Know the holes in the skull. Know what they're called, which bones they're in, and what structure(s) pass through them.
2) Once you know the holes in the skull, learn the cranial nerves. This is key to both anatomy and neuroscience. Start with names and numbers, and then work on pathways and types of nerve fibers carried for the ones with simple routes (e.g. trochlear (IV) travels from the dorsal surface of the pons through the superior orbital fissure to innervate one skeletal muscle in the eye (the superior oblique)).
3) DRAW the nerve pathways (whiteboards are great for practicing!!) for the harder cranial nerves (V, VII, IX, X), indicating what types of fibers travel through which hole and to which ganglia, synapses if/where they occur, etc, and ultimately what the fibers from each nerve subdivision. This will help when you have the problems that say "If you were to suffer a lesion of the pterygopalatine ganglion, which of the following would be affected? a) Sensation on the lower face, b) Lacrimation, c) ..."
4) Once you know the cranial nerves like the back of your hand, work on reflexes (if that's part of your curriculum). For example, with the corneal blink reflex, you're testing the afferent limb of V and the efferent limb of VII. If you know that CN VII (Facial) innervates the muscles of facial expression, including orbicularis occuli (which functions during blinking), then you already know the efferent limb for that reflex. If you know that the opthalmic division of V (specifically a branch from nasociliary) receives sensory input from the eyeball, then you have the afferent limb down as well.
5) Assuming your exam will have a practical portion, go into the lab with a few people and review all the structures you've dissected. If you need more practice, UMich has a GREAT website for anatomy with pictures of cadavers, review tables, and quizzes.

Hope that helps...it's just what worked for me. Feel free to PM me for more information (I can also share some of my drawings/tables if you'd like!).

 

[PRIMER]

Go over it a ton of times, and come up with creative ways to remember it.

 

[Flaxmoore]

My problem so far seems to have been histology- they don't do reviews of the practical exams, but I can just sense that as a weak point. Any ideas on how to boost that? It's a third of our practical grade, and I'd like to snag a quick extra 20 points.

 

[sendwich]

i did the best in head and neck as well. you just need to draw out the nerve pathways over and over until you know them in your sleep. also, know the pathways that the nerves take to get to it's "destination" (ie. nerve B goes lateral to muscle C before going into hole D...sorry i can't give you a specific example, it's been a while since anatomy ). also, know the general area/muscle that is innervated by X nerve. know the spatial orientation/location of (esp) the nerves and muscles.

hope this helps. good luck!

 

[Flaxmoore]

Any ideas on the histology? I can grok the examples they give, but it seems my brain locks up a bit on the exam.

 

[PRIMER]

Again, go over it a bunch of times (for Histo.). Not just the lectures but the lab slides as well, pay attention to structure function relationships. What I did is I went to lecture, went to lab, went home and reviewed the material that day, then over the weekend I reviewed everything that I had up to that point, then before the exams I would review it all again. I hope that helps.

 

[Flaxmoore]

Again, go over it a bunch of times (for Histo.). Not just the lectures but the lab slides as well, pay attention to structure function relationships. What I did is I went to lecture, went to lab, went home and reviewed the material that day, then over the weekend I reviewed everything that I had up to that point, then before the exams I would review it all again. I hope that helps.

I'll give it a try. I'm tired of getting in the 80s on the anatomy and 60s on the histology!

 

[Depakote]

This is school specific, but what helped me in the last unit was to attend all of the review sessions and to repeatedly go over the slide demos posted on WebCT. Repetition was the key.

While I can't say I'm doing any better than you, I'd say what has helped me going into lab (both anatomy and histo) has been having a good foundation in the lecture component b/c a good chunk of the questions are the "what does this structure do?" application questions. If you can know the application, you learn the structure and you will have an easier time recognizing it in the lab.

 

[nooo]

Out of all our anatomy sections, I did the best in head and neck. I figured it's a ton of material, but it's all located in one place, so don't be intimated by it!!
Here's my advice:

1) Know the holes in the skull. Know what they're called, which bones they're in, and what structure(s) pass through them.
2) Once you know the holes in the skull, learn the cranial nerves. This is key to both anatomy and neuroscience. Start with names and numbers, and then work on pathways and types of nerve fibers carried for the ones with simple routes (e.g. trochlear (IV) travels from the dorsal surface of the pons through the superior orbital fissure to innervate one skeletal muscle in the eye (the superior oblique)).
3) DRAW the nerve pathways (whiteboards are great for practicing!!) for the harder cranial nerves (V, VII, IX, X), indicating what types of fibers travel through which hole and to which ganglia, synapses if/where they occur, etc, and ultimately what the fibers from each nerve subdivision. This will help when you have the problems that say "If you were to suffer a lesion of the pterygopalatine ganglion, which of the following would be affected? a) Sensation on the lower face, b) Lacrimation, c) ..."
4) Once you know the cranial nerves like the back of your hand, work on reflexes (if that's part of your curriculum). For example, with the corneal blink reflex, you're testing the afferent limb of V and the efferent limb of VII. If you know that CN VII (Facial) innervates the muscles of facial expression, including orbicularis occuli (which functions during blinking), then you already know the efferent limb for that reflex. If you know that the opthalmic division of V (specifically a branch from nasociliary) receives sensory input from the eyeball, then you have the afferent limb down as well.
5) Assuming your exam will have a practical portion, go into the lab with a few people and review all the structures you've dissected. If you need more practice, UMich has a GREAT website for anatomy with pictures of cadavers, review tables, and quizzes.

Hope that helps...it's just what worked for me. Feel free to PM me for more information (I can also share some of my drawings/tables if you'd like!).

excuse me Mr.PBandJ

but could u plz post da link of this website ??
coz in this semester i'd to study anatomy of head & neck
thnx in advanced

 

[TRKATK]

The UMich site is

http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/

I also recommend these other resources for anatomy

http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/grossanatomy/index.htm

For histology, I would recommend just going over the slides and being able to differentiate one from the other. What are the distinguishing characteristics? Their functions etc.

 

[FPLover]

You've got to study with other people. It's the only way. Swallow your pride and get some of your friends together. Or just ask some people hey, I'm having a tough time with this could I study with you all? I'm sure they would say yes.

 

[PBandJ]

The UMich site is

http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/

I also recommend these other resources for anatomy

http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/grossanatomy/index.htm

For histology, I would recommend just going over the slides and being able to differentiate one from the other. What are the distinguishing characteristics? Their functions etc.

thanks for posting the link!

 

[TRKATK]

thanks for posting the link!

Quite welcome.

Histology

this site always had nice images and notes

http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/

nice images here as well

http://www.bu.edu/histology/m/index.htm

and another anatomy link that is helpful

http://ect.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/toc.htm

all the best!

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

Buy yourself a color atlas of human anatomy so you can study outside of the lab and make lots of use of the bone box. Knowing your foramen and their relationships is the best way to learn it all.