I don't think it would make very much sense to do some hardcore studying right now.
What makes a lot more sense to me is perhaps picking up a copy of netter's (which you'll probably end up buying anyway) and just start familiarizing yourself with the really bread and butter type stuff such as anatomical terms of location, major blood vessels, cranial nerves, etc. without worrying about the esoteric stuff that you may or may not need to know once you're in med school. Especially if you've never taken an anatomy class before.
Just doing some (very) light studying every once in awhile when your bored might be a good way to prime yourself for the onslaught of med school, it may not help you much in the long run but at least you'll have seen some of the stuff before.
Agree 100%. This is what I wrote to the other poster, who i initially thought was the same as this OP:
I know I might get flamed for this, but if you want to study some med school stuff, there are some things you can do that wouldn't be a waste of your time.
I'm not saying pick up textbooks for cell bio, genetics, and micro and read them all cover-to-cover.
Anatomy, however, is a subject that you can start studying ahead of time if you have some basic objectives. Again, you don't want to pick up a clunky text and read it cover-to-cover.
If you want do light prep, pick up Netter's anatomy flash cards and start studying the ones for major structures (esp. bones). You could learn the 206 bones and their important landmarks pretty easily before med school, and you'll be able to hit the ground running when gross starts. Don't bother with the 26 flashcards for different muscles of the larynx. I made up that number, but there are several cards for the larynx and other pretty obscure things you don't need to bother with before med school. These flash cards also come with an online Student Consult where every single flash card is online, and there are sweet multiple choice quizzes pretty similar to some of the stuff you'll get pimped on as a third year med student.
If you want to spend even more time, get the Board Review Series (BRS) gross anatomy book and Netter's Atlas of human anatomy. These will help you in med school, and IMO there isn't much downside to owning them 8 months early, unless they put out new editions in that time. Chung's anatomy text is designed to be read through (unlike Gray's Anatomy for Students or Moore's Clinical). The pictures suck, which is why you'll want Netter's atlas. The atlas has amazing pictures, but each one has about 7000 structures labeled on it, so without Chung's text you won't know what's important.
That is the main problem with self-directed study before med school. You don't know what's important, and you'll tend to spend too much time on things that won't even be mentioned once you get to med school. So it can be a waste of time and energy. However, if you WANT to study, and you have some direction, there is no real harm in this.
You will need to know all of the bones in the body. You'll also realize that 206 isn't that many, especially with paired bones (2 parietal, 2 temporal, 2 zygomatic, 2 lacrimal, 2 femurs, 2 scapulae) and the vertebrae which require no actual memorization (C1, C2, C3, etc.)
You will need to know the 12 cranial nerves, what foramina or other openings each one uses to exit the skull, and what they innervate. This stuff is bread and butter.
You will need to know all of the major blood vessels and how they supply organs and limbs. Ie, the brachial artery is a main supply in the arm, and is a branch of what? What artery supplies the spleen? When the descending aorta bifurcates, name the branches that go to the leg. What artery/arteries branches off the aorta to supply the pelvis?
I think that stuff is fun to learn, and I think there is pretty minimal risk of burnout since you're not taking any other classes right now. Just keep it focused...don't go too broad."
