11 Tips For Studying Anatomy

Anatomy is one of the most complicated subjects to be studied. It requires a great deal of memory and concentration. It is a mostly descriptive subject. Therefore, gaining knowledge in this subject implies that a person is capable of having a mental map of the composition of the human body.

It must be taken into account that the knowledge that the student has on the subject will most likely be more detailed while it is being studied than in the following years of the degree. However, this does not mean that it is disposable knowledge. In fact, human anatomy is a great foundation to be able to continue studying all the rest of the years of the faculty.

11 Tips for studying anatomy

In order to study it correctly and pass it, each student will develop a personal trick some students use Anatomy App for Medical Students to improve their knowledge. However, there are important tips that can help you guarantee a more satisfactory course.

1. Organize your Study

This is basic in all types of study, taken, and exam. Organizing the material to be studied is essential in any subject. But speaking specifically of Anatomy, you will have to make up your mind to have a schedule with the topics you will see in class, and your faculty wants you to know. It can be very stressful to go through the course without having a map in your mind about the topics that will be covered in the advance of the term. If you arrive at a theoretical class without knowing what the teacher is going to present, then there is something that you are missing.

2. Organize your schedules

For this, it is important not only to know how many hours a day you are available to study but also to know how much volume of study material you will have to handle. Because with these two variables (time and volume), you can get an idea of ​​how much you should advance on average per week in order to reach a goal.

3. Start early

Don’t wait for test dates to get closer to start studying. Probably with 2 weeks of dedicated study, you will be able to get to pass your exam, but if you do that, most likely, the day after taking it, you will have already forgotten a large part of it. The idea is that you can become familiar with the matter, that you know anatomy because you simply know it, and indicate the location of a street. How you know the lyrics of a song or describe your room—studying the subject in the 2 weeks before the exam is a double-edged sword. Do not forget that medicine is a repetitive career and that in the following years, to a greater or lesser extent, you will need certain knowledge of all the subjects you study.

Tips for memorizing and learning anatomy

4. Repeat and repeat

Anatomy is a memory-based subject. Knowing that the triceps suralis tendon attaches to the calcaneus doesn’t involve much more than just knowing it. It makes sense from a biophysical point of view, but even so, knowing that this muscle is called that way and that its distal insertion occurs in that bone with that name is simply pure data. So on this plane, at least, your memory will play a very important role. The most common way to acquire that pure data is simply to repeat the information and seek to use it in the most creative way you can.

5. Acquire pure data in memory

Names, locations, branches of arteries, sub-branches, bone accidents, etc. All these data will have to be handled with plasticity when rendering anatomy. The best way to acquire this knowledge is by using it. That is. First, you read the description, then see it in an atlas, and finally, go to the prepared to put yourself to the test. But in addition to the classic way that is used to learn them, you can also try to get together with friends to study and ask each other questions. This type of interaction puts your knowledge into play and strengthens it.

6. Draw

Be creative. Draw. Quality does not matter. Only knowledge matters. A classic of anatomical study is to see students with their own drawings of the brachial plexus or the lumbosacral plexus.

Drawing in a subject as descriptive as anatomy helps you have a notion of the space studied. It is a way of putting the acquired information into practice and allows you to consolidate it.

7. Cards with questions and quizzes

Another option to keep your brain alert with the knowledge acquired is to take questionnaires or use the system of random questions by cards. In the case of questionnaires, you can do them yourself as you read. If you think that a topic is important, you could write a question about that topic on a separate sheet of paper. In this way, you will collect key questions that you will later try to answer.

8. Memorization techniques

For those things that you cannot memorize on your own, there are techniques that can help you. Mnemonics are very good allies in these cases. Search the internet for all the rules you can find on those subjects that you find difficult and use them as a stick when you don’t have your fresh memory to lean on. At Ingenium, we have a section specially designed for mnemonic rules.

You can also play with your imagination. Developing bizarre stories or pictures that remind you of names can go a long way in studying anatomy.

9. Work in group

Some people can greatly benefit from group work. Sometimes having someone around to bring up ideas or questions can help you retain the information you read moments or days ago. This strengthens your weak areas and allows you to stay alert and motivated.

10. Detect your weak points

Perhaps it is one of the most challenging points. Especially if time is short. When you read your performance study material, you rarely have time to review it thoroughly. Generally, the student tends to advance without wanting to go back. Perhaps as a placebo, he thinks, “if I read it, I will remember at the time.”

This does not always happen and can be a weak point to work on. If a topic is not well known, it is better not to lie to yourself. At least note somewhere that those sheets require a review.

11. Use all the means that you can

Today we have a large amount of information available on the internet. Use it! There are many online explainer videos and sites that seek to help you study. Ask for advice from those who have already passed the subject and chart your own path.

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