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Joined: Feb 2002
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I know that this forum is filled with some very intelligent people who always have great idea. I am currently in college and one of my hardest courses is anatomy and physiology. Can someone please offer some suggestions on how to study material that involves memorizing LOTS of terms and definitions. What is the best way to remember all of the different bones in the body especially the head region. Just thinking about this overwhelmes me with worry. I appreciate any help.






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First of all I suggest you relax and accept that you won't know it all overnight anyway.

Then chunk it... focus on one aspect at a time eg Skeleton (the supporing framework). Mind map it by drawing a skeleton (0r cheat and trace one) Then label all the bones you already know. This now gives you 2 methods of linking new information (the names of bones you don't know yet).

1. the visual of the skeleton
2. the names of known bones next to the unknown.

As you look at the adjoining bone and check out the name, creatively link the name to the appropriate bone. Take your time with it and avoid wanting to finishing the whole skeleton map in one go anyway. You could divide it into 5 regions to be learnt over 5 study sessions. E.g Trunk and arms, Pelvis and legs, Head, Hands and Feet.

How to remember the names? Play with them E.g.

Scapula - I come up with an image of a mad man (it could be a clown, that would be different) waving a shoulder blade saying 'Scalp ya later!'

Sacrum - easy a 'sack of rum' rum in a sack you ask how is that possible? Easy in your imagination (ok it still leaks in mine)

Thorax - the god Thor using his ax to hack that part of the body.

Humerus - well thats the funny bone anyway, reminds me of one of my teachers who knocked his arm and said, "oww 'me' funny bone" so the class laugh (well it was bad English afterall) and he got miffed and said "It's not funny", while stamping his foot.

The better you link your cue with the name and the image of the bone the easier it becomes to remember. So take your time with it and remember it's definately something you don't try to learn all at once. So break it down into blocks.

Alex






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AlexK, right now I am studying the skull which has so many bones with complicated names, such as the parietal bone, lambdoid suture, zygomatic process, mandibular ramus, maxilla, lacrimal fossa, olfactory foramina and much much more. It is hard to create word patterns and associations with such weird names. Any suggstions? What method of studying would you suggest? I am expected to know all of this for an upcoming test. I really appreciate any help.






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bhenry,

as old as it sounds .. flashcards is what works for me. I had to do a lot of muscle memorization (origins, insertions and actions) and the way I did it was made up a 3x5 card for each one. I'd play games with myself, or have someone test me. I went over them hundreds of times. I carried the stack of cards with me at all times and when I had an extra minute or two I'd pull out a few and learn them.

I also had anatomy coloring books that I would color in when working with specific parts.

I think when dealing with this stuff, it is literally rote memorization.

Tracey






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quote:
Originally posted by bhenry:
AlexK, right now I am studying the skull which has so many bones with complicated names, such as the parietal bone, lambdoid suture, zygomatic process, mandibular ramus, maxilla, lacrimal fossa, olfactory foramina and much much more. It is hard to create word patterns and associations with such weird names. Any suggstions? What method of studying would you suggest? I am expected to know all of this for an upcoming test. I really appreciate any help.

Well my approach would be.

parietal bone - parrot bone or paris-tail-bone I'd draw an image of either of those critters and draw the connector line to that particular bone on the head. (along with the correct name) I'm using the image word play to trigger the recall of the word. If I see the diagram of a head I would expect either the image or the word to come back to mind to help me write the correct word.

lambdoid suture - lamb-droid...would you trust a robotic lamb to suit ya? Do you look better in checks or poka dots? Perhaps dots you can connect them to the medical aspect.

zygomatic process - why go (auto)matic; for process I come up with a princess dress and acting like a pro basketball player.

mandibular ramus - man-did-your (ram) ram-us - image of me asking someone if it was their ram that butted me and left me splat.

maxilla - Max the gorilla.

lacrimal fossa - la-criminal force. (a dandy looking group of crims trying to force their way into jail)

olfactory foramina - (an) old - factory for me? (I'd have preferred flowers, kick a stone at it and watch it fall down.)

I'd be drawing some sort of diagram or image for these words because somehow that would create an additional link in my mind and naturally they would have to be linked to the real thing too. On a mind map with an image of the skull the location of each diagram will help trigger the recall of the correct name of the bone.

Yes it might seem to take a lot of work to prepare but after the first round (where you create it) you are more than likely to discover that 80% of it is already etched in your memory and a quick 1 to 2 minute review every day for a week will keep it fresh.

I used this technique poorly when I first needed to remember some anatomy for a test (1 weeks notice). It wasn't a major goal in my life and the course wasn't important to my career so I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it. Couple of days before I created some memory links and then just reviewed (looked at the diagram I drew with the correct terms and remembered the associations I made for those terms. Doing it again I would draw some sort of image to help trigger the associations.

In all work it in chunks. Top middle bottom etc.

Alex






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When I was 13 (which is nearly 30 years ago),our chemistry teacher taught us a way to remember the first section of the Periodic Table. It was to turn the letters into a Russian sounding name,thus H.HeLiBeBCNOF. The following lesson one of my classmates came back with NeNa MgAlSiPS ClArK Ca, the aforementioned gentlemans chemical assistant. I have never forgotten it.
All the best with your studies.






Joined: Apr 2003
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Hi,

I am a law student and since we are graded on a curve based on one final exam, every "edge" I can get helps.

One subliminal tape produced by Midwest Research titled "Passing Exams with Flying Colors" has probably made the biggest difference. There are a number of large dealers on the internet - just use a search engine and look for "SCWL" or "Midwest Research."









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Alex:

Are you also a health professional? It seems like you know a lot about anatomy.

Parag






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No,

I read a lot.

Alex






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quote:
Originally posted by AlexK:
No,

I read a lot.

Alex


LOL that's the understatement of the day.








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