As with everything else, Anatomy Lab is a bit different this semester. At my school, we are only doing 1/3 of the dissections (because we are split into 3 groups to keep room capacity down) and we are not allowed in the lab for "open lab" study hours. Obviously, this makes lab practicals and quizzes kind of difficult to study for. These are some of the resources I am using to keep on top of the material! I hope it's helpful to those of you struggling to study for anatomy during the pandemic (or anytime).
Before I get into resources, I want to say that my number #1 piece of advice is to take advantage of your time in the lab (however little that may be). This will look different for everyone! I actually usually end up leaving lab early because we finish the dissection early! However, I do go into lab super prepared. Before lab I have:
- Watched the corresponding lecture and taken notes
- Read the syllabus section (basically a condensed textbook written by our professor)
- Started practicing the structures with Anki
That way, when I show up in lab, I know what I am looking for and what we are dissecting. This makes my time in lab way more valuable than if I went in blind to the new material! I also HIGHLY recommend interacting with your professors as much as possible during lab! They can show you how to identify structures, give you insight to the high yield material, and quiz you on what you know! I call over professors 2-3 times per lab which gives me so much time to ask questions and get expert input!
Some Resources I Am Using:
- Anki: This is SO helpful for anatomy in my opinion. We have a class deck (made by people in years past) that includes Atlas cadaver pictures, schematics, questions, etc.
- Rohan's Color Atlas: This has great cadaver images that has been so useful when studying for my practical. The biggest worry with a practical exam is that I won't know something on the actual cadaver that I would know in a schematic. Rohan's Atlas is a great way to study real pictures since your cadaver won't be color coded like many of the drawings are!
- Complete Anatomy: This is an app that you have to buy but it is so worth it. I use it to look at the different muscles and how they attach to the bone. You can add/subtract layers and systems and search for specific structures making it super helpful!
- Bone Box: Our school allows us to "check out" a bone box for the semester. This has been helpful to see the different structures on the bones because they can be hard to see in a 2D picture!
- Lecture Slides: I actually find these very helpful because they have images, clinical correlates, etc. By going over my lecture notes, I make sure I'm not missing anything important!
Some other popular resources include:
- https://act.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/quiz/practice/u2/quiztop2.htm : This site is basically an online quiz of cadaver images! I like it but don't love it. The images are kind of difficult to see clearly but it is definitely worth a shot!
- https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/bluelink/resources/practice-questions : Another online practice quiz
Well, that's all I've got but I hope it was helpful! Try not to overwhelm yourself with resources and be confident in yourself! You've got this!
Happy Studying
xoxo
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