How to Study Anatomy

Any way you slice it, all human anatomy courses are intense. Students are forced to memorize oddly named body parts and connect them to random muscles they didn't even know they had. Succeeding in any anatomy class requires the student to think and study differently from most other subjects. Try out these study strategies below to help you learn how to study anatomy.

Study Tip #1 - You can't get by just reading.

The more pictures you include in your studying, the better you will do. Anatomy is a visual science and you must create spatial maps to improve your studying. Always keep a diagram of the limb or body part you are studying out in front of you as you read. Integrate the textbook words with a couple different views of the same anatomy and a cross-section.

Study Tip #2 - Love the Lingo.

Usually the name of a muscle or ligament will often tell of its origin, insertion, or action. Take the muscle Flexor Digitorum Profundus for example. It contracts (flexes) the fingers (digits) and it is the deepest (profundus) muscle of the forearm. In addition, arteries are usually named for whatever body part they supply.

Study Tip #3 - Quiz yourself with pictures.

One simple way to do this is by photocopying the pictures from an anatomy book and whitening out the labels. Go back and identify each body structure on your own. Also use these photocopies to trace the arteries and nerves with colored pencils. This will reinforce their pathways in your memory.

Netter's Anatomy Flash Cards

Anatomy Coloring Book

Study Tip #4 - Know your boundaries.

Superiorly - the inguinal ligament
Medially - the medial border of the adductus longus muscle
Laterally - the medial border of the sartorious muscle
Floor - the adductor longus, pectineus, and iliopsoas muscles
Roof - the fascia lata
Contents - the femoral nerve, sheath, artery, and vein (from lateral to medial)

Study Tip #5 - It's all about the relationships.

Anatomy is a science of spatial maps and to really know how to study anatomy, you have to become a visual learner. You should be able to start at any body part and travel down it while citing the muscles, arteries, and nerves that supply it and cross its path.