THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Monday, 27 September 2010

Why Mnemonics In Anatomy

By Marine Taborda

While I was studying for my doctorate, I spent hours each night trying to memorize human anatomy, often finding when quizzed the next day that I could only remember fragments of information. I know without a doubt that you can relate to what I am talking about if you have tried reading textbooks and have gone to lectures. Probably when you encounter random conversations with your fellow students, you can enhance your memory however, it still will not change the fact that you do not possess sufficient information you need to have always. There are still more when talking about anatomy and moreover, it really is mind-boggling to process all these things especially during a tension-filled exam,

Through anatomy mnemonics, myself and some fellow students were able to call upon our knowledge of anatomy at any time without flicking through notes. We would used mnemonics (psychologically proven memorization techniques, that is) to unlock our knowledge and remember all that we'd learnt. So the several weeks we spent of mind-numbing studying was lessened and was made easy by these techniques.

Actually, memorizing the different aspects of anatomy is simple if you just know the way to do it. Mnemonics are used in order for you to uncover tons of information by making it more simple and easy to remember. It is similar to going to just one folder in your computer and be able find all the information inside. For example, with use of simple to remember lists, you are guaranteed that your learnings on each and every part of the human body is ample.

Among the anatomy mnemonics I have learned, the first simple acronym I learned was ABCD which will let you remember the thoracoacromial artery branches.

Acromial, Breast (pectoral), Clavicular, Deltoid. I'm sure you'll still keep that in mind for the future days.

The rest are quite more interesting. If I have to recall the different axillary artery branches, the mnemonics I use for it would be "Screw The Lawyer Save a Patient" - Superior thoracic, Thoracoacromial, Lateral thoracic, Subscapular, Anterior cicrumflex humeral, Posterior circumflex humeral - better than memorizing it as a paragraph from the book.

If I were to sum it all up, I can say that the secret to a successful anatomy memorization would be through the use of audio mnemonics. It's pretty painful to carry your books everywhere to study, but it's easy to pop your earphones on and listen. Not only that, but there are less distractions, and the information is direct and undiluted. If you are certainly willing to learn and listen, I assure you that with the mnemonics, you will ace the exam.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment