I just got a 60 on my first AP! lab practical, which was bones.... How do you study?

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I am really nervours that all my test will be the same and I wont pass this class, because even if I get an A in my lecture class, if I dont pass the lab portion, I fail the whole course... How do you study for your anatomy labs....I really need help! The next practical will be Muscles...How did you study?

I started an AP class but didn't finish it (long story) I took one practical and I found it easy to remember everything by the diagrams, labeling & coloring in what I needed to know. Make an honest effort to find time to study every day as it comes closer to the date of your exam you'll know for sure what you do know, & what you need to focus more on. Print extra copies of the blank diagrams to practice with. Good luck.

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If it's a cadaver lab, check the lab policy first before you go taking pictures or video. There may be specific rules about what you can and cannot do.

I was going to comment on this, too - we have a cadaver lab at my CC and we're not allowed to take pictures of the cadavers because of the risk of abusing them and losing our privileges.

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Specializes in ER,Surgical ICU,Neuro ICU, OR.

You have to learn them little by little. For example one day you learn the outer skull, next day go for the inner skull but remember to go back and repeat the outer skull. Next day learn the chest area but at the end go back and repeat the inner and outer skull and so on. If you do this every day in one week you will now them really good, the secret is learning a new piece every day and going back to repeat he older ones. This method can work for blood vessels, muscles nerves etc... The problem with A&P practicals is that when you see at firs all the load of information that you have to memorize you get scared but the key is to learn small pieces every day and repeat the older ones too. This method allowed me to get an A. Good luck.

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Acronyms for each area of the body really helped me. Make your own up or google them. It helps if you know them so well that you can visualize it in your head without looking at a picture. Also get sticky notes and label your lab partner. It's fun and it helps to bring everything together.

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Oh yeah, Mnemonics really help too. For sure I was saying Some lovers try positions that they can't handle during my practical yesterday:lol2:

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stay as long as you can on your lab days and review everything every week and go over things with your lab instructor you are unclear about...try partnering up with someone and quiz one another during dissections and each week quiz each other over previous material

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There are some great ideas here. The thing to remember with practicals like this is that repetition is KEY. Write, rewrite, and rewrite some more, take blank sheets and fill them in, quiz yourself. Here is a BIG one if you have access to bones. Practice with bones! Very important!!! There were some students in my class that said that they were just going to practice with pics from the powerpoint. My response to them is that come lab day you will ONLY have the bones in front of you. You will not have any powerpoint pics, and you will not have a word bank to choose from. The more you practice, and the more exposure you have to the bones and muscles the better you will be. Good luck on your next one! :):):)

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Nice to hear that I am not the only one who spent hours and hours re-labeling blank worksheets! The repetition really helps! My husband scanned images directly from the texts and then blanked out the labels and names using PhotoShop (He is a very good sport!) I also ended up making lots and lots of flashcards. I think the stack was about a foot tall for Anatomy and about 2 feet tall for Physiology. Crazy! All of my studying was very time/ labor intensive and I often wondered if there was a more efficient way to do it, but it worked for me... A's in both classes with a VERY demanding instructor. I do not have the link to any of the websites that I used, but several colleges have very good Anatomy sites with models to study; I think Palomar college was a good one. Good luck!

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I just drew the bones over and over and over. I am not an artist, and it looked like a first graders work, but that is what worked for me. I made high A's in all my labs that way.

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I just had my first A&P 1 practical today. It was mostly tissue slides.. I think that is the hardest practical of the course. They were so hard to study for.

As for the muscle and bone practical, perhaps a coloring book would help. It would help you remember what colors you colored in each of the muscles. The blank diagrams are extremely helpful, too.

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You can by an anatomy coloring books at Barnes and Noble. That might really help. I wish I would have known about them when I was in A and P, that would have made my life alot easier.

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When I had A&P 1 and A&P 2, my instructor gave us pictures to study with labels on them and an extra copy that was not labeled. I would just make copies and keep practicing until I got it right.

There is also a website called purposegames.com. It was very helpful to me it has all kinds of games to fill in the labels of pictures by clicking and it will tell you if you are right.

I played alot of games!!! It worked well for me and I got a "B" in A&P 1 and an "A" in A&P 2.

If you can't find labeled pictures to study copy them out of your book and make your own.

Good Luck! I hope that this helps:)

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