Please....study Help For Skeletal System

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Oct 23, 2005

I am sure it's already been answered, but I just started the skeletal system and I don't know where to begin even just with the skull.Which way do I go, should I study all the main bones, then go to the other parts. How did all of you get through the skeletal system??? I just ordered Mr. Thrifty on Ebay, will that really help. Is it possible for me to learn all these bones in 3 wks, if so how? Should I everyday take like 5 or 10 bones, and pick diff ones each other day. Skeletal to me so far seems like the worst, please tell me it's the worst part of A&P. thanks to any and all suggestions.
PS We do not have open lab we have lab once a week.

Once you get the skull down the rest is a peice of cake, hang in there! (I got an A, after HOURS of studying) What I found helpful, since I am a hands on learner, was to run my finger over the bone and repeat the name of the bone five times..."Crista gali, crista gali, crista gali..." then I would go on to the next one adding one more at a time but still saying the ones I already went over..."Crib reform plate, crib reform plate....ethmoid air cells ethmoid air...."

When I was not in school I had little cut outs of the bones so I could turn them over and stuff so I could do the same thing as I would on a real bone.

Get a study partner and quiz eachother.

I suggest learning the skull first, get it out of the way, after that, which isn't that hard once you sit down at it, the rest is a lot easier.

Three weeks is more than enough time to learn this stuff. Study study study. Study for thirty mins or so and then take a five min break and get right back to it. I remember when I was first starting to study the bones I felt the same way. Now that I have a week to learn the muscular system I am thinking, "The bones were a peice of cake compaired to this!"

PS, try to get the words straight, it will make things a lot easier to memorize because they mean the same thing on all the bones: A forammen is a hole: foramen magnum, spinal foramen, transverse foramen interverbal foramen...

A process is what a fossa articulates with:the olecranon fossa of the humerus works with the olecranon processes of the Ulna. Get it? Also, invest in a medical dictonary, the words are not made up, some times if you know what the word means, which often describes the shape/look of what you are talking about, it really helps.

:uhoh3: (ignore my spelling, spell check is not working, or my noggin for that matter!:rotfl: )

Fun2, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2005

PHOTOS and a lil' man! (your mr. thrifty is a skeleton man, right?)

I used a mini-skeleton I bought on ebay, and photos that I took of the skeletons in lab. I also looked up quizzes and different pics online.

Here are some links I used:

http://www.csupomona.edu/~jlbath/Lab%20Pics/

http://science.nhmccd.edu/biol/skeleton/skeleton.htm

main A&P site of above link: http://science.nhmccd.edu/biol/#

http://daphne.palomar.edu/ccarpenter/Models/model%20index.htm#Skin/Skeletal

I don't have powerpoint quizzes of the bones, but I do have some photos of the skull, etc. It's always good to view different pics of bones because some are easier to see the landmarks than the others. You never know what you will be looking at on your lab practical.

Good luck! :) (nursingjourney.com)

rgrgray · Oct 24, 2005

does your lab textbook come a cd mine did and it was very helpful! i think you will be fine, like said before once you get thru the skull its pretty simple. it just seems overwhelming. but you will be fine. me and a couple people from my class would get together and we would study the bones together and that helped alot I learned all the bones in a week so i think 3wks will be plenty of time

RudyMvp1 · Oct 24, 2005

Learning the bones...the key to this is REPITITION!!!!

Make flashcards or buy some flashcards...and just study them over and over and over.....the only way to learn the bones or muscles is through repitition!

Plus,,the more you study them...your anxiety and self doubt goes away!

If you wait til the last week or the last DAY...your anxiety will be outta control and all you will be able to think about it FAILURE and you wont be able to concentrate!

Make some flashcards...and just go for it and you will be fine! :)

Also,,,studying your flashcards 10 minutes before you go to sleep helps alot too!!!

labcat01, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

I just started out generally and worked towards the specific. First I learned the bones of the cranium then the facial bones (Every Zoo Finds Silly Little Monkey Poo = Ethmoid, Zygomatic, Frontal, Sphenoid, Lacrimal, Maxilla, Palatine). Once I could identify that stuff then I went back and learned the more specific stuff.

This website lets you pick different parts of the anatomy and you can quiz yourself on it:http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/GrossAnatomy/learnem/bones/main_bone.htm

This is also great advice!

PS, try to get the words straight, it will make things a lot easier to memorize because they mean the same thing on all the bones: A forammen is a hole: foramen magnum, spinal foramen, transverse foramen interverbal foramen...
A process is what a fossa articulates with:the olecranon fossa of the humerus works with the olecranon processes of the Ulna. Get it? Also, invest in a medical dictonary, the words are not made up, some times if you know what the word means, which often describes the shape/look of what you are talking about, it really helps.
(ignore my spelling, spell check is not working, or my noggin for that matter!:rotfl: )

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Oct 24, 2005

First I learned the bones of the cranium then the facial bones (Every Zoo Finds Silly Little Monkey Poo = Ethmoid, Zygomatic, Frontal, Sphenoid, Lacrimal, Maxilla, Palatine).
:rotfl: Cute one, the one our teacher told us that his past students involves sally getting her pants pulled down...

crb613, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

We have a really great lab so I just spent extra time in there. I found if I actually touched the bones & looked at them really good this helped me. I would just get the bones out & pick them up at ramdon until I could name them all. I also think this helped that I practiced on the actual bones that would be used during our practical.

When you get to the muscles/veins/arteries you will see how much easier the bones are! Just remember location,location,location! Also matching the bones to you own body helps too.Good Luck you have plenty of time & I bet you will do fine.

casi, ASN, RN · Oct 25, 2005

FLASHCARDS. I made tons upon tons of flashcards. I went to google picture search and looked up all the different bones, printed out tons of pictures and made flashcards. I'd go through the flashcards looking at the picture side whenever I had the chance. Then when I was in lab I'd sit down wiht Mr. Skeleton. Look at the names on the flashcards, point to the bone on Mr. Skeleton, then flip over the flashcard to look at the picture and make sure I got the right bone.

Otherwise once I felt semi comfortable with the bones, I'd find myself going through all the bones in my body startting at the head, feeling each bone through the skin and naming it. This helpped a lot. I found myself groping myself during my A&P test because I was trying to work out what was on the test.

jenn_rn_nj · Oct 25, 2005

I have my practical on the skeleton this week.

The method that I used was learning 2-3 bones each day. When it came time for the skull, I learned a different aspect each day. Breaking it down made it less cumbersome. I also had a little 3 foot skeleton on loan from a friend at work which helped tremendously. I was able to see the bones outside of lab time and that was great. :)

Best of luck to you on your practical / tests.

student4ever · Oct 26, 2005

I am a writing based learner, so I scanned in the labeled pictures from the text/lab books to my computer, put them on powerpoint full page images, printed them out (one copy) whited out the labels leaving only the lines, and photocopied about 10 copies. Then I just practiced by writing as many as I could off the top of my head, and then going back with the book and writing in the ones I didn't know. Each set of blank images to label, I found it easier to fill in a whole page without looking at the book. I just took the test yesterday, so I don't know how well I did, but I felt pretty good about it. Good luck - hopefully your skeleton will help you out! Oh, and also, I only had a week to do it in, so with three weeks, you should be doing great!