How do I memorize all the bones/ skull???

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing Nursing Q/A

Hi all...I am overwhelmed with the skull. I need to learn all the bones until wed test in lab. I don't even know where and how to begin. I have been sitting here for 2 hours, trying to come up with a way I can memorize it all. Anyone have any great ideas.....Please help!

I appreciate anything. How did you learn it all, by sections? Songs, anything?

13 Answers

If you want to memorize the skull just use your right hand. Place your right hand on top of your head. Where your palm lands is the Parietal bone. The Thumb is the temporal. Fingers is the frontal bone and the wrist is the "Other" meaning it is the Occipital. Hope that helps somewhat.

Great Video On Memorizing the Skeletal Bones

When I memorized them, the easiest way to memorize skull bones was to learn the major bones first. Don't worry about all the little bones, just the major ones. Then just make categories of the rest of them. Just do small amounts at a time - don't look at all of them at once. I promise if you break them up, you will know them in no time. ?

I just took my bone markings test. I got a great grade. My secret? Going over it once to learn the words, then again for comprehension. Then about 10 more times for memorization. By the time I got to class I could point everything out with my eyes closed. It really helps to use the actual skull and not a picture. Things look so much more pronounced in the textbook drawings.

I also like to associate names with stupid things. It worked for me, it might work for you. Like Crista Galli likes to hang out at her crib-iform plate.

I'm a huge dork, I know ? But there is a lot riding on these tests so I'll do what it takes to get that A!~!

Well I had a similar problem not too long ago. What worked for me was just going over it over and over again.

I would use certain websites that are very interactive and it helped me in remembering the various parts by constantly quizzing myself. Eventually I got there.

https://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/grossanatomy/learnem/bones/main_bone.htm

It seems pretty overwhelming at first when you have to learn all those parts especially of the skull. I remember when I first saw the skull how complicated it looked but it's not as bad as it looks -- just remember that. It could be really frustrating but the more you go over them the more you remember them.

snovbunny25 said:

Hi all...I am overwhelmed with the skull. I need to learn all the bones until wed test in lab. I don't even know where and how to begin. I have been sitting here for 2 hours, trying to come up with a way I can memorize it all. Anyone have any great ideas.....Please help!

I appreciate anything. How did you learn it all, by sections? Songs, anything?

Hello, I know it can feel very overwhelming and confusing. Be patient with yourself, you'll get it.

I just took my practical on bones/skull on Saturday. I did great (thank the Lord!)... I agree with Sophia (it takes repetition). I wrote the the names of bones on flash cards and grouped them together. For example, for the sphenoid bone: I wrote sphenoid bone one one side and on the other side I described where the bone is located. I did this for every structure of the sphenoid bone (foramen ovale, foramen spinosum, foramen rotondum, optic canal, lesser wing, greater wing, etc). Once I was done with all the structures of the sphenoid bone I clipped it together. I did this for every bone in the skull and every structure within the bone. writing it down on the flash cards helped reinforce the name of the structure.

Then once I was done with writing out all the bones and structures within them on flashcards, I reviewed them everyday for about 3 hours until the day before my exam. By the time I went to the test, I felt confident and knew them well.

I think for me it took writing it down on flash cards, looking at the structure as I said the name of the structure, also identifying if I could see the structure from an inferior or superior view, and taking daily time to study to give my brain time to make connections.

Hope this helps.

You'll do great!:up:

I know what you are going through!!! I am also taking a&p and biology this semester! This week I have a lab exam on the skull, vertebrae. A long list of other bones, skin and blood vessels! I cant wait till this week is over! I followed the links. They helped a lot. I printed them out and labeled them. Actually I made 2 copies so a friend of mine can quiz me! Good luck on the exam!

I have the worlds worse memory........but I found a way to memorize bones/bone features. Due to the poor memory I have to get creative to help me remember, and fortunately it worked, I only missed one and it was one that I forgot to put on my list to study. I first obtained a list of exactly what he teacher wanted us to learn, just so I could spend more time on what I need and less on what I don't need. Then I got my Anatomy book, along with other anatomy books with different pictures.......and I copied page after page. This way I could have the pictured that I wanted and could arrange them in the order that I wanted. Next, I made these little "flaps" out of a dark or heavier piece of paper that I couldn't see through. I would tape the "flap" over the word that named the feature/bone, using a small piece of tape on the top so I could easily lift up the flap and quiz myself. I would cover every bone/feature that I needed to memorize. Once all bones/features were covered I would arrange my pages in my binder and start on page one. I would lift the first flap.....mandible, ok, now flap one and the next flap.......occipital bone, and on and on... Learning one flap at a time, until you learn the whole page, then turn the page, learn the next page and flip back and cover both pages........and on and on till you cover all of your notes. I had a buddy in my nursing class who is taking his AP now and was worried about the memorization, I let him use my material and he is still thanking me and says that I should make up more and sell them. Anyway, it did take time to make, but for me it was just he tool that I needed to ace my bone test. Also made the same device for memorizing veins and arteries, and again aced the test. I swear my memory is the worse, so for this to work as well as it did for me.........I wanted to share for you or others who may be having problems.

Well I brought my camera on the lab days we were supposed to practice and took pics of all the bones there were going to be on the lab test.

I just used the book for specific bone areas that were going to be asked on the test and compared it to the pictures I took of the bones.

So in the end you can practice your bones at home, instead of the labs.

The only negative thing about this is if you don't have a digital camera to transfer the pics to your computer, and end up using a regular camera that you need to develop the film will cost you money....

Specializes in Emergency Department.

While there are 206 bones in the body, you have to only learn about 1/2 of them because once you move away from the skull/spine/pelvis, the bones are duplicated on each side of the body. I just broke the body down to segments and learned the bones in each segment. Remember, wrist/hand and ankle/foot bones make up a very high percentage of those 206 bones and most of those bones are known by similar names, so it's not that hard to remember those.

What gets hard is remembering the features of each bone or having to ID a particular bone by itself. While a calcaneous bone is relatively easy, how about looking at the navicular laid out all by itself?

Hopefully you don't have to get into that kind of detail. That's only needed by people doing physical anthropology or some kind of crime scene investigation to determine if a bone is human...

Specializes in Emergency Department.

The good news about the skull bones is that each one is very different and if you know where in the skull that it "lives" you can easily describe what other bones it interfaces with and other unique features. In some ways, the skull is just putting together a 3D puzzle. It's just a bit of memorization and familiarization. If you have trouble memorizing important stuff and you do well with remembering trivia, make the important stuff into trivia. Then all you do is have to get it into long-term memory, where you can then just call it up at the drop of a hat... because its just trivia.

Thank you, I guess I am realizing that now, LOL. Last night I sat down and sectioned it all up by larger bones etc and I have memo them all. It seemed so complicated when you looked at all of the names and tried to find them that way, one by one.

Thank you for the website, I am gonna practice on there for sure .

: )

Quote

Well I had a similar problem not too long ago. What worked for me was just going over it over and over again.

I would use certain websites that are very interactive and it helped me in remembering the various parts by constantly quizzing myself. Eventually I got there.

https://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/grossanatomy/learnem/bones/main_bone.htm

It seems pretty overwhelming at first when you have to learn all those parts especially of the skull. I remember when I first saw the skull how complicated it looked but it's not as bad as it looks -- just remember that. It could be really frustrating but the more you go over them the more you remember them.

dmaccnursing_student said:
When I memorized them, the easiest way to memorize skull bones was to learn the major bones first. Don't worry about all the little bones, just the major ones. Then just make categories of the rest of them. Just do small amounts at a time - don't look at all of them at once. I promise if you break them up, you will know them in no time ?

I have an quiz today on the skull. Can you send me a copy via scan/email of your list of categories, etc? Thanks!

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