Suggested Study Habits

I loved my Marieb book:heartbeat! Does yours come with the online component? (check for a CD in the cover) Since you're not sure what areas your teacher will stress (unless you can get your hands on the course objectives for your school),then it might be cumbersome to go over every single little thing (the book seems to always go into more detail than can possibly be crammed into one course). I'd work on the basic concepts, the first chapter or two that deal with the general organization of the human body, plus brush up on your basic chem. Maybe also read all the chapter intros and summaries and maybe do some of the online exercises. You could also look through the AP thread here and see what areas students tend to struggle in and give yourself a sneak-peek at those areas.

You could also try reading an Anatomy& Physiology for Dummies book...those tend to just cover the basics and would be a great heads up for what to expect in class. I loved mine!

Next time you are faced with a full class, I would suggest going anyway for as many sessions as the instructor will let you (though you may have to stand in the back if the seats are full). People inevitably drop after the first week or so...it happens all the time and is very frustrating for those who really really really need those spots.

GOOD LUCK!

No it doesn't have the CD since it was a cheapie book. I'm about to start chapter 9 on joints. Thinking about trying a tutor to see if that helps--especially the orientation and directional terms. Still have to look them up every single time.

Thanks, Bo

Use google to find a college a&p syllabus and follow along with that. If you can find a syllabus that specifically uses your textbook then even better. That way you can get a feel for what material you will need to know when you're in the class.

It's possible that one of the A&P instructors, once s/he hears that you attempted to register for his/her class but found it full, would be willing to give you a copy of that class's syllabus, perhaps particularly if you are attending a community college. From the current class schedule you could pick the instructor who teaches the most sessions of the A&P class, or the one who is likely to become your future instructor, and show up right at the beginning of his/her office hours (perhaps posted on their office door?) w/ your request. I like to think any instructor should wish to help, since instructors, too, benefit from your good performance in a class they teach.

If the A&P book you purchased is the one your school's bookstore sells for the class you have in mind, you'll have the additional benefit of being familiar with it once you're in class.

I'd suggest you concentrate more on studying the physiology portion of A&P. Doing well in the anatomy part of A&P, for me, depending on spending extra time in the lab w/ the specimens. You'll have opportunity to do that when you're actually in the class. Physiology will include the dreaded Krebs/Citric Acid Cycle. It was not easy for me to understand and I spent a lot of time on it, despite having encountered the very same topic in a Chem class as well as in Microbio. My school's A&P also seemed to emphasize the physiology of kidney excretion, as well as how the body deals w/ ingested proteins, carbohydrates, and fats--which organs break down which, and how the reduced molecules move through the digestive system. Those took extra time to study as well. If you can get a head start on such concepts, I'd say you'll be in quite good shape when you encounter them again in class.

Good luck! Initiative and a mind for independent study are great traits to have. :nuke:

It's possible that one of the A&P instructors, once s/he hears that you attempted to register for his/her class but found it full, would be willing to give you a copy of that class's syllabus, perhaps particularly if you are attending a community college. From the current class schedule you could pick the instructor who teaches the most sessions of the A&P class, or the one who is likely to become your future instructor, and show up right at the beginning of his/her office hours (perhaps posted on their office door?) w/ your request. I like to think any instructor should wish to help, since instructors, too, benefit from your good performance in a class they teach.

If the A&P book you purchased is the one your school's bookstore sells for the class you have in mind, you'll have the additional benefit of being familiar with it once you're in class.

I'd suggest you concentrate more on studying the physiology portion of A&P. Doing well in the anatomy part of A&P, for me, depending on spending extra time in the lab w/ the specimens. You'll have opportunity to do that when you're actually in the class. Physiology will include the dreaded Krebs/Citric Acid Cycle. It was not easy for me to understand and I spent a lot of time on it, despite having encountered the very same topic in a Chem class as well as in Microbio. My school's A&P also seemed to emphasize the physiology of kidney excretion, as well as how the body deals w/ ingested proteins, carbohydrates, and fats--which organs break down which, and how the reduced molecules move through the digestive system. Those took extra time to study as well. If you can get a head start on such concepts, I'd say you'll be in quite good shape when you encounter them again in class.

Good luck! Initiative and a mind for independent study are great traits to have. :nuke:

I have to agree with this post. Study all of this and you will do fine. As far as anatomy goes almost everyone has to learn all the bones and the major muscles. But I had the toughest time on the tissues. There are slides you can look up online. I would see what the book lists for tissues and study those too. Good luck!

Read over the whole thing (even just the chapter summaries). Don't try to learn it in depth, but try to get an idea of the bigger picture of how everything fits together.

In the beginning, when you study tissues, it's much more difficult than it really needs to be because you don't have the context. You don't see yet how the various types of tissues repeat in system after system, and it's like trying to memorize a bunch of complete gibberish. Having the holistic context may help you understand things better from the start and not have to rely quite so much on straight memorization.

Knowing the tissues well will definitely help you in every other section, too.

After that, memorizing the bones, muscles, blood vessels, and nerves is probably the most difficult part for a lot of people, because there's just so many of them.

Couple other things...don't spend time memorizing muscles right now...there are way too many and you won't know which ones your instructor will choose to focus on. For example, we had to know 60 (origins, insertions and actions)...doesn't seem like a lot but it was brutal!

Other sections that got pretty detailed:

Regulation of blood pressure

Fluid/electrolyte homeostasis

Action potentials and all that exciting CNS stuff...

Gas exchange, pH and how it relates to the respiratory system

Digestion (as mentioned in a previous post)

Have fun!

All sections of anatomy were full when I tried to register. I bought the book HUMAN ANATOMY by Marieb, Mallatt, and Wilhelm and have been studying it on my own.

I'd appreciate any suggestions to get the most out of my efforts so I can ace anatomy when I finally can get in a class.

Thanks

Bo

I am currently taking A&P and I also use the same book so maybe I could suggest a few things.

Obviously, start with Chapter I. This is the easiest section in the book so read everything and know it well. Memorize all the directional terms and body areas along with the body planes, body cavities and the abdominopelvic regions and quadrants. This chapter is cake and you should miss nothing.

Chapter 2 is Chemistry, and it is a very important chapter. Make sure you read it and most importantly that you understand it. Memorize the keywords. Actually memorize everything. If you don't get a good handle on chemistry then you will be having a lot of problems in the following chapters, so I recommend it you know the basics by heart.

Chapter 3 is Cells. Read the material and understand it. You don't really understand it until you can explain it. I had a hard time with the DNA part but as long as you put the time in there is nothing that you won't be able to learn.

Chapter 4 is Tissues. My advice for you is to print out some histology slides and start memorizing the patterns of epithelial tissues and connective tissues. I would not worry so much about the muscle and nervous tissues just yet because those you will get to in later chapters.

Now, if you can contact your instructor and get the syllabus along with the study guide, then that is your best bet in finding out exactly what you will need to know. If you will not be able to obtain those files then let me know and I will send you mine. I have power point slides, study guides and practice exams so I will be happy to help you. Any other questions you may have just shoot. Oh and remember, take it slow page by page and understand the material because you don't really know it until you can explain it. Good luck to you.

Couple other things...don't spend time memorizing muscles right now...there are way too many and you won't know which ones your instructor will choose to focus on!

Yes, that's a very good point. Do not get too far ahead of yourself memorizing every single bone and muscle because chances are you will not need to know all of it anyway. Better to use that time for the stuff you will need to know. I haven't gotten to the muscles part yet but I recall our instructor telling the class to use the study guide for exam preparation because we will simply not be expected to know the whole book in and out. There is just too much information and too little time to memorize it all.

Couple other things...don't spend time memorizing muscles right now...there are way too many and you won't know which ones your instructor will choose to focus on. For example, we had to know 60 (origins, insertions and actions)...doesn't seem like a lot but it was brutal!

Oops, yes, meant to make that point and forgot. We had 60 muscles, too.

Memorizing the big bones/muscles/etc. would, IMO, be a good thing to get a head start on. That particular test was by far the hardest for me (but straight memorization isn't my strong point) - there was a ton of information, and not much time to get it down. However, sticking to the largest, most likely ones would make sense. Or get the list from someone who has already taken the class.

My anatomy instructor let everybody in for every section. We had students sitting in front of the lecture hall, setting up folding chairs in the back, on both sides of the aisle, piled over the fire hazard warning signs, etc.

By the third week, there was a seat for everyone. If you got an A on the first test, you had a seat. If you got an F...

That's how it went.