Tips for an A in Anatomy?

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I've already had a 20 question quiz(this was the first quiz) in Anatomy, got an 85% on it:). I HAVE to ace this class. As far as Anatomy goes, what are some tips for getting an "A"?. Should I make flashcards, read chapters before class?(my professor emails our notes before class). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I have a test this coming Thursday on the cell, tissues, anatomical positions, and integumentary system... There will be a Lab test as well, so how should I go about studying for that portion?

ICUterry we might be classmates and not even know it lol. Your professor sounds like a carbon copy of my professor. I'll P.M. you to tell you what school I go to

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I have been doing well in A&P I thanks to www.mrfordsclass.net. I seem to retain information well by watching his videos (often on repeat, especially the ones on the anatomical positions, which you can find on youtube for free). Each of the systems he has is $5 a piece, well worth it in my opinion. My instructor, although nice, only reads from her powerpoints (word for word) and the class can be pretty monotonous. Watching videos really helps me.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.

My lab was the same as my lecture teacher. He took pictures of models and wrote # on them. i printed those pictures out and taped them to notecards.

As far as the facts. I would also make notecards. I would write the system that its in on the top, then make up my own question (very good study tip, MAKE UP YOUR OWN QUESTIONS...)on one side. Most would have multiple parts. Example of "question side of notecard"

Digestive System:

a. ____ of ______ is the islet in the endocrine portion of the pancreas

b. Name all cells in the endocrine portion of the pancreas, what they secrete and what those secretions do.

So then on the other side I would put:

Example:

a. Islet of Langerhans

b. alpha cells: glucagon-raises blood sugar

beta cells: insulin-lowers blood sugar

delta cells: somastatin-controls alpha and beta cell secretion

f-cells: pancreatic polypeptide-regulates release of digestive enzymes

All my questions I would make up would range from t/f to multiple choice, to matching, to short answer, fill-in-the-blank, to essay (On the answer portion I would put key words I should use to describe the answer, since i am not writing it out like an essay)

That, and having people quiz me by holding up notecards or orally quizzing me using my cards, got my an A in anatomy!

Good luck

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My strategy for Anatomy (separate from phys at my school) was make flash cards for lecture stuff. For lab we got a lab book which listed everything that would be on each test. Then I went through the list with the book and highlighted all the parts(pictures) on that list for the upcoming test. Every page that had highlighting got a sticky tab (each test a different color). Then it was easy for me to go through all the stuff, find it, and know that I wasn’t missing anything. I didn’t do this on the first test and got a B. Started doing this after that and got all A’s. But I did work on it every day of that semester aside from my birthday. I don’t care how smart you are. If you wait till a few days before the test to study you won’t do well. There’s just too much info.

My teacher had open lab on the weekends where you could get extra help. If you have this available GO, even if your keeping up. Just by being there and listening you will get questions answered you didn’t even know you had. And you will actually understand the stuff by talking about it there with the teacher and other students.

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I've used the online tests, quizzes, and made flashcards. I have a test in 4 days, so I'm getting prepared so I don't have to cram or stress out last minute. I haven't made flashcards for all the terms yet, I plan on doing that. I'm also going through my lab book for the part on the tissues; it has really detailed explanations and pictures.

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What ready made flash cards are good for A&P 1. We are using Marieb book.

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For the lab section we always had a camera handy and took images of all the models, etc. We always made sure that we knew what exactly we needed to know and where it was located found on model or body.

For the histology section (which I HATED!!!!) I found additional images online and printed them up onto notecards for studying. It really helped.

Lecture exam studying is dependant upon who your teacher is. I always had a study guide handy and always went through lecture notes. It also helps to record the lectures (if you professor allows it). I never had a teacher say no yet, knock on wood! I alway play the lecture back before exam, quiz, etc.

Good LUCK! Just wait till you get to muscles.

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crazy man you sound just like me.. ive been studying at my local barnes n noble for about 6 hours.. i feel somewhat prepared.. but im sure ill be ready in the next few days.. kind of sucks though because we are doing the axial skeleton in lab and im still focused on this test..

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I would advise to try to under the images at the same time you are studying. It's much more easier for your brain to memorize the images. Also try to use "pneumonic", which is also a good way to memorize stuff. For the anatomic positions, try to practice them. I studied that way, and I got respectively an A and A- for A&P 1 and 2. Good luck.

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AL what school do you go to?

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Our school splits anatomy and physiology into two separate courses. For anatomy, what worked for me was repetition. I made note cards for the first test and then I stopped because they just didn't work for me personally. Our professor tested mainly off of lecture and power points so I didn't read really much of the book at all- I mainly used it as a reference when something wasn't clear. For lab, he would put a sticker on a model/skeleton and you would have to say what it was (no word bank, all from memory and if it was spelt wrong- no points). One thing that really helped me was finding online "quiz" sites. I guess it's similar to note cards but it really helped me visualize things. For example- Identifying Skull Bones & Structures - Slideshow was a website I used all the time for the studying the bones of the skull. For some reason these were hard for me to visualize in a 3D way so seeing them in this format versus a flat picture helped. I would quiz myself on things over and over again on sites like this until I knew the stuff so well I could explain it someone else. I taught my dogs a lot of anatomy that semester. :D For physiology, I drew a lot of pictures and made a lot of concept maps to help me trace the cause and effect relationships of things. I ended up with an A in both classes.

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