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Suggestions for Gross Anatomy and Patho-physiology preparation


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Hello everyone, the winter break is almost through. I'm taking both Gross Anatomy and Patho this upcoming semester (2/3 weeks away). I wanted to try and prepare for it as best as I could before the semester starts. Does anyone have any tips, or ideas of what to really study and focus on before beginning? I've been out of Anatomy for a little over 2 years now, so I definitely need to brush up on it a bit.

Any help and advise is greatly appreciated!

MLMPA

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  • 2 weeks later...

Honestly I feel it is hard to prepare in advance because you don't know what detail your course will go into and in what order. For my program we did anatomy over this past summer and it had been 4 years since I had taken anatomy and I did fine in it. If you know how your program will approach anatomy then I'd start with innervation and blood supply for that area of the body. I know for us the body was broken up into 4 sections and each section we had 3 weeks for except for lower extremity we did in 1 week. Not sure if this helps, but I know innervation, blood supply, and OIAs were important.

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So I am very passionate about gross anatomy and still help teach it. I'm in no way telling you how to study but here is how I teach students to study:

1) open netter's atlas and review and become familiar with muscles, nerves, major arterial/venous supply before lecture/lab. Don't try to memorize anything, just visually become familiar.

2) attend lecture/lab and make notes-- I'll attach example

3) go back into netter's and match your notes with your cadaver and make "visual notecards." Every time you look at the coracoid process you should think "attachment- coracobrachialis, short head biceps"

4) repetition of everything. It means spending time in lab and at home going over everything visually!

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is tough to prepare for these kind of classes with so many details to know.  I suppose just reviewing the biggest/obvious anatomy landmarks might be helpful so that its second nature when they mention the small things in relation to the bigs.  It may be more useful to just have a very solid plan of attack for when you start.  These are the things I wish I knew going into it...

 

When it comes to anatomy, sometimes it can get overwhelming and you will wonder what are the the most relevant/important parts of it all.  After all, there is too much to learn absolutely everything, so you'll have to prioritize.  Obviously for the test, the person determining the most important things is the professor, so you should be sure not to forget what they outline in lectures.  For the real world, it really depends on what kind of specialty you are interested in, but the things that generally aren't as important are the small bony landmarks, attachment points, exact mechanism/dynamics of muscle use, even the tiny muscle names aren't as important.  But the overall bone names, blood vessels, nerves, organs are very important regardless of what you do.  Especially in the ER where we do advanced procedures like central lines, ultrasound, etc, its really important to know this anatomy well, so don't shrug it off as purely didactically relevant.

 

For a WONDERFUL podcast series that walks you through exactly how relevant anatomy comes up in clinical emergency medicine, check out this Irishman's website/podcast "Anatomy for the Emergency Physician".  I'd highly recommend this!  Wish I had known about it before graduating PA school.  

http://emergencymedicineireland.com/anatomy-and-em/

 

There is also a textbook called "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" that I've been told you can find a free pdf if you google for it.  I haven't tried this so I don't know how good it is, but its another resource available.  

 

When it comes to physiology, its more of the same... tons and tons of things to memorize and you'll have to prioritize.  There will be certain tough topics that come up time and time again even into practice, and the sooner you just buckle down to truly understand it and fully memorize it, the easier it will be in the long run.  Commonly reoccurring topics would include, for example, the autonomic nervous system (neurotransmitters, receptors, systemic effects ESPECIALLY on the blood vessels and the heart, and modulators/medicines the affect it), RAAS system (learn it well!), acid base physiology and role of CO2/bicarb/etc, concept of oxygenation vs ventilation and manifestations when one is messed up, etc.  I still am going back to review autonomic nervous system stuff, because every single day at work I am hearing terms like anticholinergic/antimuscarinic/etc thrown around and its expected that you know these so well that you've basically internalized it by now.  

 

Hope this helps!

-SN

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My professor gives us a list of all of the material that we are responsible for which I use to get ahead when I can. I make a list of structure/functions/insertions/innervation/etc in quizlet after every lecture. Then when I go to bed I watch aclands dvd atlas on whatever region that we're working on until I pass out. Aclands was a nice overview before I started PA school though anatomy is generally one of my strengths. Good luck

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  • 1 month later...

I am interested in this as well. I was accepted to a school starting in January and I'm wondering how to best prepare my A&P knowledge. It's been years so now I'm just reading the text as an overview, but Im wondering what I should be focusing or really KNOW well. I know the likely answer is "Everything" but wondering what my priorities should be as a new student?

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I am almost done with first semester of PA school- we took both Anatomy and Patho this semester.  I enjoyed patho more, mainly because I was not a big fan of anatomy lab.  However, I am learning a TON regardless of the frustration.

 

Tip for anatomy: YOUTUBE.  Not kidding.  There are SO many people on youtube who explain difficult anatomy slowly and clearly. Obviously since it's the internet, check their information against the notes you were given.  I am a huge visual learner.  Squeezing in an autonomics lecture in 2 hours is INSANE, but I was able to understand it better with animations and slower presentations.

 

Also- PRACTICE LAB questions.

http://ect.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/quiz.htm

 

For patho...it really depends on how your course is set up.  Ours was pretty sporadic and some lectures didn't seem to "fit" together  The idea with patho was to skim the surface on a bunch of topics so that it's easier to digest once we hit clinical medicine, pharm, etc etc.  I highly suggest using a PANCE review book, or Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple.  Both will have more information than you need, but highlight and repeat very important concepts.

 

Best of luck!

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UPDATE:

 

I use Grays anatomy flash cards for review and they have been very helpful. BRS Gross anatomy is essential in my opinion. You will need to use an atlas or the flashcards alongside it. The review questions at the end of each section in the BRS book will give you a good idea of where you stand for your tests. As for practical, look at all of the cadavers every day! Don't wait until the lab before your practical. Make a list of all of the structures that you are responsible for and try to locate as many of them as you can on each cadaver. Ask the other groups and your lab instructor to point out structures to you if you are unsure. If you do this, you will be well prepared for the practical. I don't know which text you have for pathology but I find that Robbins is a bit much to start with. BRS pathology can be had for cheap and will give you the highlights of each disorder without all of the extra fluff. Pance Prep Pearls, Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple, and USMLE step 1 first aid have also been very helpful.

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I am interested in this as well. I was accepted to a school starting in January and I'm wondering how to best prepare my A&P knowledge. It's been years so now I'm just reading the text as an overview, but Im wondering what I should be focusing or really KNOW well. I know the likely answer is "Everything" but wondering what my priorities should be as a new student?

 

 

Look at the neural physiology, including how an action potential is created.  Learn the cranial nerves.  Learn the dermatomes.  Other systems will come more easily if you have a good grasp of this section.

 

Learn the nephron.  Diseases of the kidney are much easier if its physiology (e.g. what does each part, such as the loop of Henle, do, and how does it work) are clear to you.  Look at how acids and bases are maintained by the kidney and lungs.

 

Good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Look at the neural physiology, including how an action potential is created.  Learn the cranial nerves.  Learn the dermatomes.  Other systems will come more easily if you have a good grasp of this section.

 

Learn the nephron.  Diseases of the kidney are much easier if its physiology (e.g. what does each part, such as the loop of Henle, do, and how does it work) are clear to you.  Look at how acids and bases are maintained by the kidney and lungs.

 

Good luck

 

 

Thank you!

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