I am learning Anatomy - are there any good tools available? - Anatomy

For me there was no substitute for spending time with the models in lab, however if this is not an option for you Youtube has some good videos.

If you can study with a group that is also trying to learn the parts of the body, set up a tiny screen like maybe a computer then get a picture of the human body that shows the muscles, heart, kidney, etc. and point to each part say it out loud, look at where it is located at on the body because reminding your memory is an important key to knowing where all of the parts are located at. You will do well then.

Try http://www.instantanatomy.net/ I have found their site very helpful in preparing for college-level Anatomy courses.

I find flash cards to be invaluable tool in learning anatomy. You can use index cards or make them online at http://www.flashcardmachine.com/ ( the site was helpful for me because my classmates and I shared digital photos) One strategy I like to use is the rule of three: 1. Go through your index cards and look at the picture and say the related title three times. 2. Go through cards and call the pictures by name. If you mess up put the card back into the deck if not put it aside 3. Memorize the cards three at a time and add on as you go for example 3 then 6 then nine etc.... 4. Don't neglect the cards you feel you know really well they will come back and get you. 5. Once you can go through the deck three times without messing up, you have it pretty well memorized. 6. Review lightly until the exam. 7. Remember this takes time, do this over a period of weeks rather than waiting until the last minute. Also you can look for youtube and web descriptions, videos , and animation. Anatomy is about memorization and order. Find relationships between organs and systems, then try to keep track of them from head to toe.

There are two books that I have used in the past and were extremely helpful 1) Gray's Anatomy for students 2) Atlas of Human Anatomy (Netter). Both contain pictures with descriptions and explanations, would be great for you if you are a visual learner!

One of the main websites my classmates and I used in school was http://www.getbodysmart.com/index.htm. It is very interactive which is particularly useful in the musculoskeletal system. It also generates quizzes for each section which helps to test your comprehension and solidify the information. Good luck!

As a teacher, may I highly recommend: http://www.getbodysmart.com/ it is full of useful animations that bring anatomy to life, (almost) literally! Further, apply some of the principles from your A&P II class (on the brain & memory): 1-studying the material more times for shorter periods... is better than a limited number of long study periods. You will retain more and/or spend less time studying if you choose to do it this way! This is why flashcards work in the long run, incidentally. 2-Engage the right side of your brain & its story-telling prowess, to connect the terms you must memorize. For example, imagine what happened today to the food you ate, all the structures it encountered on its path through your body, and what it became in your body. Got that? Now write it down, & add to it this week. Play sports? Imagine all that occurs from eye to superior colliculus to brain to motor center to spinal chord & muscle, tendon, origin & insertion as a soccer ball comes whizzing at you unexpectedly from the side. Zing! Watching TV? Imagine all the memory associations, limbic activations, and vasomotor downregulation as you watch a moving movie tonight. All relevant memory research agrees that creating stories enhances memory-- so Just do it! 3-use as many senses as possible. Point to a spot on your body, say a term out loud (not in the library please, unless you whisper), listen to others say it in videos, touch it on a lab model while saying it. Study in the room you take exams in so you associate the information with a familiar element of test day. Be creative! And good luck with your studying!

and sorry my formatting was lost above! :)