Second year

Disclaimer: this post will deal only with the splanchnic part of Anatomy, which is probably the most difficult. The splanchnic part consists of the cardiovascular, lymphatic, digestive, respiratory, urinary, endocrine and reproductive system. I used a different study approach for the musculoskeletal system, which is more mnemonic. As for the nervous system, I will study it in the following semester.

Hi everyone,

Today I want to tell you about my study method for anatomy.

First of all, I want to say that anatomy is not mnemonic. You have to learn the position and the orientation of the organs inside the human body. Also, remember that there is always a correlation between the morphology and function of an organ. If you do not understand this, it will be more difficult and frustrating to study for the Anatomy exam.

I organized my study in three main parts: organization, comprehension, exposition.

Part one: organization (during lessons).

It took me a lot of time to select the material and have a general idea of what I had to study.

I took all the classes, but this is a personal point. Many people preferred to use their time studying rather than going to classes, and this is understandable. I need to go to lessons to have an idea of what is fundamental and what are details. It also depends on the professor you have.

Anyhow, notes from classes are not sufficient at all: the primary source must be the book. I used "Human Anatomy" by Anastasi. I choose it because many of my professors contributed to this book, and also it is the most used anatomy book in Italy. Anyways, I think the most used in general is "Gay's Anatomy".

Choosing the text is personal as well since you have to find a book organized in a suitable way for you: some people prefer a systematic approach, while others favour a topographic method.

Also, learning anatomy must be visual. That is why I used some other fundamental sources:

• 3D4medicals: it is an app that was given for free by my university. You can see the human body in 3D, and you can also remove or add systems of organs. It helps to have a stratigraphic awareness of what is ahead and beyond, above and under, lateral and medial.

• Atlas: this is personal as well. There are atlas organized topographically, while others are focused on systems one at a time. By the way, I have to admit that I did not use the atlas as much as many people advised me to do.

In this part, I also made some mistakes:

• In the beginning, I schematized a lot. It was a useless and time-consuming approach. Anatomy is not schematic: you can not reduce a system in a scheme. Schemes are useful only for some parts (such as arteries, veins or lymphatics), but you should first understand the concept and then thinking about making a scheme.

• I focused on the details while I should have tried to gain a general idea first. It is better to have primary notions about everything and then add details.

Apart from the mistakes, I read everything in step with lessons. So, when the exam session started, I had already read all the material.

Also, I integrated the book with my notes. I added post-its on edge with notions or more understandable explanation. It allowed me to have a unique source from which I could study.

I preferred to have a systematic approach: I studied every system first, and then I read the topographic text to put all the information together.

Colour coding was fundamental: every system had its colour. It made it much easier to remember visually.

Part 2: comprehension (one month more or less)

I read all the material again, this time focusing on details. I tried to connect all the information I had, understanding the logic behind names and morphology of organs (I swear there is always a logic).

I made schemes for the most complicate parts:

• I used post-its on the border of the text for the paragraphs I felt the need to schematize

• I made mind maps for vascularization. I used a specific colour coding: terminal arteries in red, collateral arteries in pink, tributary veins in light blue, root veins in blue, anastomosis in purple and the territory of distribution in green.

At the end of the study day, I recalled all the concepts trying to explain them loud.

Part 3: exposition

It is probably the most vital phase. I organized my study plan to finish the second part one month before the exam. I then spent one month rehearsing everything many times.

It helped me gain the proper language: learning anatomy means also learning how to use precise terminology.

As I always do, I studied with some colleagues, which is fundamental for the anatomy exam. The material is a lot, and you are likely to disregard something important. Rehearsing with someone else will help both of you check whether you missed something significant.

We questioned each other using the previous round's questions. Is was helpful even because many professors always ask the same topics. Plus, sometimes professors ask easy questions with complicated wording: looking at these questions previously prepared me for this type of query during the exam.

Finally, I did not study the day before the exam. I had worked hard for so long, and I needed a break. It allowed me to perform at best during the exam.

That is all! Tell me whether you agree with this study method or you would have studied it differently. I hope this post will be useful to someone 😅

Hi guys,

Today I want to tell you about how I studied for the musculoskeletal part of my anatomy exam.

In the previous post, I said anatomy is not mnemonic, and this is true. Nevertheless, the musculoskeletal system has a consistent part that has to be learnt by memory.

Indeed, it will probably be the first anatomy test you will have. So you will not be used to deal with anatomical terminology, and you will not have any idea of basic concepts of human morphology (at least, that is how it went for me). That is why you will need to memorize some names that will be clearer in the future when studying anatomy more in details.

Here is how I organized my study.

I decided to dedicate a couple of hours every day for many months (more or less four months). Indeed, this was not the more demanding exam I had to prepare for, so I preferred to concentrate on other subjects. Also, I think it is better to study the musculoskeletal system piece by piece to avoid overburning.

First of all, I made a list of all the topics I had to study, and I divided them into bits. Every day I focused on one section.

It is one of the few exams for which I schematized everything. In particular, I used the following model:

• I made tables for muscles, including name, origin, insertion, innervation and action

• I made bulleted lists for bones and joints, including the keywords

Also, I tried to understand what I was studying visually. I used Atlas and 3D4medicals for this purpose. This part is fundamental because it avoids an enormous mnemonical effort. Indeed, if you can associate a muscle with its localization and shape, it will be easier to learn origin and insertion, and you will also understand its action.

Then, I adopted the memory palace technique.

I invented a different location for every macro argument: superior limb, inferior limb, head, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and perineum.

Then, I created a story for everything I had to memorize. I played with acronyms, assonances and similar meanings of different words. Humerus became Homer, and ischium became Ischia's island (an Italian island), and so on.

The stranger it was, the simpler it was to remember. It does not have to make sense for anyone else but you, so do not be scared of doing it wrong. I saw it as a game, so it was even funny to invent these tales.

I attempted to make a continuum between bones, joints and muscles, to facilitate memorizing the story.

I wrote the story down in a copybook to fix it in my mind. Also, I draw the novel. I am not an artist, so the drawings were terrible, but they helped me remember the story.

When I finished creating stories on everything, I started rehearsing the concepts. I reread the tale, I opened the Atlas, and I recalled everything I remembered. Then I checked on my schemes whether I had missed something. I did this many times until I was able to rehearse everything without making mistakes.

Also, since it was a written test with multiple choices, I did many quizzes similar to my exam. This part is always fundamental because you can know the topic properly, but if you are not familiar with the exam modality, you may not perform well.

And this is all! I hope you will find this post interesting. Let me know what you think about it 🥰

Hello everyone,

I am so glad to announce that I just finished the second year of med school!

Neuroanatomy was, for me, the better part of the anatomy exam. It may seem chaotic when you start studying it, but I find so fascinating the way we are precisely organised and the abilities our brain allow us to have.

Since neuroanatomy might be hard to understand at first-lecture, I advise a layered strategy to approach this exam.

Also, I strongly suggest using an atlas to memorise the structure of the nervous system. I found Netter's Atlas of Neuroscience very complete and understandable, and it is cheap too (I paid less than 20 euros).

Here is the step of my preparation for this exam:

1) Reading all the material

When I first faced this subject, it seemed to me that I could not understand anything. Everything was so confused, with unclear terminology and references to structures that I did not know.

That is why I preferred to have a general look at all the material, without focusing on understanding in depth what I was reading, but trying to catch as much information as I could to have a basic knowledge of neurosciences.

During this phase, I attended classes, read my notes and read the book. After that, I drew a minimal mind map with main topics to start building a scheme in my mind.

2) Active comprehension and schematisation

After having gone through all the material, I quitted the classes and favoured studying on my own. I guess this is a personal decision: generally speaking, I find it vital to go to classes, but in this case, I felt I was losing my time. I realised I needed much more time than a two-hour lesson to comprehend a topic, so I could not focus, ending up distracting and wasting my time.

I started reading all the material again, trying to grasp the point.

I also began to schematise the topics. I selected the most helpful images of the atlas, and I copied them on my notebook, adding a description.

It may seem time-consuming, but it was easier to memorise anatomical structures after having drawn them.

I also compared my notes with the professor's slides to have a more schematic view.

3) Memorisation and recalling with a friend

I based the last part of my studying on trying to remember all the information.

I used mnemotechnics for the most mnemonic parts, such as the peripheric nervous system. By the way, I think neuroanatomy is not one of the more mnemonic exams in med school.

The technique that helped me the most to fix the information was recalling them with a friend. I am not a fan of studying with someone when I still have to comprehend the topic, but I find it vital some weeks before the exam. Having a study buddy allows you to see the subject from a different point of view and to understand whether you missed relevant information.

Also, I recalled all the topics out loud on my own. It helped me test myself and perceiving if I was able to build a speech on that point.

And that's how I prepared for one of my favourite exams in med school so far. Let me know whether you agree with this method or you would have changed something.

Hope this post will be useful for someone ✨

Hi guys,

Here I am with another post about one of the more demanding but fascinating exams in med school.

I am a physiology lover over anatomy, and it was a pleasure to study this subject, even though I admit it was tough.

When I first had a look at the syllabus, it seemed to me it was immense. In my University, it is a single exam, with the possibility of splitting it into two partial interims during the same exam session.

Since the coursework was enormous, I decided to break it into pieces, worrying about one part at a time. Every section was a macro topic, such as neurophysiology, physiology of the cardiovascular system, etc.

Here is what I did for every piece:

1. Attend classes: I think this is an unskippable point for the physiology exam. It is a subject that you must understand more than memorizing. Go to class, ask questions, take precise notes, and you will have done nearly half of the work.

2. Deepen: I used the book to add extra information to my notes, to have a complete view of the topic. Physiology is an enormous subject, so the professor does not have time to deal with all the material. Having a general idea of the omitted parts will be helpful to understand the subject better.

3. Schematize: at the end of every section, I made a minimal scheme. It was a sort of index of the topics, with titles and subtitles, to have a precise outline in my mind. I used different colours for every section to visually remember it.

After having gone through all the material, I picked up the pieces. With a general idea of the subject in mind, I read all my notes again. While reading, I hooped the keywords with a pen.

For every part, I wrote on a copybook the essential information, using colour coding. For example, for the cell physiology, which was purple, I wrote all the necessary formulas. For the neurophysiology, which was pink, I schematized the principal sensory pathways. For the endocrine system, I draw a chart of the main hormones and their characteristics.

Then I started recalling everything to understand whether I could build a speech on all the topics. I did this alone, speaking out loud but also with my usual study buddy.

Also, since it was a written test, I practised using the past rounds' exams.

And that's it! Hope this can be useful to someone, and good luck if you are preparing for this exam 💪🏻

Hi guys,

Here I am talking about my study method for the last exam of my second year of med school.

Pharmacology was the most demanding exam I have faced so far, but I found it interesting as well.

I needed all the study techniques I had learned so far in med school to cope with this subject, and I am satisfied with the result.

There is a lot to learn, many formulas to understand and many names to memorise, but it is one step closer to getting into the thick of medicine.

Here is how I dealt with this exam. We can summarise my study method into three parts:

1- Organisation (during lessons):

during the first part, I went to classes and took notes. I later quitted the lectures to focus on individual studying, but I needed to go to lessons at least for the first month. Indeed, I felt the need to see what the professor focused, and what was irrelevant instead.

Also, lectures were helpful to learn the basic concepts of pharmacology. I understood what pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics or pharmacoeconomic are about and their fundamentals.

After having gone to classes, I reorganised the material. I did not use the book that much. Indeed, pharmacology is a subject that continuously changes, so every text is old. I consulted the book only for the pharmacokinetics part when I could not understand some formula or definition.

In this phase, it was fundamental to make a scheme. I got a copybook, and I enumerated the pages.

Helping myself with the syllabus, I identified the macro topics. I used the first sheets for creating an index.

For every argument, I made an accurate scheme using different colours. I utilised all the tools that I knew to make it the more effective possible: I used charts, lists, tables, etc.

I also left some space for the mnemonics (I will deal with this point later in this post).

2- Comprehension

I had to abandon pharmacology for a while to focus on the other exams. When I went back to pharmacology, I restarted to read all my notes.

With a pen, I underlined the most important sentences, and I circled keywords.

I dedicated this phase of my study to put all the pieces together. I comprehended how drugs act, what the reason for their side effects is, etc.

3- Memorisation

In the last part of my study, I used all the mnemonics I know to learn the names of drugs.

Usually, this is not the most demanding phase of my study. Quite the opposite, it required me much time to memorise all the information.

I created short stories and acronyms to help my memorisation. I wrote these with a pencil in the spaces I had left during the schematization.

Recalling the arguments was vital. I did it alone and with the usual study buddy.

One of the more critical matters, in my opinion, is to select the relevant data. The programme is immense, and it is impossible to know everything, so a choice is needed. Making this selection with a friend makes it more manageable.

As usual, I did not study the day before the exam. If it is correct in general, this time, it was even more vital.

As I said, the syllabus is enormous, so you can not revise everything the day before. You may select the topics you struggle the most with, but having a look at them will only increase your insecurities, which might affect your performance during the exam.

After a long period of studying, relax and mentally prepare for the exam.

And this is all! I hope someone will find this helpful or at least interesting. Good luck to all of you with your exams 😘