Tips For Studying Muscles

TIPS FOR STUDYING MUSCLES 1. Look at the pictures. Each muscle has a name. Treat each muscle like a new friend.  You may not recall a new friend’s name after the first time, but after many times of meeting up with them and saying “Hello!” to them, you will soon remember their names. So make it an effort to “meet” these new friends as often as possible.  2. Use mnemonics, color, talk to yourself while you study, try to correlate the origins and insertion together. It’s just like making an effort to find out where your “new friends” live, and where they come from.  3. There is no easy way out, you have to spend time looking at them, otherwise, you will forget about them!  Don’t be discouraged if you forget them as quickly as you remember them… even as I type this, I am revising forgotten knowledge. Life is a process of recalling and learning. So, all the best, and have fun. Don’t let these new friends discourage you… once you get to know them better, you will feel more comfortable being around them and everything will be much easier. 

MNEMONICS I USED TO HELP ME REMEMBER. Recommended pic: Netter Plate 174 (Muscles of Back: Superficial Layers) P.S. I’ll give you some examples, but it’s up to you to learn how to develop a method that will help you understand and remember Anatomy.  1. Trapezius - basically starts from head and ends at T12, before my butt! - This muscle is triangular shaped! - Descending part is from my head. - Transverse part is from C7 to T3: at seven (C7) o’clock, I’ll climb a tree (T3). - Ascending part is just continuing on from the transverse part: T3 – T12. - Insertion is into my shoulder… C.A.S (clavicle, acromion, spine of scapula) - Nerve: Trapezius is triangular in shape, and it’s the most superficial muscle of the back. Trapezius remind me of earrings. Earrings are accessories. .: Innervation is by accessory nerve. Also, since it covers the neck area, it is also innervated by cervical plexus. - Function: Trapezius acts on the scapula because it inserts into it! Stand in anatomical position. When you lift up your hand, Trapezius contracts, scapula will be elevated. If you put down your lifted up hand, trapezius can relax, so scapula will be depressed. If you had stretched your hands in front, trapezius can contract to retract your scapula so that your hands come back to anatomical position. Since Trapezius inserts into all along

the spine of scapula, only the top fibers can contract so that only the lateral part of the scapula is lifted up, that means scapula is rotated. 2. Latissimus dorsi - Origin: V.I.C.S. (vertebral part, iliac part, costal part, scapular part) If you had watched the 1st Malaysian Idol, there was this guy I was really hoping would win, and his name was Vic. He was a ladies’ (LATissimus) man. :-P T6-12 (Imagine 6 to 12 ladies running) L1-5 (They were chasing after 1 to 5 men!) Iliac crest (They had super thin waists) Costal part: Rib 10-12 (So you could really see their 10 to 12 ribs sticking out of their chests) Scapular part: Inferior angle (that shows that all girls have inferiority complex) - Insertion: Humerus (Don’t you find this humorous? How there are always insufficient men for the ladies?) Here, there is another mnemonic… “The lady between 2 majors”  ladysimmus dorsi :-P (origin: crest of lesser tubercle) is always between pectoralis MAJOR (insertion: crest of greater tubercle) and teres MAJOR (insertion: crest of lesser tubercle) - Nerve: Thoracodorsal nerve (imagine the 6-12 ladies running with their thorax puffed out into the front and their dorsum puffed out behind) OTHER MNEMONICS WORTH SHARING: 3. Serratus Posterior Superior Origin: you see six (C6) but take four (T4) 4. Levator costae Is the 7-11 muscle i.e. origin is from C7 to T11 5. Splenius Capitis Capitis sounds like captain. So you have to march three by three (Origin: C3 to T3) and follow sternocleidomastoid to its insertion at mastoid process. 6. Splenius Cervicis Is basically the continuation of splenius capitis except that it forgot something, so for the insertion it had to “gostan balik” all the way to C1 to C3. 7. Sacrospinal muscles: those long long muscles of the back I Love Sam but Sam Loves Irene. (Iliocostalis  Longissimus  Spinalis) Alternative: Spinalis is always most medial since it’s next to the spinal cord.