Video summary
Nasser, a surgeon-in-training based in London preparing for his MRCS Part A exam, shares essential strategies for mastering anatomy by emphasizing visualization over rote memorization of dense text. He argues that simply reading descriptions is insufficient; instead, learners must actively engage with the material by observing their own bodies to mimic muscle movements and joint actions, as well as utilizing 3D models or colorful diagrams to understand spatial relationships. For visual learners like himself, seeing these structures in three dimensions allows them to build mental images necessary for recalling information during exams. He acknowledges that different people have varying preferences—whether watching surgical procedures on YouTube, studying textbook illustrations, drawing anatomy themselves, or using pre-made references—and suggests choosing the method that best suits one's learning style while noting that access to a cadaver dissection lab remains an unparalleled advantage if available.
To tackle the sheer volume of information and prevent confusion between similar structures, Nasser strongly advocates for the use of memory hooks, acronyms, and mnemonics as essential tools rather than optional aids. He explains that these devices do not need to be logical or clever; in fact, absurd phrases are often easier to remember because they stand out more vividly in the mind. Examples he provides include silly sentences like "Barrett's burr squa" for remembering epithelial changes and classic acronyms such as "Real Texans Drink Cold Beer" for the brachial plexus components or "MAMRU" for nerve roots, which serve as structured pathways to retrieve complex details quickly. He emphasizes that having a multitude of these memory aids fills every aspect of his study process, making it impossible to jump straight to answers without them and significantly improving long-term retention through constant association.
Nasser also highlights the shift away from traditional dense textbooks toward modern digital platforms like Kenhub Anatomy, which he praises for offering bite-sized video lessons, interactive diagrams, custom quizzes, and detailed muscle reference charts that allow users to study at their own pace with speed controls and captions. He further recommends using 3D anatomy software such as Complete Anatomy, a one-time purchase tool that lets students zoom in on specific areas like the pelvis or thigh to isolate systems—such as nerves, arteries, or lymphatics—and explore them from every angle without subscription fees. These digital resources provide an intuitive way to understand anatomical context and orientation by allowing users to add or remove layers of tissue dynamically, effectively turning abstract concepts into tangible visual experiences that can be accessed on various devices like phones and tablets for continuous review.
Ultimately, Nasser concludes that no matter how effective visualization tools or memory aids are, they will not lead to long-term retention without the critical step of active recall through rigorous self-testing. He warns that passive activities like reading videos or drawing diagrams often result in forgetting information within weeks unless followed by repeated questioning and problem-solving exercises using question banks or custom quizzes. By consistently challenging oneself with questions about recently studied material, students force their brains to retrieve knowledge rather than just recognize it, which is the key mechanism for committing facts to long-term memory. He acknowledges that anatomy study never truly ends as medical professionals continuously deepen their understanding throughout their careers, but by combining these modern resources and disciplined testing habits, learners can navigate this daunting subject with greater confidence and efficiency.
Read the full video transcript
What is up guys? Karma Medic here and
welcome back to another dose. If you
don't know who I am, my name is Nasser
and I'm a doctor living and working in
London starting surgical training this
October which is really really exciting.
As part of my never- ending training and
studying, I have a big surgical exam to
prepare for called the MRCS part A,
which I filmed an entire vlog about that
you can watch and check out up over
here. But as part of studying for that
exam, there is loads of anatomy that I
need to learn and really drill into my
head. And so I wanted to share a video
where I go through my kind of top tips
and tricks or methods for studying
anatomy preparing for the surgical exam.
So of course when studying anatomy, you
know, there's loads of text and dense
information that you need to learn and
memorize and understand. But in my
opinion, if you don't actually see that
anatomy that you're learning about, if
you don't look at your own body and kind
of mimic the movements of your muscles,
joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, etc.,
And if you don't visualize what it is
that you're reading on paper and see it,
whether that's in a 3D model, diagrams,
and colorful images on paper, or like I
said, just seeing it on yourself, if you
don't move to that visualization off of
the text that you're reading, I don't
think it really sticks in your brain.
Being able to see the 3D relationships
between different parts of the anatomy
and the body is incredibly incredibly
helpful for me. And without it, I think
I would really struggle to build these
kind of images in my head from which I
can recall information to answer the
questions on my exams. Now, generally
speaking, I'm personally a very visual
learner. And in particular, geographical
spacing of learning, if that makes
sense. Like when I write down something
on a piece of paper, I'll remember very
well if it was in the top left corner or
the bottom right corner or the middle
and what was around it. And that's kind
of how I compartmentalize and remember a
lot of different information. But the
point is that it's visually laid out and
represented on the page. And honestly, I
think you can use whatever visualization
method works for you. If you prefer to
watch YouTube videos where someone is
actually performing surgery and you can
see the real anatomical components in
front of you, that might be fine. But
other people might like to see kind of
perfectly drawn anatomical references
like the ones that you come across in
your textbooks. And other people might
prefer to see the process of that
anatomy being drawn out in real time or
even draw out that anatomy themselves.
Personally, I think it takes way too
much time for me to redraw all of the
anatomy. And if you've seen my
handwriting in any of my videos, then
you know that it's terrible and so my
drawing is even worse. Personally, I
prefer to have all of that already done
for me and I just watch it and visualize
it and learn it myself. And lastly, I
wanted to say that if you have access to
a cataric dissection lab, personally, I
think that is the best possible thing
you can do to learn anatomy. I still
remember very well till this day
visualizing the cadaavver laying on the
table and looking at all the orientation
of the different structures inside the
abdomen, inside the thorax or when, you
know, dissecting back the layers in the
thigh or in the leg. I remember it very
very clearly because it was right in
front of me and I was doing it myself. I
know a lot of people don't have access
to that, but if you do, please take
advantage of it. Especially if you're in
your earlier years of medical school and
you have a bit more free time, go to the
anatomy lab.
[Music]
If you're watching this video because
you're struggling to remember a lot of
the anatomy that you're trying to study,
I don't blame you. And you know, I'm
going through this myself right now. And
it's because there's just so much
information that we need to know. And
every little detail can be important.
And for me, this is where memory hooks
or memory aids and acronyms come into
play and are extremely important. In
fact, I personally think that these are
absolutely essential and I use them for
everything. In all aspects of my
studying of anatomy, I have loads of
different acronyms popping up all over
the place. And honestly, they don't even
have to make sense. And often times, the
sillier or more stupid they sound or
are, the easier a time you'll have
remembering them. Like literally
probably one of my worst ones is for
remembering that Barrett's esophagus has
squamus epithelium that gets converted
into columnar epithelium. I literally
remember this by saying Barretts burr
squa. I know it sounds crazy but that's
how I remember that it's squamus
epithelium that becomes columnar
epithelium because I always get that
wrong and usually click columnar
epithelium in all of my questions. Trust
me, it's not important how stupid the
acronym is. If it works, it works. Some
of my favorites that you've probably
heard before, but if you don't, you
should really be taking advantage of is
for the brachial plexus, you have real
texans, drink cold beer for the roots,
trunks, cords, divisions, and branches.
And then I remember the order of the
nerves going from C5 down to T1 as MAMU.
M A M R U. Uh what is it? MSK,
auxiliary, median, radial, er nerves.
Other classic ones include loaf for the
intrinsic muscles of the hand. Scalp for
going from superficial to deep going
through all the layers in the actual
scalp. And then structures that belong
in the cavernous sinus is ocat. But to
be honest, I don't really use that. I
just memorize 34 51 52 6. Anyways, the
point being the more acronyms you have,
the better. And every part of my
anatomical learning is filled with these
acronyms. And I honestly don't even know
how I would even start to remember all
this information without it. any
question that I get for the brachial
plexus, I will immediately write out
real Texans drink cold beer and I will
write out mamu and then I will do my x's
and my y's and that's how I'll remember
that information. I would never be able
to just jump straight to the answer
without having that kind of structure
and pathway to follow. And yeah, this is
a quick one, but honestly, if you're not
taking full full advantage of this, I
would highly recommend it.
[Music]
Now, this might be a hot take, but
personally, I believe that for our
generation of doctors, big fat textbooks
with loads of super dense information
are a thing of the past. We have much
better, much more modern ways of
learning medicine and anatomy. And
honestly, we should be taking full
advantage of those. We no longer need to
go to libraries to rent out these books
and sit down and spend hours studying
them. There are just way better, more
focused, and intuitive ways to learn
anatomy. And I've tried a bunch of these
out over the years, and I keep coming
back to the same one, Kenhub Anatomy,
who are kindly sponsoring this video.
You've seen me use Kenhub Anatomy before
across plenty of different videos over
the last many years because I genuinely
think they're the best platform. Kenhub
Anatomy is a comprehensive online
anatomy learning platform that combines
multiple effective learning tools
together. They've got loads of detailed
articles, colorful videos, interactive
diagrams, and quizzes, and more. And
although they have a lot of content
available for free, a premium
subscription is required to take full
advantage of the service. My favorite
premium features that I've personally
taken advantage of are all of the
videos, the muscle anatomy reference
charts and custom quizzes. Like I said
before, I'm a huge visual learner and
most of my studying and learning of
anatomy is done by watching videos. And
Kenhub has study units that cover all
aspects of anatomy in the human body.
And each of these videos has custom
speed controls, which is really great
for me because I watch everything at two
times speed. They've also got captions,
which helps me watch those videos
really, really quickly, and even
transcripts and timestamps if I'm just
quickly looking for a specific piece of
information. The great thing about these
videos is that they're full of
bite-sized chunks of information
alongside really colorful and easy to
memorize diagrams, which is great for my
learning. Custom quizzes are another
essential feature for me. Being able to
test myself on the material that I'm
currently studying using custom quizzes
so I can focus and delve into the actual
thing that I want to be tested on is
amazing. Without this continuous forcing
of your brain to recall the information
that you've just learned, it's hard to
commit that type of stuff to long-term
memory. And with a recent update, the
custom quizzes have been split into two.
Study sessions use space repetition to
help with your long-term retention. And
then the exam quiz tests your knowledge
on the more difficult stuff so that you
can complete that study unit. And you
can even share your custom quizzes with
friends, which is perfect for
collaborative studying. And then, of
course, the muscle anatomy reference
charts. I've talked about several times
before on this channel, but they're
these little cheat sheets that tell you
everything you need to know about the
different muscles. Know the insertion
and origin points, the nervous
innovation, the motor function, what
action they perform. It's all really,
really helpful. And recently, they've
even launched their physiology modules
on top of the anatomy, and it's rolling
out over the next couple of months,
making this an even more comprehensive
platform. And as you study across the
entire platform, you can track your
progress in each of the study units, so
you know how far along you are and how
much you have left to complete with
these little green circles filling up,
which is super satisfying. Overall,
there honestly isn't much more that I
need to say about Kenhub. It's a
platform that I've been using for
several years and find very helpful and
could not more highly recommend. If you
want to try out Kenhub for yourself and
get a 10% discount on the premium
service, you can go to this link here on
screen or click on the link in the
description down below. So, thanks again
to Kenhub for sponsoring this video. And
let's continue with the tips. Another
extremely useful tool for me is 3D
anatomy software. There are a lot of
different options out there, but I use
one called Complete Anatomy, and I've
literally been using it for the last 8
years. I bought it in my first month, I
think, of getting into medical school,
and I haven't paid any subscriptions,
one time purchase, and I still have it.
The benefit of these apps is they allow
you to dive deep into a particular
little anatomical area in the body and
you can ask and look at any single
aspect that you want. If you want to
know what structures run above, below,
medial, lateral, if you want to know
where the lymphatic drainage is, if like
anything you want, you can just zoom in
and look around and turn the model
inside out, upside down. It is
incredible. You know, let's say I'm
studying pelvic anatomy and I want to
know about the relations of the left
ovary and fallopian tube to its
surrounding structures. You can just
zoom in to that area. Click on anything
that you see. It'll give you information
about what it is, where it's going, what
runs next to it, what runs above it, and
you can isolate it. You can hide
structures around it. You can add or
remove the arterial system, the venus
system, lymphatic drainage, nervous
system, all the different organs, you
know, connective tissue, muscles, you
name it. And the great thing about this
is that you can take your time looking
at and investigating any one piece of
anatomy that you want in any amount of
detail that you want. And this is
particularly useful for me when I'm
studying anatomy using another resource
and I feel like I just need a little bit
more kind of orientation or anatomical
context as to where this is and what
surrounds it. And then when I'm studying
from my exams, this is a really useful
thing that I can think back to and think
about, you know, what did I see when I
was turning that structure around and
looking up and down. And that helps me
understand where it is and helps me
answer a lot of questions. On top of
what I said before, you can add or
remove different amounts or layers of
many different body systems. So,
arterial system, venus, nervous,
lymphatic drainage, skin and connective
tissue, muscles, organs. You can add or
remove these in steps and so you can
really build up the depth and detail of
the anatomical person that you're
looking at. You can also use this app on
your phone, your iPad, your computer.
So, it's always in my pocket and I find
it really, really helpful.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly,
is testing yourself. Without doing loads
of questions and continuously and
repeatedly testing yourself on the
information that you're learning,
nothing that I've said in this video is
going to be helpful. If you just read,
watch videos, write things down, draw
out your anatomical diagrams, etc.
You're probably going to forget that
information in a couple weeks time. But
if you do all of those things and then
sit down to answer like 10 or 20
questions about the things that you just
learned, you are going to remember that
information so much better. Now, you can
do this in a lot of different ways. You
can simply close your eyes and ask
yourself to recall and remember some of
the facts that you just studied. You can
get a blank sheet of paper and you can
write out what you just learned or draw
out the things that you just saw and
learned. Or you can use things like
question banks or the custom quizzes
that I talked about with Kenhub before.
And this is personally my favorite way
of studying. Just doing question after
question after question, constantly and
in different ways asking you about the
same things, helping you learn what you
just studied. Question banks come in all
shapes and sizes for loads of different
exams that you might have to do in
medical school or as a doctor in your
F1, F2 or even after that in surgical
training like I'm doing now. Or if
you're using a comprehensive anatomy
learning platform like Kenhub, you can
just create custom quizzes for the
particular thing that you're studying
that day. But regardless of what method
you use, it is this active recall and
forcible testing of the knowledge that
you have just studied and learned, which
is what's going to help it stick
longterm in your brain. I hope you found
this video useful, and at least some of
the tips that I've talked about, you'll
be able to use in your own studying to
help you learn and memorize anatomy. I
know it's a particularly huge, daunting,
and complex topic of study. And, you
know, I'm I'm still here learning and
restudying the anatomy that I learned in
medical school 8 years ago. It never
finishes. We always have exams and we
always have more anatomy to learn in
greater and greater depth. If you did
enjoy the video, don't forget to leave
me a thumbs up and a comment down below.
And thank you again to Kenhub Anatomy
for sponsoring this video. I'm planning
to make a much more consistent comeback
to YouTube in late 2025 and 2026. So, if
there are any particular videos or
topics that you'd like me to discuss or
you want to learn more about, definitely
let me know in a comment down below. But
until then, it's been Karma and I will
catch you in the next one. Peace.