Mnemonics in Anatomy

HEAD:
•Cranial bones "PEST OF 6":
Parietal
Ethmoid
Sphenoid
Temporal
Occipital
Frontal
· The 6 just reminds that there's 6 of them to
remember.

•BRACHIAL PLEXUS:
Roots, Trunks, Divisions, Cords, Branches
•Randy Travis Drinks Cold Beers.
•Robert Taylor Drinks Cold Beer.
•Brachial plexus: branches of posterior
cordSTAR: Subscapular [upper and lower]
Thoracodorsal Axillary Radial
•CRANIAL NERVES:
I-optic,
II-olfactory,
III-oculomotor,
IV-trochlear,
V-trigeminal, Trigeminal nerve: where branches
exit skull"Standing Room Only": Superior orbital
fissure is V1 foramen Rotundum is V2 foramen
Ovale is V3
VI-abducens,
VII-facial,
VIII-acoustic (vestibulocochlear),
IX-glossophrayngeal,
X-vagus, Vagus nerve: path into thorax"I Left my
Aunt in Vegas": Left Vagus nerve goes Anterior
descending into the thorax.
XI-spinal accessory,
XII-hypoglossal

•On Old Olympus Towering Tops, A Finn And
German Viewed Some Hops
•You have I nose. You have II eyes. (I - Olfactory;
II – Optic)
Nasal cavity components
"Never Call Me Needle Nose!":
Nares [external] Conchae Meatuses Nares [internal]
Nasopharynx · Note mnemonic sentence is nasally-related.
•CERVICAL SPINAL NERVES:
•c345 keeps the phrenic alive (innervation of
phrenic nerve)
•c345 keep the diaphragm alive (innervation of
diaphragm)
•c5-6-7 raise your arms to heaven (nerve roots
of long thoracic nerve innervate serratus
anterior)
•

ATTACHMENTS OF CHEST MUSCLES:
•A lady between two majors.
•Pectoralis major attaches to lateral lip of
bicipital groove.
•Teres major attaches to medial lip of
bicipital groove.
•Latissimus dorsi attaches to the floor of
bicipital groove.
•The "lati" is between two "majors."
•

AORTIC BRANCHES:
•ABC'S
•Aortic arch gives off the Bracheiocephalic
trunk, the left Common Carotid, and the left
Subclavian artery
External carotid artery branches"Suzy
Always Lays Flat On Pillows Making Sex
Terrific": Superior thyroid Ascending
pharyngeal Lingual Facial Occipital
Posterior auricular Maxillary Superificial
Temporal
NECK


Hyoid bone: muscle attachments " C hrist, H e D idn't
S crew G irls M uch. T hat's O bvious, S tupid":
· The first sentence is for 6 muscles attaching superiorly,
the second sentence is for 3 muscles attaching inferiorly.
· Both sentences are in order from lateral to medial:
C onstricter (middle)
H yoglossus
D igastric
S tylohyoid
G eniohyoid
M yloyoid
T hyrohyoid
O mohyoid
S ternohyoid
Ramas colaterales de la arteria subclavia: Indio ver
tres ciervos, de un tiro dos escapar y uno matar
IN: Tronco intercostal superior.
VER: Art. vertebral.
3 CIERVOS: 3 arterias cervicales: ascendente, transversa y
profunda.
1 TIRO: 1 tiroidea: Art. tiroidea inferior.
2 ESCAPAR: dos arterias escapulares: supraescapular y
escapular posterior.
1 MATAR: Una mamaria: Art. mamaria interna.
Musculos infrahioideos: Este hombre esta tirado
Este: esternohioideo
Hombre: omohioideo
Esta: esternocleidohioideo
Tirado: tirohioideo
Musculos suprahioideos: Diga estilo mi general
Diga: digastrico anterior y posterior
Estilo: estilohioideo
Mi: milohioideo
General: genihiodeo
MIEMBRO SUPERIOR Y CINTURA ESCAPULAR:


Erector spinae muscles
"I Love Sex":
· From lateral to medial: Iliocostalis Longissimus Spinalis
· Alternatively:
"I Long for Spinach"
· "Sex" helps you think of "Erector", but "Long" and
"Spinach" help you remember the muscles' names.
Thoracoacromial artery branches"CAlifornia Police
Department": Clavicular Acromial Pectoral Deltoid


Axillary artery branches
"Suzy Thompkins Loves Sex, Alcohol, and Pot": ·
From proximal to distal: Superior thoracic
Thoracoacromial Lateral thoracic Subscapular
Anterior circumflex humeral Posterior circumflex
humeral
Serratus anterior: innervation SALT: Serratus
Anterior = Long Thoracic.
Rotator cuff muscles"The SITS muscles":
· Clockwise from top: Supraspinatus Infraspinatus
Teres minor Subscapularis · A pro baseball pitcher
has injured his rotator cuff muscles. As a result, he
SITS out for the rest of the game, and then gets sent
to the minor leagues.
Biceps brachii muscle: origins
"You walk shorter to a street corner. You ride longer
on a superhighway.":
· Short head originates from coracoid process.
· Long head originates from the supraglenoid cavity.
Cubital fossa contents "N-MAN":
· From lateral to medial: Nerve Muscle Artery Nerve ·
Specifics are radial Nerve, biceps Muscle tendon,
brachial Artery, median Nerve.


Cubital fossa contents
"My Bottoms Turned Red":
· From medial to lateral:
Median nerve
Brachial artery
Tendon of biceps
Radial nerve
Brachioradialis: function, innervation, one relation,
one attachment BrachioRadialis: Function: Its the Beer
Raising muscle, flexes elbow, strongest when wrist is
oriented like holding a beer. Innervation: Breaks Rule: it’s a
flexor muscle, But Radial. (Radial nerve usually is for
extensors: Recall BEST rule: B was for brachioradialis).
Important relation: Behind it is the Radial nerve in the
cubital fossa. Attachment: Attaches to Bottom of Radius.
Elbow: muscles that flex itThree B's Bend the elBow:
Brachialis Biceps Brachioradialis
Anterior forearm muscles: superficial groupThere are
five, like five digits of your hand. Place your thumb into
your palm, then lay that hand palm down on your other
arm, as shown in diagram. Your 4 fingers now show
distribution: spells PFPF [pass/fail, pass/fail]: Pronator
teres Flexor carpi radialis Palmaris longus Flexor carpi
ulnaris Your thumb below your 4 fingers shows the muscle
which is deep to the other four: Flexor digitorum
superficialis.


Palmaris longus: location, relative to wrist nerves
"The Palmaris between two Palmars ":
Palmaris longus is between the Palmar cutaneous branch
of Ulnar nerve and Palmar cutaneous branch of Median
nerve.
Carpal tunnel syndrome causesMEDIAN TRAP:
Myxoedema Edema premenstrually Diabetes
Idiopathic Agromegaly Neoplasm Trauma
Rheumatoid arthritis Amyloidosis Pregnancy ·
Mnemonic fits nicely since median nerve is trapped.


Radial nerve: muscles innervated
"Try A Big Chocolate Chip Sundae, Double Dip Cherries
And Peanuts Preferably Included":
· In order of their innervation, proximal to distal:
Triceps Anconeus Brachioradialis ext. Carpi radialis longus
ext. Carpi radialis brevis Supinator ext. Digitorum ext.Digiti
minimi ext. Carpi ulnaris Abductor poll. longus ext. Poll.
brevis ext. P poll. longus ext. Indicis · For the neighboring
words that start with the same letter (eg: chocolate and
chip), notice that the longer word in the mnemonic,
corresponds to the longer of the two muscle names (ex:
ext. carpi radialis longus and ext. carpi radialis brevis)
Median nerve: recognizing it in an opened axillaThe
Median nerve is the Middle of a giant capital "M" formed
by the musculocutaneous and ulnar nerves.



Median nerve: hand muscles innervated "The LOAF
muscles":
L umbricals 1 and 2
O pponens pollicis
A bductor pollicis brevis
F lexor pollicis brevis
· Alternatively: LLOAF , with 2 L's, to recall there's 2
lumbricals.
· To remember that these are the Me dian nerve muscles,
think " Me at LOAF ".
Median and ulnar nerves: common features Each
supply 1/2 of flexor digitorum profundus. Each supplies 2
lumbricals. Each has a palmar cutaneous nerve that pops
off prematurely. Each supplies an eminence group of
muscles [ulnar: hypothenar. median: thenar]. Each enters
forearm through two heads [ulnar: heads of flexor carpi
ulnaris. median: heads of pronator teres]. Each has no
branches in upper arm. Each makes two fingers claw when
cut at wrist. Each supplies a palmaris [median: palmaris
longus. ulnar: palmaris brevis].
Ulnar nerve to ulnar artery and radial nerve to radial
artery relations Think "peripheral nerves": The ulnar
nerve is "ulnar" to the ulnar artery. Radial nerve is "radial"
to the radial artery.



Carpal bones"Stop Letting Those People Touch The
Cadaver's Hand": · Proximal row, lateral-to-medial
(in anatomical position): Scaphoid Lunate
Triquetrum Pisiform · Distal row, lateral-to-medial:
Trapezium Trapezoid Capitate Hamate
Carpal bones"She Looks Too Pretty; Try To Catch
Her": · Proximal row then distal row, both lateral-to-
medial: Scaphoid Lunate Triquetrium Pisiform



Trapezium Trapezoid Capate Hamate · Alternatively:
"She Likes To Play; Try To Catch Her".
1era hilera:
"Es solo una piramide de pis"
ES=Escafoides
S=Semilunar
PIRAMID=Piramidal
PIS=Pisiforme
Flexor digitorum muscles: how they insert onto
fingers· A little rhyme: Superficialis Splits in two, To
Permit Profundus Passing through.
Dermatome C6 location
Stick arm out like crucifixion stance. Curl your
thumb and forefinger into an "OK" symbol while
keeping your other fingers straight. Your hand
should now look like a 6 shape. So C6 dermatome is
your thumb and top of arm (reason for crucifix
stance). · See diagram.
Dermatome C7 locationC7 gives the finger to heaven
(as in middle finger).
Lumbricals action Lumbrical action is to hold a pea,
that is to flex the metacarpophalangeal joint and
extend the interphalangeal joints. When look at
hand in this position, can see this makes an "L"
shape, since L is for Lumbrical.



Intrinsic muscles of hand (palmar surface) "A OF A
OF A":
· Thenar, lateral to medial:
Abductor pollicis longus
Opponens pollicis
Flexor pollicis brevis
Adductor pollicis.
· Hypothenar, lateral to medial:
Opponens digiti minimi
Flexor digiti minimi
Abductor digiti minimi
MIEMBRO INFERIOR:
Hip: lateral rotators"Play Golf Or Go On Quaaludes": ·
From top to bottom: Piriformis Gemellus superior Obturator
internus Gemellus inferior Obturator externus Quadratus
femoris · Alternatively: "P-GO-GO-Q".
Hip: lateral rotators "Piece Goods Often Go On Quilts":
Piriformis Gemellus superior Obturator internus Gemellus
inferior Obturator externus Quadratus femoris



Lumbar plexus "I, I Get Laid On Fridays":
Iliohypogastric [L1]
Ilioinguinal [L1]
Genitofemoral [L1, L2]
Lateral femoral cutaneous [L2, L3]
Obtruator [L2, L3, L4]
Femoral [L2, L3, L4]
· Alternatively: "I twice Get Laid On Fridays". ·
Alternatively: "Interested In Getting Laid On Fridays?"
Inguinal canal: walls"MALT: 2M, 2A, 2L, 2T":
· Starting from superior, moving around in order to
posterior: Superior wall (roof): 2 Muscles: · internal oblique
Muscle · transverse abdominus Muscle Anterior wall: 2
Aponeuroses: · Aponeurosis of external oblique ·
Aponeurosis of internal oblique Lower wall (floor): 2
Ligaments: · inguinal Ligament · lacunar Ligament
Posterior wall: 2Ts: · Transversalis fascia · conjoint Tendon
Obturator canal: relations of structures "Who's flying
in the top of Obturator canal? Obviously Not A Vein!":
Obturator
Nerve
Artery
Vein



Thigh: innervation by compartment" MAP OF Sciatic":
Medial compartment: Obturator Anterior compartment:
Femoral Posterior compartment: Sciatic
· So all the thigh muscles in that compartment get
innervated by that nerve.
Leg: anterior muscles of leg"The Hospitals Are Not
Dirty Places": T: Tibialis anterior H: extensor Hallucis
longus A: anterior tibial Artery N: deep fibular Nerve D:
extensor Digitorum longus P: Peronius tertius [aka fibularis
tertius]
Leg: anterior muscles of leg "Tom's Hairy ANd Dirty
Penis":
T: Tibialis anterior
H: extensor Hollicis longus
AN: anterior tibial Artery & deep fibular Nerve
D: extensor Digitorum longus
P: Peronius tertius [aka fibularis tertius]




Ankle: anterior compartment of leg contents
"The Hamptons Are Never Dull Parties": · From medial
malleolus: Tibialis anterior tendon (Extensor) Hallacus
longus Artery (anterior tibial) Nerve (deep peroneal)
(Extensor) Digitorum Peroneus tertius



Tarsal bones
"Tall Californian Navy Medcial Interns Lay Cuties":
· In order (right foot, superior to inferior, medial to lateral):
Talus Calcanous Navicular Medial cuneiform Intermediate
cuneiform Lateral cuneifrom Cuboid
Tarsal tunnel: contents
"Tiny Dogs Are Not Hunters":
· From superior to inferior:
T: Tibialis posterior F: flexor Digitorum longus A: posterior
tibial Artery N: tibial Nerve H: flexor Hallucis longus