Anatomy is a visual subject: ideally, you need to see, touch and feel to get an idea of three dimensions. When you read a portion of text you should try to picture the structures concerned: dissected parts and a good anatomical atlas, whether on paper or computer, will help.
Different people study differently, and some find an understanding of three dimensions easier to come by than do others. Nevertheless, as a basis for study I recommend that you use the nervous system and the main arteries, together with the following conceptual framework, common to all living things:
• we reproduce
• we seek sustenance
• we absorb and distribute nutrients
• we excrete waste products
• we try to prolong our own existence; and
• we endeavour to control these processes.
Surface markings and vertebral levels
The surface projection of internal organs is important since it forms the basis of the clinical examination of a patient. When you read about any structure, the heart for example, you should try to picture the body and relate the printed word to a precise location. Better still, get a friend to be a surface anatomy model (it is no good looking at yourself in a mirror because right and left are the wrong way round).
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