How to use these anatomy practice questions
These eight single-best-answer questions cover relationships that are useful across biomedical science anatomy: peripheral nerves, the inguinal region, the larynx, liver, cavernous sinus and wrist. They are practice material, not a description of any particular examination. If you are preparing for a named course or exam, check its syllabus and question style with the official institution.
Answer each item as it appears, then read the explanation. Focus on the anatomical relationship that determines the answer, not only on memorising the label. When a distractor is close, identify which detail rules it out. That approach helps you apply anatomy to unfamiliar descriptions.
1. Axillary nerve
This question tests the nerve most vulnerable in a fracture around the surgical neck of the humerus, and the motor and sensory findings associated with it. In the MySummaries practice set, the first item looks like this:
After a fracture of the surgical neck of the humerus, a patient has difficulty abducting the arm from 15° to 90° and reduced sensation over a small area on the lateral shoulder. Which nerve is most likely injured?
The axillary nerve passes around the surgical neck and supplies the deltoid, which abducts the arm chiefly from about 15° to 90°, as well as the skin over the upper lateral arm. The suprascapular nerve supplies supraspinatus, which initiates abduction, but does not account for the sensory loss over the lateral shoulder.
The key is the combination of deltoid weakness and the regimental-badge sensory area. Supraspinatus helps initiate abduction, so a lesion there can affect the start of the movement; it does not explain the characteristic cutaneous finding. In a clinical stem, use the sensory territory to check your motor-based answer.
2. Common fibular nerve
Here the movement deficit and the site of injury point to a nerve exposed at the fibular neck. The MySummaries item asks you to connect that site with the affected movements:
A patient develops foot drop after a fracture at the neck of the fibula. Dorsiflexion and eversion are weak. Which nerve is most likely injured?
The common fibular nerve winds around the neck of the fibula, where it is vulnerable to injury. Its deep branch supplies the anterior compartment, including dorsiflexors, and its superficial branch supplies the lateral compartment, including evertors. An isolated tibial nerve lesion would more strongly impair plantarflexion and inversion, not produce this pattern.
Foot drop alone can result from several lesions, so the added weakness of eversion and the injury site are useful discriminators. The tibial nerve supplies the posterior compartment of the leg. Distinguish the two terminal branches of the common fibular nerve when a question asks for more detail: deep fibular for dorsiflexion, superficial fibular for eversion.
3. Femoral hernia
This item tests the position of a femoral hernia relative to the inguinal ligament and femoral vein. The location is more informative than the word “groin” alone.
A swelling lies below the inguinal ligament and medial to the femoral vein. Which type of hernia is most consistent with this position?
A femoral hernia passes through the femoral canal, below the inguinal ligament and medial to the femoral vein. Both direct and indirect inguinal hernias lie above the inguinal ligament. The position relative to the ligament and vein therefore distinguishes the femoral canal from the inguinal canal.
The strongest distractors are the two inguinal hernias: they occur in the same general region but pass above the inguinal ligament. In a diagram-based question, first locate the ligament, then identify the femoral vein and the space medial to it. Those landmarks make the relationship explicit.
4. Recurrent laryngeal nerve
This question checks the different routes taken by the left and right recurrent laryngeal nerves. Keep the side of the lesion in view when tracing the nerve.
A mass in the superior mediastinum compresses the left recurrent laryngeal nerve. Around which structure does this nerve loop before ascending towards the larynx?
The left recurrent laryngeal nerve loops under the arch of the aorta, near the ligamentum arteriosum, before ascending in the tracheo-oesophageal groove. The right recurrent laryngeal nerve loops under the right subclavian artery. The right-sided route is the strongest distractor, but the question specifies the left nerve.
The side is the deciding clue. Both nerves ascend towards the larynx, but their loops differ because of the structures they pass around during development. A useful recall check is to pair left with the aortic arch and right with the right subclavian artery.
5. Portal triad
The next item tests the arrangement of structures in the hepatoduodenal ligament. Knowing which structure lies posterior helps you orient the whole group.
Within the hepatoduodenal ligament, which structure lies posterior to the bile duct and proper hepatic artery?
The portal vein lies posteriorly in the portal triad. The bile duct is on the right and the proper hepatic artery on the left, with the portal vein behind them. The inferior vena cava is posterior to the liver, but it is not the posterior member of the portal triad within the hepatoduodenal ligament.
Do not confuse the portal vein’s position in the triad with its course elsewhere in the abdomen. The useful local arrangement is bile duct on the right, proper hepatic artery on the left and portal vein posteriorly. If a question asks about a named ligament, answer from that local relationship.
6. Cavernous sinus
This question separates a structure running within the cavernous sinus from nerves located in its lateral wall. That distinction explains why one nerve can be particularly exposed within the sinus.
Which cranial nerve runs within the cavernous sinus alongside the internal carotid artery, rather than in its lateral wall?
The abducens nerve (CN VI) passes within the cavernous sinus beside the internal carotid artery. CN III, CN IV, V1 and V2 lie in the lateral wall. CN III is a tempting distractor because it is closely associated with the sinus, but it is in the wall rather than alongside the artery within the sinus.
A reliable way to learn this is to group the contents by position: CN III, IV, V1 and V2 in the lateral wall; the internal carotid artery and CN VI within the sinus. This is more precise than memorising an undifferentiated list of structures associated with the cavernous sinus.
7. Carpal tunnel
Here the key is the route of the palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve. Its relationship to the flexor retinaculum helps explain a clinical sensory finding.
In carpal tunnel syndrome, sensation over the central palm may be spared. Which anatomical feature best explains this finding?
The palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve passes superficial to the flexor retinaculum, so it does not travel through the carpal tunnel and may be spared when the median nerve is compressed there. The recurrent branch is motor, supplying thenar muscles. The ulnar nerve passes through Guyon’s canal, not the carpal tunnel.
This is an example of using anatomy to explain a finding rather than simply naming a nerve. The median nerve proper passes through the carpal tunnel; its palmar cutaneous branch takes a different route. The ulnar nerve’s route through Guyon’s canal is a common source of confusion because it is also at the wrist.
8. Brachial plexus
The final item tests the cords’ names by their relationship to the second part of the axillary artery. Use the artery as the reference point rather than relying on a memorised diagram orientation.
The lateral, medial and posterior cords of the brachial plexus are named according to their relationship to which part of the axillary artery?
The three cords are named for their positions around the second part of the axillary artery, which lies posterior to pectoralis minor. The cords are therefore lateral, medial and posterior to that segment. Their names are not based on a relationship to the first or third part of the artery.
When revising the brachial plexus, attach each name to a landmark: roots, trunks and divisions are organised in the neck and behind the clavicle; the cords are defined around the second part of the axillary artery; terminal branches arise from the cords. This spatial sequence is easier to reconstruct than a bare list.
Review the pattern in your errors
A score alone does not show whether an error came from a forgotten fact or a misread relationship. Sort missed questions by the anatomical idea involved: nerve course, compartment, vessel relationship or named passage. A MySummaries weak-area view could display recurring gaps like this:
For each missed item, state the correct relationship in one sentence, then answer a fresh question that uses it in a different setting. For example, after reviewing the recurrent laryngeal nerve, say both routes aloud: left under the aortic arch; right under the right subclavian artery. Revisit any error that repeats rather than simply rereading the full topic.
A missed mark can also become a prompt for targeted review. The remediation tray might bring back a question such as:
You lost this mark twice: which structures lie in the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus, and which nerve runs within it beside the internal carotid artery?
How MySummaries helps
Build a revision board from your anatomy notes, then use it to practise generated questions and revisit facts you miss. Open MySummaries to organise the material you are studying.