Study guides
Anatomy
3 guides for this subject — how to prepare, what to practise, and how to know it has gone in.
A practice question
Choose an answer and it is marked, with the explanation. From Anatomy Practice Questions: 8 Core MCQs Explained.
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.
A spoken answer, marked
An examiner's question, answered out loud and marked criterion by criterion. From Anatomy Viva Questions: A Practical Oral Exam Method.
Examiner
Describe the boundaries and contents of the femoral triangle, then explain why a femoral hernia presents below and lateral to the pubic tubercle.
The boundaries and lateral-to-medial order were correct.
ImproveState the floor and roof as well as the three named boundaries.
You correctly placed the femoral canal medial to the vein and related the hernia to the femoral ring.
ImproveMake the relationship to the inguinal ligament explicit before describing the surface position.
You explained that the hernia passes through the femoral ring and lies below the inguinal ligament.
ImproveAdd that the femoral canal is medial to the femoral vein and that the neck is tight, increasing strangulation risk.
The answer was easy to follow but the contents were repeated once.
ImproveUse the sequence boundaries, floor and roof, contents, then clinical application.
A strong answerThe femoral triangle is bounded superiorly by the inguinal ligament, laterally by the medial border of sartorius and medially by the medial border of adductor longus. Its floor is formed mainly by iliopsoas laterally and pectineus medially, and its roof is skin, superficial fascia and fascia lata. From lateral to medial, its main contents are the femoral nerve, artery, vein and femoral canal. A femoral hernia passes through the femoral ring into the femoral canal, so its swelling lies below the inguinal ligament and classically lateral to the pubic tubercle; the narrow neck makes strangulation clinically important.
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Guides
- How to Study Anatomy: A Practical Working MethodLearn how to study anatomy with a structured method using regions, relationships, retrieval practice, clinical links and spaced revision.
- Anatomy Practice Questions: 8 Core MCQs ExplainedPractise eight anatomy MCQs on nerves, vessels and organ relationships, with explanations of the correct answers and common distractors.
- Anatomy Viva Questions: A Practical Oral Exam MethodPractise anatomy viva questions with a structured method, realistic stations, model answers and feedback for relationships, function and clinical application.
Studying anatomy? Build your anatomy board from your own notes — the cards, papers and lectures are written from it. Free plan: 20 cards, a paper, a lecture and a viva to try.
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