I've always thought that silly songs are great mnemonic devices in the human sciences. I've seen them work from kindergarten (remember the ABC song?) and up through medical school (even in pharmacology).
If you find them "catchy" then you'll find yourself repeating them in your head. Or maybe even out loud. And that's the kind of thing that helps your brain form long-term memories!
One I recently ran across is in a music video original produced to help 6th-graders learn about the heart. But it may help you as you begin your study of the heart in A&P!
My friend Ellen recently sent along this video with the snappy tune Bloodmobile. This song from They Might Be Giants summarizes the main functions of the blood . . . a very timely topic for those of you at the beginning of your A&P 2 course.
While we're on a cardiovascular theme, you may recall seeing my previous post Pump Your Blood that features the classic song of the same name that has been used by countless A&P students to learn the path of blood through the heart.
Need a fresh perspective on the function of nerve signaling?
Here's a parody of Wu-Tang's "Gravel Pit" made by students to help them integrate their knowledge of synaptic signaling and the role of neurotransmitters.
Check out the video (after making sure that your speakers are cranked up):
You can't dance without your skeleton, right? But can you sing and dance about the skeleton? Well, the TV character Hannah Montana thought so when she needed to learn the bones for her A&P class.
Have you ever seen the Pinky and the Brain cartoon? Here's a crazy video clip from the show sent to me by one of my favorite textbook editors, Karen Turner over at Elsevier (Mosby). It features a musical tour through the brain.
Although this clip is funny and includes a lot of "real" anatomy terms and structures, it's not very useful in understanding brain anatomy in an organized way . . . it's just a jumble of random structures, jumping all around and from microscopic to macroscopic and back again. But it IS entertaining!
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So why share it with you?
First, because . . . well . . . it IS entertaining.
Second, it gives me the opportunity to bring up (once again) the value of silly songs as a learning tool.
Remember my previous article Pump your blood, which featured a silly song about blood flow through the systemic and pulmonary circulation? That one was effective because it put all the essential facts together in a way that makes sense (unlike the Pinky and the Brain clip). Such songs teach not only the facts . . . but also (and this is important) how the facts fit together.
Silly songs can also be useful as mnemonic devices to remember the anatomical order of structures in the body or the members of a group of structures in the body (see Sad Pucker).
Third, I'm sharing this video because even though this clip is "not very useful" in learning A&P, it is still "somewhat useful." It does show structures visually while at the same time stating the names . . . which will probably help remember where they are and what they look like.
But one must alway be careful with this sort of thing (media not really intended to be strictly educational) because there may be unintentional errors or misleading usages embedded in them. Looking for,finding, and correcting such errors can in itself be a learning experience.
For example, the clip contains several eponyms (terms that include someone's name). We learned in last week's article International standards for anatomy terminology that eponyms are "old fashioned." So the clip isn't really wrong in this regard . . . it's just not up to date.
Also, near the end of the clip the term "medulla oblongata" is sung but the entire brainstem and part of the diencephalon is illustrated--not just the medulla oblongata. Ooops. There are probably several more of these that I didn't catch on casual viewing.
Dr. Patton's Theory of Media Science (Dr. P's TMS) . . .which I just made up after years of mulling it over . . . and shouting it to my television screen . . . states that
"biological accuracy of a science-based fictional media production is inverse to the total budget for special effects in the production."
Do you have other silly songs or video clips to share (accurate or not)?
Then share them with us by "commenting" on this article!
When learning the structure and function of the cardiovascular system, it is wise to develop a thorough knowledge of the pathway of blood flow through the heart and vessels--the general scheme of blood circulation.
I'm not talking about a vague understanding that might permit you to figure out where the blood goes when it leaves the right ventricle after some consideration, and quick look at a diagram or your notes . . . I'm talking about a thorough understanding, so that you can immediately state with confidence, "past the aortic valve, through the pulmonary trunk and arteries toward the lungs."
And not just for the short term . . . long enough to pass your next test . . . but so thoroughly familiar that it will not likely ever be totally lost. And with occasional refreshers, will pretty much always be there for you.
Why such a thorough knowledge of this particular concept? Because you'll find it necessary in order to understand many, many other concepts about human structure and function. Once you learn it, you'll find yourself using it when studying pretty much every other major system of the body. And when you start applying A&P to clinical or athletic applications, you'll find you need it there, too!
So this is one of those things that seem daunting at first (but is really not so bad) and will be well worth a little effort up front.
How to manage it? Well that depends on your learning style of course.
One this is sure: just staring at the diagram in your book is not enough! That's the place to start, of course, but you have to do something active to fully understand and "own" this concept.
The next step is to make a list of the parts you "need to know" for your course in the order in which blood passes through them. An example of such a list is found at my Cardiovascular Learning Outline in the Lion Den. But we're still just getting started.
One great way to learn is to draw yourself a concept map of the pathway of blood through the pulmonary and systemic pathways, including through the heart chambers and valves. This is especially useful for visual and kinesthetic learners. Draw it the way the makes the best sense to YOU. That may be quite a bit different than
For auditory learners, try this favorite of a whole generation of A&P students . . . learn the song Pump Your Blood. It's just a start, but
Here's the video of the first verse of Pump Your Blood as animated in a St. Joseph's aspirin commercial:
Here's another version that includes all the verses AND the lyrics:
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Click here for a version from the classic TV show Happy Days (episode #142) . . . this is the "original" version of the song (performed here byAnson Williams, who acted in the show as Potsie) . . . the version I first saw (and used) to help me learn the blood flow pathway.
For a printed version of the lyrics click here (includes a link to a Pumps Your Blood
by Richard Restak.
