What is your method for learning the arm muscles easily?

Question

A lot of students struggle with learning the insertions/origin of arm muscles. How do you remember those? and what helped you? Please share your methods.

Answer 1

One of the absolute best ways I have found is the utilization of the essential anatomy app. Not only does it give you information about origin, insertion, nerve supply, and vascular supply, you can visualize the muscle as well as its attachment sites in a 3-d fashion. Nothing like actually being able to visualize origin and insertion while you are studying muscle action, trying to memorize nerve supply, etc. Origin and Insertions will stick a lot easier if you have a visual aid as effective as this!

Answer 2

One of the best ways is by repetition. I personally like the Netters anatomy flashcards. They're inexpensive and have extremely detailed pictures on the front with labelled pins to self quiz. On the back of the cards it'll tell you what structure you are looking it, its origin, insertion, innervation, vascular supply, action, and a clinical vignette for that particular muscle/nerve etc.

This lets you quiz yourself in a high quality manner and doesn't cost $400. They saved my life in anatomy class.

Answer 3

Hello,

As a general tip, it helps if you know the actions of the muscle. You can usually derive insertion and origins by imagining the muscles action and where they need to attach/ originate to provide that action.

For example, the biceps brachii flexes/supinates at the elbow, and has shoulder joint actions. the muscle must insert somewhere past the elbow anteriorly and somewhere on the anterior portion of a proximal bone. For this muscle, there are 2 heads, hence the biceps. They both insert distally at the same location on the radial tuberosity, but have separate origins depending on function. The short head to the coracoid process, long head to the scapula.

Another tip is to think of each tubercle/ tuberosity/ condyle/ epicondyle/ etc as having a muscle attaching there. you can take either approach, what are the muscles origins/insertions? OR which muscles attach to this bony landmark?

Answer 4

I found this on the web.

https://epomedicine.com/medical-students/muscles-of-forearm-quick-review/