Today's Mission (-impossible?)

Foramina and Canals of the Cranial Base from a superior view - perhaps the most difficult task for my memory so far (photo from tmj.pe)

The Human Moral Code

This is a really interesting talk with Dan Ariely regarding the Human Moral Code. If you have 15 minutes you should definitely watch it and if you don't have 15 minutes to spare then watch it anyway, perhaps instead of hitting that addictive facebook update button over and over again - in other words; it's really worth watching.

Summer Flashback

Good summer memories from back home (:

Test number 4 and 2

Just came home from the histology seminar with half a smile, half a grin.
The histology test covering tissues (except nervous tissue) turned out to be a good one, I was rather lucky with the questions that suited me just fine and I hardly believe that I'm going to fail.
Dr. Becke usually gives the answers to the test questions once the test is handed in which I find a both a bit disturbing as well as a relief - guess I'm a bit 'split minded' today.
Of course it makes you know if you're way off and have to restudy the whole chapter but it can also give a certain relief because you can pretty much tell if you passed or not.
To me it only inflicted anxiety, especially since I found out that I wasn't far from a top result but that I made those stupid mistakes that stopped me from reaching it.
I believe that when you set high aims and the lack of knowledge lets you down it's fine - then it means you didn't study enough and you probably should lower your bar. On the other hand, finding out that small mistakes, not related to lack of knowledge but rather the disorientation of the knowledge, makes me so irritated.
Call it a small problem, vanity or whatever you'll find fitting, I know passing is what matters for now.



The anatomy test yesterday on the axial skeleton and its ligaments was our second slide test and I must admit that I was shit scared of what might pop up on the slides. There's no way you can know what pictures are going to be in the test, all you can do is to prepare as well as you can, studying the material from different atlases and whatever pictures you can find on the internet.
X-ray photos and CT-scans might show up as well and those are the trickiest ones. I think you can imagine that distinguishing processes and tubercles from one another in different opacities of shadow gray are rather difficult and the only way to get better at it is to study them thoroughly.

This test also turned out rather good and afterwards I felt satisfied with my answers. We got the result back from the last tests cross section and since I know I left out some details the result was to my surprise very good.

Studying is exhausting and I try to put sleep as a top priority - and you should know that sleep is a luxury article around here - and the fact that I've been able to plan my studies so that they won't conflict with it makes me happy (and thoroughly rested of course).
The study schedule is like a roller coaster stretching over one or two weeks. In the middle of the week the introduction gives me a hint of what to study. Then I settle down and start reading on my own, alternating subjects if I have more than one test. In the end of the weekend I tend to increase the study pace and I finish off with a good night sleep right before the test. After the test there's finally some resting before hitting the next wall forcing you to increase the pace once again.


Studying histology while Nina and Jeanine are going over the back muscles, books all over the place...

Next week is 'language week' with tests in both Latin and Czech and simultaneously I have to learn the basics of the skull as well as keep the histology studies up - although I can do this in my own pace it still means that I'm in for yet another rather hectic weekend...

It's a pity

Note to self: Refuse to sympathize with dishonesty.

A small note about how I study

When I'm about to study I always need to settle down with some nice music. I usually like listening to rather hectic stuff so it's really nice to relax with some good old jazz, bossanova or classical music.
My headphones pretty much blocks everything else out and I can tune the volume so that it's just there, not too loud so it's bothering but not too low either - you need to find that decibel that is the perfect balance between distraction and harmony.
So before you read on, you might want to have a look below at my youtube playlist for studying and just hit play and listen to the sweet notes while carrying on. I can recommend Yo-Yo Ma's version of Bach's Cello Suit no. 1.

Follow this link for a complete list with 100 tracks (the one below only contains 48 for some stupid reason...)


I've been trying to study in many different ways; reading, listening, talking and lately, as you've seen, also drawing.
As I've mentioned before I believe that working with all parts of the brain enhance memorizing as well as understanding and I also think that listening to classical music (or music that makes you relax and focused at the same time) also increase your performance.
It's also stated that repetition is the only key to learning.
We're all different and this is just how I like to do it when I'm about to learn something from scratch: I take everything I mentioned above and put it into a nice equation.

When I need to learn, regardless if it is something I have touched or haven't even seen before, I need to sort out and update my basic knowledge as well as to get orientated in the subject.
The first step at this University is that you'll get the orientation and basic knowledge update during lectures and practicals (because you most probably wont be one step ahead before the lecture due to the lack of time, and if you are - that's one step out of the way).
I'm not much of a listener and I know that some of my colleagues tend to take voice recordings of lectures - which might be a splendid idea - but honestly, do you ever have time to listen to them?
Neither am I very good at taking notes, but complementary notes of things the tutor just briefly mentions, not part of their presentations, are crucial because they might be very important in the end.

Next step for me is reading at home in order to get deeper knowledge.
There's usually a bunch of different books for the same subject so try to get different sources if time allows because it will help you understand the big picture.
If we're talking anatomy, which roughly takes up 70% of my time, I usually draw as I progress in reading.
I find drawing very relaxing and by getting the knowledge out in my fingertips makes me remember the material in yet another dimension (and it's also a good practice since drawing is an important part of anatomy).
When I've acquired enough knowledge by reading I try to make my own notes (or drawings). That way I progress the information once more and remember that repetition is the key. This is also good since I don't prefer reading as repetition.

When I feel somewhat confident in the material I have to discuss it with a colleague. Discussion of a subject with notes as backup (you don't want to repeat thing that are wrong) is essential to me because I find that to be the best way of repetition as well as a way of correcting any mistakes in notes and learned knowledge.
During a discussion you will have to form your own sentences in order to answer a question or to phrase one - quizzing or getting quizzed really doesn't matter to me, either way is a great way for repetition - and most important to me is that I don't read off a sheet of paper, I actually read and search the archive I created in my brain.

This way I process the information in all possible ways: listening, reading, visualization and imagination, drawing and through oral discussion. For every step there's repetition as well as another relaxing and inspiring instrumental track in the playlist you've just listened halfway through (well, that depends on your reading speed).

I hope you enjoyed the playlist, at least it works for me.
My eyes are tired but my soul is not, but I need to get a couple of hours anyway.
More revision awaits me tomorrow - It never ends, and for that I'm grateful...

Congratz to Jackie

My roomie Jackie just got one year older so If you see her at campus or in lectures don't forget to cheer! :D

Getting back into Routine

After a couple of days off, recharging my batteries just enjoying Prague with my parents, it was finally time to dig in again.
Next week is yet another busy one with two major tests in anatomy and histology.
Anatomy covers the spine and its ligaments as well as the abdomen and simultaneously we have lectures about the cranium which seems to be one of the heaviest subjects so far, apart from muscles that is.
Histology continues as scheduled with tissues of the body such as; connective tissue, cartilage, bone and muscle tissue.
This is the first big histology test and since anatomy have required so much time lately I think it’s of the essence to really sort the histo out and that’s why I pretty much have lived between the pages of my Gartner/Hiatt-book the last two days.
Regardless of the massive amount of text I have to live through, and even if it’s still just ‘simple’ tissues, I find the histology very interesting. The basic knowledge in cytology I acquired during the military and PreMed is a good base to lean back on and it is interesting to see how that knowledge gets more and fine tuned and detailed for every other page I turn.

Anatomy is rather ‘easy’ now compared to the muscle part and going back to learning bones feels rather awkward even if it’s necessary for the chapter. The spine is such a beautiful component and it’s truly amazing to see how the complex the structures are in order to promote motion that we take for granted.
It’s also interesting to see how evolution and the environmental parameters shape the organism and how it might evolve, or rather degenerate, in the future – mainly thinking about the coccyx.

I’ve been drawing a lot, complementary drawings to the one’s I recently posted, but I’ll publish them after the test on Wednesday.
Although I’m starting to wonder if I spend too much time on my drawings I very much appreciate the fact that by the time the drawing is finished I know the fragments by heart.
If you asks me to draw the sacrum or whatever part I’ve been drawing I pretty much know how to do it, quick version that is.
Another positive thing is that it’s really relaxing and stimulating, not as reading which I of course find necessary but oh so boring. I believe that using all parts of brain during learning is the way to go.

Today I went on a shopping spree to get my mind off the books and came home with a new set of clothes.
After an hour of effective shopping I sat down on a bench in the avenue to read some anatomy but hunger forced me to go home and cook. I showed my new findings to my fashion expert Jeanine – she liked it but got disappointed that I didn’t bring her along (of course we still have to go).
It’s sort of funny how the book always are next to me; while cooking and eating and I even found myself bringing it with me to the bathroom. Call it madness if you’d like.



Jeanine and Thomas were preparing to go to the famous library and I thought that I might as well tag along to see what it’s like.
No luck there - I didn’t even get in because you had to register and I didn’t bring my passport (obviously my EU-registered driving license wasn’t good enough) - so I just went back home again.

Later I met up with Mathilde for some histology revision which helped me a lot, she really knows the stuff and take awesome notes. Apparently her teacher is a lot more detailed than mine but what would you expect from the head of Histology? There’s always pros and cons thou, pros and cons…

Oh, now I’ve been writing way too much and I’m glad if I was able to keep you reading for this long.

Stay tuned and remember to smile,
until next update - have a good one…