By Haley Masterson All Physicians Take Money (Aortic, Pulmonic, Tricuspid, Mitral) From left to right across your chest: A is the right upper sternal border (the second right interspace), P is the left upper sternal border (the second left interspace), T is the left lower sternal border, and […]
By Haley Masterson This mnemonic has been passed around pediatric residency programs for decades but is rarely mentioned in the medical school setting (which is unfortunate, because it works so well). The 5 Cyanotic Congenital Heart Defects are as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. One big […]
By Haley Masterson Reading your first fetal heart tracing can be intimidating, but you will be a pro at interpreting accelerations, early decelerations, variable decelerations, and late decelerations once you read a few hundred of them. Until then, keep this mnemonic close at hand… VEAL CHOP The trick […]
By Molly Lewis We’ve all had mini “anatomy panic attacks.” Maybe you’re in an anatomy practical and have only 30 seconds to identify the flagged structure, or maybe you’re in the OR and your attending asks: “What’s this?” Regardless of the situation, using mnemonics to remember anatomy can […]
By Haley Masterson The 4 categories of hypersensitivity reactions is one of those subjects many students suspect we’ll never need to remember. But, in fact, this topic will likely haunt us for the rest of our medical career no matter what field we go into (even surgical residents […]
By Joe Savarese Mnemonics are definitely useful tools for medical students – useful for quick recall and short-memory techniques on frequently difficult topics. However, I found that when I am in the exam room with 72 seconds per question, my mind likely will not remember the twelve cranial […]
By Haley Masterson Using this mnemonic, you can simplify the order of the four types of respiratory failure as Shunting, increased CO2 (hypoventilation), Atelectasis, and Hypoperfusion. Shunting is commonly caused by pulmonary edema, hypoventilation is either neurological or neuromuscular in etiology, atelectasis is commonly seen in perioperative patients, […]
By Haley Masterson While PTT and PT will both be affected by disorders of the common pathway of coagulation cascade, the PTT is used as a lab test marker for the function of the intrinsic branch of the coagulation cascade, and the PT for the extrinsic. Confused yet? […]
By Haley Masterson The two types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease are both idiopathic diseases of the immune system. However, they differ in several commonly tested ways that can be explained using a simple mnemonic: Only GALS can be Crones (Crohn’s). Granulomas – While a lack of granulomas won’t […]
By Haley Masterson “Afferent” and “Efferent” may be among the most confusing similar-sounding words in medicine. Luckily, there’s a mnemonic to help tell them apart – as a bonus, this study trick also covers the difference between dorsal and ventral neurological systems.