For me, studying anatomy was like becoming a Guinness drinker. As a beverage, Guinness is big and scary. It is not something to take on with a light heart and without full considerations of what you’re getting yourself into. It is seemingly straightforward at first (how difficult can a black and white beer be?), but as soon as you taste it, you discover its depth. As time goes on, you begin to appreciate the subtleties of consuming Guinness – the correct angle of poor (45 degrees if you’re interested) and the optimal serving temperature (5-8 degrees Celsius apparently). The first few times, the taste of the beer may seem overwhelming, but its intriguing and multi-layered taste makes you want to come back for more. You persevere and after a while, its complexity which once seemed unlikable and unconquerable becomes the reason you begin to like this new flavour. Everything at last begins to fit together and make sense. While appreciating the tumultuous journey you have taken together to become friends, in the end you see Guinness as a straightforward and honest pint – it’s just black and white after all! Guinness and Anatomy: for me, as they like to say in South-East Asian markets, “same same, but different”.Not coming from an anatomy background, I felt like the man in the parable who tried to build his house on sand. Like him, I would keep trying to build, but with limited foundations, my knowledge kept slipping away. However, I was intrigued from the start and inspired by the teachers who seemed to fully appreciate the beauty of every muscle, nerve and artery. We were also very lucky to have cadaver specimens to practice on which ironically really brought the subject alive. I am eternally grateful to those good souls who graciously dedicated their bodies to the scientific cause. Without them, it would have been pretty tricky to figure out how the body really works. I remember the first time our class went down to the ‘wet lab’. I think on the whole we looked apprehensive and those of us who had not worked with prosections before were probably wondering how we were going to cope with the experience. As the door to the huge specimen fridge was opened for the first time, I heard someone ask if they should move out of the way so that someone behind could get a better look. “It’s ok, I’m fine where I am, thanks” came the reply. This was partly the way I was feeling too, though intrigued to see at the same time.
Having been told at the start of the course that we (OT’s and PT’s) go into more detail in our Anatomy studies than the Meds and Dents, it should have been no surprise that preparing for the exam was tough. The ‘bell-ringer’ is quite the experience: 80 stations, each with a specimen, a radiograph or surface anatomy photo tagged for identification. One minute per station, then the buzzer sounds and everyone breaks their intense inspections, scrambles down an answer and moves on in unison to the next challenge. I was totally unprepared for this type of examination at the midterm. In retrospect, speed-dating may have been a good way to get ready. I can’t think of anything else where you get a short time to make your acquaintance, make the best possible effort to understand exactly what is in front of you before being ordered to move on by a buzzer. At least the bell ringer is civilized enough to have rest stations; one whole minute of pure luxury, a chance to sit down, compose yourself, contemplate life, before…BUZZ and you’re back into the game. My slight angst with the whole process was eased as I arrived at my first station which happened to be a photo of the Governor of California’s back, but in the Terminator days rather than his current Governator role. So muscle-bound was Mr. Schwarzenegger’s back, I actually had difficulty identifying which muscles were which. Studying for the exam was all-consuming. One of my study partners had remarked her husband had romantically stroked her tenderly on the hand a few days earlier and all she could think about was which dermatome was receiving the sensation. What dedication to anatomy studies!
So in OSCAR-esque spirit, here are this year’s Anatomy Academy Awards. The award for having the biggest name for the smallest feature goes to Flexor Digiti Minimi Brevis. The Darwin Award for possibly being a casualty of evolution goes to Plantaris (due to being one of those muscles that is getting smaller and may evolve out of the human body in time). The award for inconsistency goes to Palmaris Longus for not being present in all people (draw your fingers and thumb together and flex your wrist to 90 degrees. Can you see a tendon popping out by your wrist – that’s the Palmaris Longus. If it’s not there, you’re like about 30% of the population that don’t have this muscle.) Palmaris Longus also wins the award for the muscle sounding most like a cheap Mexican resort. The Arnold Schwarzenegger award for the coolest name goes to Buccinator (Supinator was one of the nominees). The award for the best supporting muscle goes to the Pectoralis Minor (an unexpected decision as Teres Minor had been widely tipped to win this award). And finally, the Student’s award for the most functional muscle goes to the Brachioradialis (which is dubbed as the ‘beer-drinking muscle’). Without this small but purposeful muscle, drinking a smooth pint of Guinness would be a lot harder.
