Friday, May 18, 2012

Mnemonic's

I realize I haven't written much lately...my insane amount of exams have seen to that. 
I actually have one tomorrow: a neuroscience practical =-) Can't wait!!! 

While studying for this next experiment in memory I realized how important memory is, and if you have a bad memory how miserable your life can be. My memory could probably be classified as fair, I mean I am in medical school. But, I'm most definitely not the top in my class! Nor would I probably ever want to be...I like having a life. 

So given my predicament (which is more of an issue than you'd imagine the normal person would encounter with their brain) my friends and I have come up with several memory devices otherwise known as mnemonics, which help us remember. Sadly most of these are the most immature and provocative sayings you will ever hear civilized people say. But, the fact is the more 'dirty' or ridiculous the saying is the more likely you are to remember it. 

Some of the most useless things I learned in high school were due to horrid mnemonics. For example in the 10th grade my biology teacher taught us the classification of species using the mnemonic: 
Kids Put Condoms On For Good Fun --> Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species 

I haven't forgotten it since. 

As you can imagine the mnemonics for medical school aren't much better:

(Make an X with your arms and in your best heavy metal voice shout) TRIPLE X --> Kleinfelter's disease 

Vladimir Putamin --> To remember the Putamin of the Lentiform nucleus of the Brain

*Censor Warning* Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel Virgin Girls Vagina And Hymen --> The cranial nerves in order 

The Egyptians live next to the Greeks --> Referring to the location of the pyramids and olives on the brain stem. 


The list goes on. But as you can see we can come up with some fairly interesting stuff when put under enough stress!

So the next time you go to the doctor's and the doctor says something that sounds kind of quirky, just pass it off as a mnemonic that will help diagnose you not as sexual harassment or insanity.   

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