Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Study Histology

Go beyond your textbooks to help you learn histology.


Histology, the branch of anatomy that focuses on tissue structure and organization on the microscopic scale, is a course all medical students must take. Studying for the class can be tough, but there are a few things you can do to improve your understanding of the subject and boost your grades.


Instructions


1. Start with the basics. Learn the general characteristics of the four types of tissues -- epithelial, muscle, connective and neural. When you study histology later in the course, it will be organ-based. It's absolutely imperative that you understand the building blocks.


2. Look at histology images that weren't presented in lecture. A lot of medical school professors like to pull histology images from other sources. It's their way of testing how much you understand a histology concept. They are a lot less interested in seeing how well you memorize the labeled examples in lecture.


3. Find several good histology websites. BlueHistology.com is one of many great resources for medical student. You can pick what material you would like to review and be able to take a customized multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank test. Because the histology images are new to you, it's a great way to see how well you understand the concepts.


4. Study with other histology students. Study groups help you to see what others take away as key points from the lectures, texts and other materials. By sharing ideas and thinking out loud with others, you can reinforce what you do know and fill in the gaps on concepts and ideas you're unsure about.







Tags: histology images