Visual aids and analogies for adding spice to and aiding recall of anatomy and physiology lectures

Abstract

Students listen more actively when they occasionally hear a vivid analogy or see a visual aid or manipulative. These tactics can be used whether the instructor is lecturing or leading a discussion. Over many years, I have accumulated analogies and visual aids that help students understand lectures on anatomy and physiology. For example, the function of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cushioning the brain can be illustrated by placing two raw eggs into two glass jars, one filled with water and one lacking water. The egg, water, and jar represent the brain, CSF, and skull, respectively. Vigorously shake both jars to show the benefit of the CSF surrounding the brain. As an example of an analogy, the decremental travel of graded potentials along neuronal membranes is like a bowling ball that's been pushed to make it roll along a carpet, whereas the travel of action potentials along membranes without decay is like the lit fuse of a firecracker, in which the fire continually burns into the adjacent segment of the fuse and re‐ignites it to burn at the same temperature as in the prior segment. This poster outlines visual aids and analogies for illustrating all mammalian organ systems.