Mnemonics for Week 1
Supination vs. Pronation
"SOUPination": Supination is to turn your arm palm up, as if you are holding a bowl of soup.
"POUR-nation": Pronation is to turn your arm with the palm down, as if you are pouring out whatever is
in your bowl.
 Alternatively, Pronation donation: Pronation is palm facing downward, as if making a donation.
Erector spinae muscles: “I Love Standing” (from lateral to medial)
Iliocostalis
Longissimus
Spinalis
These muscles help you to stand erect.
Alternatives: “I Love Sex” OR “I Long for Spinach”
- “Sex” helps you think of “Erector”, but “Long” and “Spinach” help you to remember the
muscles’ names.
Erector spinae muscles: order
Spinalis is on the spine (most medial).
Iliocostalis is on the ribs (most lateral).
And it's a Long (Longissimus) way between the spine and the ribs!
Superior Transverse Scapular Ligament
“Save The Sea Lions”
Suprascapular artery and Suprascapular nerve in reference to the Superior transverse scapular ligament
“Army (artery) goes over the bridge; Navy (nerve) goes under the bridge”
The bridge is the Superior transverse scapular ligament
Rotator cuff muscles: “SITS” (clockwise from top)
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Teres minor
Subscapularis
 A pro baseball pitcher has injured his rotator cuff muscles. As a result, he SITS out for the rest of the
game, and then gets sent to the minor leagues.
Axillary Artery branches: “Screw The Lawyer Save A Patient” (from proximal to distal)
Superior thoracic artery or Supreme thoracic artery
Thoracoacromial trunk
Lateral thoracic artery
Subscapular artery (branches into circumflex scapular artery and thoracodorsal artery)
Anterior circumflex humeral artery
Posterior circumflex humeral artery
These 2 arteries anastomose.
Alternatives: “Some Times Life Seems A Pain” OR “Send The Lord to Say A Prayer”
Thoracoacromial Trunk branches: “CAlifornia Police Department”
Clavicular
Acromial
Pectoral
Deltoid
Alternative: “ABCD”
- Acromial
- Breast (pectoral)
- Clavicular
- Deltoid
OR
 “CAP D”
- Clavicular
- Acromial
- Pectoral
- Deltoid
Serratus anterior (innervation & action): “C5-6-7 raises your wings to heaven”
Say this aloud and it rhymes
C567 injury causes inability to raise arm past 90 degrees up to heaven, and results in a winging of
the scapula.
· Long thoracic nerve (cervical roots 5, 6 & 7) innervate Serratus anterior.
Serratus Anterior (innervation and artery): SALT
Serratus Anterior = Long Thoracic nerve
Serratus Anterior = Lateral Thoracic artery
MNEMONICS FOR WEEK 2
Arm fractures: nerves affected by humerus fracture location
ARM fracture: (from proximal to distal)
Axillary nerve: surgical neck of humerus
Radial nerve: mid shaft of humerus
Median nerve: distal end of humerus
Radial Nerve: muscles supplied (simplified)
“BEST muscles”:
Brachioradialis
Extensors
Supinator
Triceps
Elbow: muscles that flex it
Three B’s Bend the elbow:
Brachialis
Biceps brachii
Brachioradialis
Flexor digitorum muscles: how they insert onto fingers
A little rhyme:
Superficialis Splits in two
To Permit Profundus Passing through
Flexor digitorum superficialis flexes at PIP joint
Flexor digitorum profundus flexes at PIP and DIP joint
Brachioradialis: function, innervation, one relation, one attachment
BrachioRadialis:
Function: It’s the Beer Raising muscle, flexes elbow, strongest when wrist is oriented like holding a beer.
Innervation: Breaks Rule: it’s a flexor muscle, But Radial nerve innervates it. (Radial nerve is usually for
extensors)
Relation: Behind it is the Radial nerve in the cubital fossa.
Attachment: Attaches to the Bottom of the Radius.
Anterior forearm muscles: superficial flexors
There are 5 digits of your hand.
Place your thumb into your palm, then lay that hand palm down on your other arm.
Your 4 fingers now show distribution.
Spells PFPF: Pass/Fail, Pass/Fail
Pronator teres
Flexor carpi radialis
Palmaris longus
Flexor carpi ulnaris
Median nerve: hand muscles innervated
“Meat LOAF”:
Median nerve
Lumbricals 1 and 2
Opponens pollicis
Abductor pollicis brevis
Flexor pollicis brevis
Muscles of the Hand: palmar surface
“All For One And One For All”
· Thenar:
Abductor pollicis brevis
Flexor pollicis brevis
Opponens pollicis
Adductor pollicis.
· Hypothenar:
Opponens digiti minimi
Flexor digiti minimi brevis
Abductor digiti minimi
Interossei muscles of hand: actions of dorsal vs. palmar
“PAD and DAB”
The Palmar interossei ADduct and the Dorsal interossei ABduct.
Use your hand to dab with a pad.
Lumbricals: action
Lumbrical action is to hold a pea, that is to flex the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP) and extend the
interphalangeal joints (IP).
When you look at the hand in this position, it makes an “L” shape, since L is for Lumbrical.
Carpal bones:
"Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle":
· Proximal row then distal row, both rows lateral-to-medial:
Scaphoid
Lunate
Triquetrum
Pisiform
Trapezium
Trapezoid
Capitate
Hamate
Alternatively: “Stop Letting Those People Touch The Cadavers Hand”
Carpal bones: trapezium vs. trapezoid location
TrapeziUM is by the thUMB, TrapeziOID is inSIDE.
Alternatively, TrapeziUM is by the thUMB, TrapezOID is by its SIDE.
Femoral triangle: NAVEL
Femoral Nerve
Femoral Artery
Femoral Vein
Empty space lymphatics
Lacunar ligament
Pes anserinus: Sgt. AMP
Sartorius: Anterior
Gracilis: Medial
SemiTendinosus: Posterior
Posterior compartment muscles (medial side, posterior to medial malleolus)
Tom, Dick and Harry
Tibialis posterior
Flexor digitorum longus
Posterior tibial artery
Tibial nerve
Flexor hallucis longus
Alternatively: "Tom, Dick And Nervous Harry".
 Alternatively: "Tom, Dick And Not Harry".
Popliteal fossa: muscles arrangement
The two Semi's go together, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus.
The Membranosus is Medial and since the two semis go together, Semitendinosus is also
medial.
Therefore, Biceps Femoris has to be lateral.
Of the semi's, to remember which one is superficial: the Tendinosus is on Top.
Inversion vs. eversion muscles in leg
Second letter rule for inversion/eversion
· Eversion muscles:
pErineus longus
pErineus brevis
pErineus tertius
· Inversion muscles:
tIbialis anterior
tIbialis posterior
Leg: anterior muscles of leg
"The Hospitals Are Not Dirty Places"
Tibialis anterior
extensor Hallucis longus
Anterior tibial Artery
deep fibular Nerve
extensor Digitorum longus
Peroneus tertius [fibularis tertius]