Learning
Activities
Anatomy in Clay® System
Maniken® Human Models
Myologik® Atlas of Muscles
Zoologik® System
Use of this product is bound by the terms of
the associated Product License with
Zahourek Systems, Inc. Found at
www.anatomyinclay.com/productlicense or
contact ZSI at 1-800-950-5025
For additional copies of this activity book, please visit our website at:
www.anatomyinclay.com
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
We at Zahourek Systems, Inc., would like
to take this opportunity to thank you for
your interest in our exciting and innovative
approach to anatomy education, and to
wish you luck in your studies.
There are an endless number of ways to use
the Anatomy in Clay® Learning System. The
Maniken® Model speaks “the language of
the body” so well that students and teachers
alike find that as they put their hands on
the models and begin to build clay forms,
ideas suddenly come to them from out of
nowhere.
We invite you to enter a dialogue with
your kinesthetic sense by acting out and
testing each muscle as you build them with
clay. You will soon discover that your body
can serve as your primary anatomy book.
Watch as the Anatomy in Clay® Learning
System transforms your body into your own
personal learning lab, revolutionizing the
study of human anatomy from a traditionally
difficult exercise in memorization to an
intuitively memorable, profound, and
dynamic experience.
Though the demands of meeting the
curriculum needs of various age groups
seems to require varying degrees of
information, the body partnered with the
our Learning System has enabled students
as young as ten years old to learn technical
anatomy, nomenclature and all.
This booklet consists of excerpts from
many of Jon Zahourek’s publications.
Included are basic activities suitable for the
middle school level as well as the graduate
school level. Regardless of age or level of
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
experience, students begin on the same page
as their body becomes the foundation for a
lifetime of learning and discovery.
Through the use of simple anatomical terms
such as the abbreviation “m” for muscle,
“a” for artery, “n” for nerve, and so forth,
potentially confusing conventions found in
almost all anatomy books are easily explained
and learned.
The Anatomy in Clay® Learning System is
not only multisensory learning at its finest,
but can be powerfully multidisciplinary.
Anatomical terms that look intimidating in
a textbook become easily explained when
they are linked to clay and are attached to a
model. The Latin and Greek nomenclature
become an adventure in language arts,
spoken, written, and read. The measuring and
use of the correct proportions of clay become
an exploration in quantitative analysis.
Zahourek Systems, Inc. is proud to be able
to provide you with the Anatomy in Clay®
Learning System, a system that exposes
students and teachers alike to the core
personal relevance of anatomy. Watch
as our challenging and fun approach to
learning anatomy builds confidence, evokes
enthusiasm, and promotes critical thinking in
learners of all ages.
Orient Yourself to the Maniken® Model
Making your own body your primary anatomy
“book” is the most important thing you can do when
studying human anatomy. In order to experience
anatomy through your kinesthetic eye, be sure that
your body and the model are oriented the same way.
3
Hold the pelvic subsystem (leg) alongside
your leg as though it is your own.
1
Hold the axial subsystem (head, neck, and trunk
portion of the model) up in front of you as though it
is your own.
4
2
Hold the pectoral subsystem (arm)
alongside your arm as though it is your
own.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
If you wish, you
can work
with the
assembled
model.
With care,
hold the model up in
front of you or next
to you. Orient yourself
to the model’s position.
This stance approximates
the international
Standard Anatomical
Position used to index
position and action.
Experiment with Motion
1
Standing in the Standard
Anatomical Position
(S.A.P.), experiment with
the range of motion of
your elbow joints. Find
the midpoint of rotation
of the hinge-joint at the
elbows and knees.
2
A typical expectation is that this S.A.P. represents a “neutral” position. In fact,
as shown above, you will find that the real neutral in your elbow’s movement
capability is much different. The center of the range of motion occurs when
the elbow is flexed at near 90o.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Assess Positional Descriptions
1
3
Identify your medial humeral epicondyle.
Open your hand, palm up. This is
supination, and shows the ventral forearm
& hand.
When you hold the Maniken® arm
up next to your body in the Standard
Anatomical Position (SAP), the
thumb edge is called the “lateral”
aspect of the limb.
4
2
Rotate your radius over your ulna so that
your thumb is medial and the back of your
hand is up. This position is pronation and
shows the dorsal forearm.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Laterally rotate your arm so that your
thumb now faces backward. You can see
the “medial” aspect of the arm so-called
because of its proximity to the middle or
median of the body when in the SAP.
Describe Position Along an Axis
Assess positional descriptions along an axis.
For example, in the arm, the head of the humerus is approximate to the shoulder girdle,
and to the axial subsystem. This end of the
arm is “proximal” to the axial. The fingertips
are the most distant from the axial so are
“distal” to the axial.
1
Embody the ideas of a more proximal radius.
2
Follow up by embodying the more distal radius.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Identify Skeletal Structures
Identify skeletal
structures on the
model. As always,
make every effort
to embody each
part in your own
body, exploring
each bone and
cartilage with both
your fingers and
your proprioceptive
sense. For the sake
of clarity, Maniken®
models incorporate interpretations
of the skeletal system that can
be strikingly different from the
standard interpretations which often
miniaturize the tradition through
their exclusion of cartilages and
ligaments. Take this opportunity
to identify how cartilages
and ligaments are essential in
understanding the bodies functions.
Identify joint capsules, ligaments, interosseus
membranes and intermuscular septa. The
traditional failure to replace them on a consistent
basis reflects a passive tendency in the ancient
subject of anatomy.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Embody Anatomy
1
Use your hands, your primary human
technology, to embody anatomy. As you map
your body with your sense of touch you will
discover that your body has the ability to
describe itself in a way that is much more
profound than other descriptions. After
tracking landmarks of your body through
palpitation, you will find that your body
already has a better sense of itself in space.
2
As you build the muscles and attach
them to your model be sure to use your
kinesthetic sense to feel and internalize
the attachments in your own body.
Palpate as much as you can in order to
“recruit” muscles. Test each muscle in
your body by contracting and relaxing
them, paying close attention to the force
of gravity working with and against your
body. As you move your body about,
decide whether it is your muscles doing
the work, or gravity. Act out every
muscle’s possibility singularly and as part
of a group of muscles. It’s FUN!
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Discover Your Kinesthetic Sense
1
Break off a piece
of clay
Roll into a ball.
Roll into a cylindrical form.
Roll into a “carrot”
by tapering one end
of the clay cylinder.
Roll any length of
“rope”.
Tiny strings of clay
can be rolled out
or....
... made with our
accessory clay gun
extruder.
Clay can be flattened
by hand or ....
... by using a roller.
Trim the clay to any
shape.
Tear off a piece of clay. Warm it in your hands
if it feels stiff.
2
Put your hands behind your back. From the
clay you prepared, form a cube. What does
your ability to form clay unseen mean?
3
Quickly make some sample forms following
the techniques on the opposite page.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Marking Your Model
Use a pencil to write information directly
onto the models. The pencil markings are
easily removed with hot soapy water. If
you would like to experiment with other
marking tools be sure to do so on the lug
of the heel in order to ensure that the
marking can be removed. Students can
write skeletal names on the model or
identify bones with numbers. Students may
also wish to write directly into the clay
in order to identify muscles. This exercise
enables students to easily test each other’s
knowledge.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Build Muscles in Functional Groups
The rotator cuff is a great example
of a functional group of muscles.
Notice how the scapula on the left has
been divided by the various muscles
of the functional group. When crests
appear in our skeletal structure, this
usually indicates a division between
muscles.
Orient the model carefully before
you begin to build. Step 1 shows the
ventral, or anterior surface of the
scapula. Steps 2-4 show the dorsal,
or posterior side of scapula. In steps
1 through 4, the muscles are isolated.
Step five shows how the muscles of
steps 1-4 work together as a functional
group.
1
2
3
4
1
subscapularis
teres minor
infraspinatus
supraspinatus
3
2
4
Above, the muscles are isolated. Below, the same muscles grow into a functional group.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Start Building with the
Anatomy in Clay® System
There is no right or wrong way to build onto the Maniken® model. Part of the magic of the
Anatomy in Clay® Learning System is its ability to enable learners to experiment with a variety of approaches. Allow your kinesthetic intelligence to take the lead and learn to trust that it
has the ability to uncover, almost intuitively, spatial relationships.
1
A great way to build is by using “strings” of clay. The “spaghettis” can represent vectors of
muscle-force or muscle fascicles (subdivisions within the muscle). Add as many as you need
to spread over the entire muscle attachment. For bigger, more powerful muscles, add more
fascicles. When you have built as many vectors as you wish, you can smooth the muscle
belly, as shown above.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
2
Drawing muscle “fibers” into the
clay is another way to produce
vectors.
3
Consider making each muscle out of one piece of clay. It is easier to use more clay
than you need and then trim with your fingertip or a tool. Bones adapt to the growth of
muscles and muscles adapt to the growth of bone. Use the shape of the bone to trim
down the muscle.
4
For expansive flat muscles, create a clay string outline of the entire muscle. You can easily lift the outlined shape onto the model and use it as a template to cut a shape from the
sheet of clay.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Build Muscles
Build muscles individually as isolated
“ideas” or as part of a group of muscles.
For muscles that have several heads, such
as the triceps brachii, build each head
either as an isolated muscle or as a group
of muscles.
3
Shape the muscle by rolling and
flattening a piece of clay.
1
Draw an outline of where the muscle
will attach.
4
Attach the medial head of the triceps
brachii.
2
Use a dot of clay to mark the second
attachment site.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
5
Now attach a “plate” of tendon that
covers much of the medial head to
the dot of clay. This tendon crosses the
joint and serves as a tendon for other
muscles to cross as well.
6
Because the lateral head, shown above, attaches both
to the bone and to the tendon casing of the medial
head, you can draw a first attachment onto the model
and a second attachment onto the first muscle.
7
Each head is rolled out as a simple carrot and then
flattened a bit.
8
In this example, the carrot is attached to the bone
and then to the muscle.
9
One can draw attachments onto the muscle
for the next series.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Build the Nervous System
1
2
Roll out a small yellow or buff clay
string to represent a nerve, and then
form a small ‘V’ of clay with one leg
of the ‘V’ longer than the other.
3
Slip one end of another string under
the clavicle up to the angle of the ‘V’
and connect it there.
4
The free end of the nerve is dropped
down the arm to the dorsal side of
the medial epicondyle or funny bone.
Press it gently onto the model.
Place the ‘V’ at the neutral foramina:
short leg to ‘C7’, long leg to ‘T1’.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
5
The string from the dorsal elbow spirals
to the ventral forearm along the ulna. From
there it passes down to the middle finger as
the “ulnar n.”
7
Add digital branches of the ulnar nerve
to the ring and little fingers.
These clay nerves are hugely out of scale
on the model and simply diagrammatic.
8
Lay the Maniken® hand in the palm of your
(same) hand..
6
Turn the arm back and forth to appreciate the dorsoventral spiral of its
path.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
... adding clay strings down ulnar palm and
onto medial edges of fingers to embody
which fingers the ulnar nerve most typically
affect.
Build the Cardiovascular System
1
Make a string of red clay to represent
an artery. One end is slipped under
the clavicle. Where the tube lies
under the clavicle, is called the
subclavian a. (a for artery)
The free end of the artery runs between
3 the shoulder and rib cage to the medial
side of the arm, or brachium. This part
of the tube is called the brachial a.
2
The cranial end of the tube is rolled
over the first rib as if to connect to the
heart through the brachiocephalic a.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
4
The tube moves diagonally to the middle of the elbow, or cubital fossa. The
tube in this area is called the cubital
a. Terminate the tube here.
7
5
Form a loop of clay string long
enough to reach from the cubital
stump to the palm of the hand.
6
Join one end of the loop to the cubital
stump. Continue the tube down the
length of the radius, forming the radial
a.
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
8
Form a loop at the hand metacarpals. This loop is known as the deep
palmar archa.
Run the free end of the tube back up
the arm, this time on the ulna. It joins
the radial a. and the cubital a. This
length is called the ulnar a.
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
Student Series: Human Skeleton Models
Maniken® Student 1
Maniken® Student 2
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
Classic Series: Human Skeleton Models
Maniken® SAP
Maniken® albinius
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Maniken® Strolling
Maniken®
striding
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
Classic Series: Human Skeleton Models
Maniken® mammalian
Maniken® reptilian
Maniken® Dancer 1st Position Maniken® Dancer 2nd Position Maniken® Dancer 2nd Position
in demi-plié
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
Classic Series: Animal Skeleton Models
Caniken® Classic Dog
Equiken® Classic Horse
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
Disarticulated Series
Maniken® Human Arms
Maniken® Human Legs
Equiken® Forelimbs
Equiken® Hindlimbs
Caniken® Forelimbs
Caniken® Hindlimbs
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay® Product Information
IN CLAY
®
Teaching Aids/Classes
BODY SYSTEMS Lessons 2
Maniken® Student Series
Series Intro
Endocrine System
Lymphatic System
Nervous System
Disc 2
Respiratory System
Urinary System
TM
Anatomy in Clay®
Body Systems DVD
Part# ZSV-MA-0012
© 2008 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
IN CLAY
®
BODY SYSTEMS Lessons 2
www.anatomyinclay.com
Maniken® Student Series
Series Intro
Endocrine System
Lymphatic System
IN CLAY
Nervous System
Disc 2
®
BODY SYSTEMS Lessons 1
Respiratory System
Urinary System
Maniken® Student Series
TM
Anatomy in Clay®
Body Systems DVD
Part# ZSV-MA-0012
© 2008 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Series Intro
Directional Terms
Skeletal System
Muscular System
Digestive System
Cardiovascular System
Integumentary System
www.anatomyinclay.com
Disc 1
TM
© 2008 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
IN CLAY
®
BODY SYSTEMS Lessons 1
www.anatomyinclay.com
Maniken® Student Series
5 Volume Myologik™ Atlas CD
Series Intro
Directional Terms
Skeletal System
Muscular System
Digestive System
Cardiovascular System
Integumentary System
Body SDiscystems
DVD
1
TM
© 2008 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay®
Body Systems DVD
Part# ZSV-MA-0012
www.anatomyinclay.com
Starla on Maniken®
Teacher’s Guide Curriculum
Anatomy in Clay®
-Staff Development Workshop
-Anatomy Workshops
Basic tool Set
Clay Multipack
Conversion Kit
Advanced Tool Set
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.
Anatomy in Clay®
Body Systems DVD
Part# ZSV-MA-0012
Copyright © 2011 Zahourek Systems, Inc.