Dissectible Me 5 minute anatomy

Fascia is classically described as a series of sheets of connective tissue wrapping the body and compartments within it. It holds us together and gives us shape. But what is fascia? 

The embryonic period in humans is the first 8 weeks after fertilisation. What happens during the embryonic period and why is it different to the foetal period?

The anatomy of spinal nerves is rather neat, but can also be confusing. Let me talk about the dorsal and ventral roots, sensory and motor neurones, the spinal nerve and its posterior and anterior rami. 

What anatomy would I include if I only had 5 minutes to talk about forearm? I think I'd group the muscles, movements and nerves together to better understand what movements would be affected by a nerve injury. 

The autonomic nervous system innervates the sino-atrial node and controls the rate of contraction of the heart. What other effects do sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves have on the heart? I can think of two more. 

There are a few anatomy landmarks of the abdomen, some of them bony, that we can palpate and use to understand what structures lie deep to the skin here. We can also use them to divide up the abdomen into either 4 imaginary quadrants or 6 regions to help use describe signs or symptoms to others. 

Let's introduce the anatomy of the airway very briefly by starting at the nose and the mouth and working our way down to the alveoli. 

The sternal angle is an important surface anatomy landmark of the chest, deep to which some major anatomical structures lie. 

Synovial joints are specialised for movement. The shapes of the articulating surfaces define what movements are allowed, and we can anatomically classify synovial joints by these shapes and by these movements. We have hinge, ball and socket, plane, saddle and condyloid synovial joints. 

Fibrous joints, cartilaginous joints and synovial joints. We can define them by what they are made of, and in turn, what they are made of tells us what movements they might allow. 

The biggest bone in the body. What pertinent anatomical features should you be aware of?

What would I include if I only had 5 minutes to talk about the functional anatomy of the ovary? 

What nerves run through the inguinal canal and are they at risk of injury during an inguinal hernia repair? 

The hippocampus is part of the limbic system in the brain. What does that mean? What does it do? Where is it? In 5 minutes(ish)?

The oesophagus is a muscular tube linking the pharynx to the stomach. The muscles of the face and pharynx are skeletal and under somatic control, whereas the muscles of the stomach are smooth and autonomic. Where does this change happen? 

Why do we have three tiny bones in each ear? 

When we talk about "stroke" or a cerebrovascular event we're describing reduced blood flow to a region of the brain. What are the different types and how does this relate to our functional anatomical knowledge of the brain, brainstem and blood supply? 

The trochlear nerve (CN IV) has the single task of innervating the superior oblique muscle. Unfortunately the actions of this muscle on the eye are a little awkward to understand, so how is the eye affected if the trochlear nerve is injured?

The abducens nerve is one of those lovely cranial nerves that only does one thing, making learning it nice and easy. But what happens when it is injured, and how can that knowledge be helpful? 

What happens to the eye when the oculomotor nerve is injured or compressed? How can these signs and symptoms inform us about what might be happening inside the cranial cavity? 

The pupillary light reflex can let you test the optic nerve, midbrain and oculomotor nerve just by shining a light into someone's eye. Let's talk about the anatomy and how this works. 

Those folds and lumps of the external ear have all got names. Let's feel the concha, tragus, antitragus, helix, antihelix and opening of the external acoustic meatus together. 

The acoustic reflex is a mechanism that protects the ear from loud sounds. It is also called the stapedial reflex, middle-ear-muscle reflex and auditory reflex, among other names. What is the neuroanatomical pathway of this reflex, how does it work, how are the smallest bone and muscle in the body involved, and how can it be useful in determining problems with hearing?

The hypothalamus, as its name suggests, lies in the brain inferior and anterior to the thalamus. It is a central structure in modulating many autonomic functions and homeostasis. What does that mean, and what does it do?

What do we mean by the neck of the femur and why do we worry (more than usual) about a fracture here?