Regional Anatomy

Pros

The student can focus on one region of the body at a time. While studying regional anatomy a student will learn the muscles, nerves, and vessels of an entire region. This allows the student to study the relationships of the various systems found within one region. This provides the student with a better understanding of how a region functions as a unit.

For example, when studying the upper extremity the student would learn the bones, muscles, nerves, and vessels of that area at the same time. This has an advantage over the systems approach to anatomy in that while the student is learning the bones of the region they are also learning where the muscles of the region connect to these bones. At the same time they are learning what nerves innervate the muscles of the region and what blood vessels are supplying the region. In the systems approach, for each new system the student is required to think back to a system they have already completed in order to connect the information. For example if the student has already completed the skeletal system and is now studying the muscular system, they must rehash the skeletal system of the entire body as they learn the muscular attachments to the bones. The same would be true when studying the nervous system. The student would have to think back to the muscular system to understand where to put the various nerves.

Cons

The regional approach requires that the student have some understanding of at least four different anatomical systems at the same time