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Dec 1, 2000

All of us have our own little tricks to help us remember things. After some time, we may no longer need them since we may have mastered the subject, so we think. But sooner or later, we will have to have recourse to them again. In this article, we will have a look at some memory aids.

In the intercostal spaces, the nerve and blood vessels have a definite position relative to one another and the intercostal space. From superior to inferior, there is the vein, artery and finally the nerve. To remember the sequence of these structures, remember VAN. OK, this is no big deal, let's consider something more complex:the cranial nerves.

There are twelve Cranial Nerves (CN I to CN XII) and one should know their names and number. This is generally not an easy task for the beginner. The following phrase provides a way to remember all this quite easily! (I think that I should beforehand point out that I'm not the author of this phrase. Believe it or not, our neuro-anatomy lecturer told it to us, and apparently his anatomy professor taught him that). It goes as follows: Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Girl's Vagina And Hymen. (I hope that no one has been offended by this phrase)

The first letter of each word stand for:

O - Olfactory nerve - CN I

O - Optic nerve - CN II

O - Oculomotor nerve - CN III

T - Trochlear nerve - CN IV

T - Trigerminal nerve - CN V

A - Abducent nerve - CN VI

F - Facial nerve - CN VII

A - Auditory nerve / vestibulocochlear nerve - CN VIII

G - Glossopharyngeal nerve - CN IX

V - Vagus nerve - CN X

A - Accessory nerve - CN XI

H - Hypoglossal nerve - CN XII

Now, some of these nerves are sensory, some motor, and some both! How on earth to remember which is which. Use a mnemonic, of course. Yes, we've got a phrase for this , and it's more "acceptable" as well. Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter Most.

The first word is for CN I, the second for CN II, and so on. As you may have guessed, S stands for Sensory, M for Motor and B for Both sensory and motor. E.g., CN I is sensory, CN III is motor and CN V is both sensory and motor. If you know of any mnemonics, please share it with us. Either e-mail them to me or simply include them in a discussion.

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