FAB (HUMAN ANATOMY)

Functional Architecture of the Body

At Cambridge, you learn full body anatomy primarily via two methods - full-body cadaver dissection and self-teaching. Dissection gives you a real appreciation for the natural variation within anatomy and also develops your practical skills, while self-teaching allows you to hone the more detailed aspects, such as the names of structures.

In Michaelmas term, you will focus on the Upper Limb and Thorax. In Lent term, you will focus on the Abdomen/Pelvis and the Lower Limb.

In addition, you will have supplementary lectures which provide information on a range of topics including the clinical relevance of anatomy and embryology, as well as a 2-hour weekly session called 'Applied Anatomy' in which groups of students take turns to present a clinical case and respond to various questions from a supervisor.

You will also have a weekly supervision for FAB to strengthen your knowledge.

What resources should I use?

At the beginning of Michaelmas, you will be able to access Moodle which contains the FAB handbook. It is a roughly 200-page document which contains all the basic information about Anatomy which you should know by the end of the year.

In addition, there are various textbooks which you may find helpful (all can be found in the College Library):

1. 'Clinically Oriented Anatomy' by Moore and Dalley. It provides an overview of the relevant anatomy for each section but also contextualises it in a clinical setting, so it is particularly helpful for essays.

2. 'Gray's Anatomy' which contains lots of clear diagrams to help your understanding of the anatomy, particularly if the handbook is unclear or if it was difficult to discern certain structures in the dissection room.

3. There are many other textbooks, like anatomy atlases, which contain pictures of prosections (real-life dissected specimens) to help you work out what certain structures look like.

There is also a series of short videos by Dr Robert Acland (which you can find here) in which he describes the anatomy of different structures and regions of the body, which are available on Moodle and online.

Another helpful website is InstantAnatomy which contains lots of simple diagrams to help your learning.

Ultimately, you need to find out what way works best for you when learning Anatomy and use it!

How is it examined?

YOU WILL SIT TWO EXAMS AT THE END OF YEAR 1:

Sections I & II (FABC) Combined: Single Best Answer Multiple Choice Questions (90 mins)

Section III: Essays (120 mins)

SECTIONS I & II COMBINED:

This is a single 90-minute online MCQ paper consisting of 80 questions.

The paper is divided into 5 sections, with 16 questions per section:

Section 1: Upper Limb - 12 questions with associated image + 4 without an image

Section 2: Neck & Thorax - 12 questions with associated image + 4 without an image

Section 3: Abdomen & Pelvis - 12 questions with associated image + 4 without an image

Section 4: Lower Limb - 12 questions with associated image + 4 without an image

Section 5: Lecture Material - 16 questions with no associated image

For all questions, the single best answer should be selected from FOUR choices (updated from five choices in 2023). This component aims to test your knowledge of topographical anatomy, embryology, and applied anatomy, including material covered in lectures and practical sections.

SECTION III:

This is a 120-minute online paper where you must complete 2 essays, with one essay from each of two sections.

Section 1: Functional essay

Section 2: Clinical essay

SECOND MB & TRIPOS:

The Second MB examination comprises Sections I and II only and must be passed in order to continue the course. The pass mark is usually between 40% and 50%.

Both Sections I/II and Section III contribute to the overall Tripos score with equal contribution (50:50).

** PLEASE NOTE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS CORRECT AS OF JUNE 2023 BUT MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE **

** SEE THE FAB MOODLE PAGE FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION **