The Exceptional Anatomy Lab/MuscleID

Lesson Plan About Muscle Identification is one of the primary learning goals in introductory anatomy. Being able to identify the location and name the major muscles of the body is part of all basic anatomy courses. This can be combined with information on muscle physiology or taught separately. COMMENTARY: One major problem students have with understanding muscle identification is that unlike bones, muscles change shape. Students will try to memorize shapes of muscles from images, and they will sometimes be unable to identify the same muscles if the posture of the subject changes. For this reason, it is useful to have models when teaching this subject (in person or virtual). It is also helpful to have students touch the muscles on their own body while learning their locations in order to get a kinesthetic link between the image and the body. Lesson Structure This lesson includes A pre-lab assessment Labeling muscle images A list of muscles to be tested over A lecture Student activity - labeling muscles on models and/or the human body Post lab assessment Materials FOR EACH CLASS OR GROUP HAVE: A set of muscle models (optional: Use the body if not available) Images of muscles for lecture Electrical or Masking tape Markers to write on tape FOR EACH STUDENT INCLUDE: 1 muscle name list Detailed Lesson Description Teacher instructions Prelab Assessment Students will be given a prelab assessment before class which will involve them looking up terminology such as origin and insertion, and labeling a few muscles. If you use a paper assessment and you do not draw lines to the muscles, you can see if the students understand how to interpret muscle images to distinguish one muscle from another. Students often have trouble understanding how muscle images are drawn, and how one muscle can cover another, or be drawn to show different layers of images. Lecture Using images and models, go over the names of each muscle on the list, and describe their origin and insertion, their names, and how they can be distinguished from one another. Student Instructions Students will label paper images of the muscles. Then students will write the muscle names on tape and tape them onto each other's clothing. If models are available, students will tape the names over the appropriate models. Instructor will grade their work, and/or provide a key so the students can check their work and modify the location of the labels. Post Lab Students will be given an assessment where they must identify the muscles they were trained on. Useful Resources & Links Table of Contents