
Trochlear nerve (CN IV) palsy
The trochlear nerve (CN IV) has the single task of innervating the superior oblique muscle. Unfortunately the actions of this muscle on the...
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Welcome to dissectible me. Human anatomy in 5-minute chunks. In this weekly podcast, we will cover everything from introductions to bodily systems, to some very focused but fascinating nugge...

The trochlear nerve (CN IV) has the single task of innervating the superior oblique muscle. Unfortunately the actions of this muscle on the...

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 i...

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 h...

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...

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...

The acoustic reflex is a mechanism that protects the ear from loud sounds. It is also called the stapedial reflex, middle-ear-muscle reflex...

The hypothalamus, as its name suggests, lies in the brain inferior and anterior to the thalamus. It is a central structure in modulating man...

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

The blood brain barrier describes how the endothelial cells of the capillaries in the brain are tightly stuck together by tight junctions, w...

The brain has spaces inside it, interconnected and filled with cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid is continually produced here and flows from c...

Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, it fills spaces within them, is continually produced and drained away, b...

The muscles that flex and extend the elbow joint. Biceps brachii, brachialis, triceps brachii, anconeus and brachioradialis. What they attac...

The term "brain death" can be used to refer to irreparable damage of the brainstem or cerebrum. By considering the differing functional anat...

The midbrain is the upper part of the brainstem. In here we find tracts running to and from the spinal cord and cerebrum. We find nuclei and...

Quadriceps femoris and the hamstrings are powerful extensors and flexors of the knee respectively, but they also cross the hip joint. Let's...

The pelvic floor (or pelvic diaphragm) describes the structures at the lowest point of the pelvis, largely muscles, that support the pelvic...

The flexor tendons of the fingers run into synovial tunnels that let them move freely as we strengthen and relax our grip. These tunnels are...

There are 3 arches in the foot: a medial longitudinal arch, a lateral longitudinal arch and a transverse arch. Why do humans have arches in...

The plantar aponeurosis (or plantar fascia) is a very strong connective structure on the sole of the foot, deep to the skin, running from th...

The uterus lies in the pelvis and has three layers. The endometrium is a specialised layer able to receive a blastocyst and with it form a p...

What is the musculovenous pump? How does it help lift all that blood from your legs back up to your heart when you're walking around? Let's...

The femoral triangle is an anatomical region in the upper anterior thigh bordered by the inguinal ligament, sartorius muscle and adductor lo...

The ovum (or oocyte or egg) passes from the ovary into the uterine tube (or Fallopian tube). Spermatozoa pass from the vagina through the ce...

Let me try to describe the locations, functions and innervation of the major muscles of the shoulder joint: pectoralis major, latissimus dor...

In short, the peripheral nervous system is all of the nervous tissue that is not in the central nervous system. Except for cranial nerves I...

What do we mean by "the central nervous system"? What anatomical structures are included when we say, "the brain"? Are cranial nerves part o...

Let me introduce to you the four parasympathetic ganglia of the head. Meet the ciliary ganglion, the otic ganglion, the pterygopalatine gang...

The foetus gets its oxygen from the placenta and not from the lungs when in the uterus. The lungs are still growing and little blood flows t...

How are the tonsils associated with the cerebellum? How can they be herniated and what does this mean? What is coning? Why is this an import...

In 5 minutes, what is the anatomy of the cerebellum and what does it do? Why does it have 80% of all of the neurones of the brain? Why does...

The spermatic cord carries all the things the testis needs to and from the torso. What is the spermatic cord made of, what are its layers, w...

How can understanding the embryology of the gastrointestinal tract as foregut, midgut and hindgut help us understand the blood supply and ve...

"Soma" means "of the body" so what is the somatic nervous system? How is this dividing up of the nervous system useful? I'll try to describe...

The ovarian artery branches from the aorta and supplies blood to the ovary. The uterine artery branches from the internal iliac artery and s...

What is the anatomy behind Trendelenburg gait? Why does the hip drop? Which hip drops? Which side is the weakness on? What might cause this?...

A common request is for me to summarise the nerves of the lower limb and how they innervate the muscles. If we think about the parts of the...

An aortic dissection occurs when the innermost layer of the aorta tears and blood pushes into the walls of the aorta, separating the layers...

The anatomical snuff box describes a clinically useful surface anatomy landmark on the back of the thumb at the wrist, outlined by a triangu...

There is so much that we could talk about when looking at the anatomy of the small intestine, but if I only had 5 minutes what would I choos...

The axilla is the armpit, and an anatomical space linking the torso with the upper limb. Let's define its borders so we better understand wh...

The anatomy of this slender U-shaped bone in the neck at the top of the larynx is crucial to the normal functions of the larynx and swallowi...

Squeezing in a little more detail about the parasympathetic nervous system I can talk about all of the cranial nerves that carry parasympath...

What are the most important points about the functional anatomy of the sympathetic nervous system? And what central nervous system structure...

I'll try to describe what it is and its anatomy in a concise 5 minutes. Ish.

We can use surface anatomy landmarks to define triangles in the neck to help us locate anatomical structures deep to the skin. Within the po...

The anterior triangle of the neck is a region defined by surface anatomy landmarks that help you locate critical anatomical structures. Let'...

The bones, ligaments and synovial bits of the hip joint between the acetabulum of the pelvis and the head of the femur.

The lumbosacral plexus is the anatomy of the low back and pelvis that forms the major nerves of the lower abdomen, pelvis and lower limb. It...

Understanding the anatomy of upper and lower motor neurones can be very useful when trying to use the results of an examination, signs and s...

Spinal tracts are bundles of neuronal axons that run through the spinal cord and brainstem. If we think about how neurones work, how they ar...