Anatomy
The anatomy section tests regional and systemic structure, with emphasis on spatial relations, neurovascular bundles, and clinical correlations that physiotherapists use in assessment.
Core rules and concepts
- Build each region from bones to joints, then muscles by action and innervation, then vessels and nerves by course and relations.
- Brachial plexus: roots C5–T1; trunks, divisions, cords named by relation to the axillary artery; terminal branches.
- Distinguish dermatomes from peripheral nerve territories; map key levels (C5 lateral arm, C6 thumb, C7 middle finger, C8 little finger, T4 nipple, L4 medial malleolus, L5 dorsum foot, S1 lateral foot).
- Synovial joints: capsule, synovium, cartilage, ligaments; close-packed versus loose-packed positions.
- Thoracoabdominal layers, inguinal canal, femoral triangle (nerve, artery, vein, empty space, lymphatics), and popliteal fossa contents.
Worked example
A midshaft humeral fracture presents with wrist drop and reduced sensation over the dorsum of the first web space. Reasoning: the radial nerve runs in the spiral groove against the humeral shaft, so it is injured here. Triceps is largely spared because its branches arise proximally. Wrist extensors and finger extensors are supplied distally, producing wrist drop. The superficial radial nerve supplies the first web dorsum. Median and ulnar hand muscles are unaffected, which separates this from a more distal lesion.
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing ulnar and median claw patterns; ulnar lesions affect intrinsic hand muscles and little-finger sensation.
- Naming a dermatome when the question asks for a peripheral nerve territory.
- Forgetting that the anatomical snuffbox contains the radial artery and scaphoid, and that tenderness there suggests scaphoid fracture.
- Describing muscle action without stating the joint and plane.