Course Mnemonics


These are mnemonics I developed for Human Anatomy and Physiology

 

Digestive System:

What is the order that classes of organic compounds empty from our stomach and how can that be used to understand Chinese food and emulsion?

 

For this mnemonic I placed a concentrated sugar solution with red dye added, a small amount of egg white (albumin) and some vegetable oil in a test tube with a rubber stopper.  I left it in the cupboards with my "bag of tricks."

 

When I needed it, I took it out and asked the students to tell me the colors they saw and where they were.  The red carbohydrates would be on the bottom (the most dense) the white albumin (protein) in the middle, and the yellow oil (lipid-the least dense) floating on the top.   I then informed them that this was the order in which these substances left the stomach and that the order was simply a function of their respective densities.   Then I explained why a Chinese meal often fills you quickly but leaves you feeling hungry a short time later-Chinese food is high in carbohydrates, so it leaves the stomach fairly quickly.

 

With the lipids, protein, and carbohydrates, I could demonstrate emulsion by just shaking the test tube.  Tiny bubbles of fat (Micelle-like structures) would quickly form in the process.

 

Endocrine System:

What are some of the endocrine hormones and how do they act?

 

The answer to this is found under Poetry under "Boning Up" and "Hormones and Moaning."

 

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Return to BI 215 and 216, Human Anatomy and Physiology

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