Preface
Neuroanatomy is at once the most fascinating and most diffi cult subject in the fi eld of
anatomy. When we master it, we can resolve the most perplexing diagnostic riddles in
medicine, and yet we struggle with the numerous neuroanatomical structures and path-
ways, the intertextual inconsistencies in nomenclature and opinion, and the complex spa-
tial relationships. So here, we bring the diff erences in nomenclature and opinion to the
forefront to mitigate them and we present the material in an active, kinesthetic way.
In this book, we approach each neuroanatomical lesson by beginning fresh with a
blank page, and from there we build our diagram in an instructive, rather than a didactic
format. With each lesson, we create a schema that provides a unique place for each neuro-
anatomical item. Th is, then, allows us to rehearse the schema and in the process memorize
the fundamental neuroanatomical items. And because we are all students of anatomy—
and not art—our purpose with each lesson is to learn a schematic that we can reproduce
in the classroom, the laboratory, or at the bedside in a way that is especially designed for
the “left -brained” among us.
Some of us possess pigeon-like navigational skills, whereas others of us fi nd ourselves
getting lost in our own houses. Th e ease with which we learn anatomy is inherently related
to the strength of our spatial cognition, which makes it harder for those of us who struggle
with complex spatial relationships to master the subject matter^1. When it comes to the
task of deciphering a complicated illustration, specifi cally in studying the details of an
illustration, it has been shown that we rely heavily on the right frontoparietal network^2 – 4.
In Neuroanatomy: Draw It to Know It , we shift the process of learning neuroanatomy
away from the classic model of spatial de-encoding, away from the right frontoparietal
network, to the formulation of memorizable scripts or schemas, which task the prefrontal
cortices more intensively, instead^5 , 6. In so doing, we provide the less spatially-inclined
with a diff erent entry zone into the world of neuroanatomy.
Th is book reconciles the most burdensome impasses to our learning : we highlight
inconsistencies, remove spatial complexities, and create an active, instructive text that
adheres to the principle—when we can draw a pathway step by step, we know it.