This list is part of a series of articles about the best books for medical students. Click on the Med School Books Main Page to see other lists including the best books for each year in medical school, the best books for each clinical rotation, and the best books for USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3.
This list of books was specifically created to help medical students. However, I would suggest the same books to anyone taking an undergraduate course in anatomy, to dental students, optometry students, podiatry students, physicians assistant students, advanced nursing students, etc. etc. When you are studying anatomy there are a few things you have to focus on: 1- Learning the name and location of the structures, 2- learning to identify the important anatomic relationships in the body, and 3- learning the clinical correlations related to the important relationships. Your tests will focus on each of these areas, so you must focus on them as well.
- Updated April 2015
1. An Atlas:
|
|
2. An Anatomy Textbook:
|
|
3. A Dissector:
|
|
4. Flashcards:
|
|
5. Anatomy Review Book:
|
|
6. Other Books:
|
because I like bright colors, but each atlas has its own advantages and disadvantages. Below are a few links to the best known atlases.
because it is brief and very high yield. I have also heard good things about 
.
works just fine. You will want to know all the important structures that you dissected, but you will NOT want to study out of your anatomy lab book! Gross.
, they are bright and color coated for easy memorization.
.
review is concise (albeit 500 pages) and high yield review of everything to do with anatomy and its clinical correlations. The best book for high yield review, however, is likely the 
. This will include review of many other subjects, but it is very high yield and a fantastic resource.
and 
.
does not seem like anything special at first glance. However, I have never met someone who used the Gilroy atlas and did not love it. In fact, it holds the #2 position for 
is a well known text with a great history and crisp images similar to the Gilroy text. Many students use the companion, 
is well liked by its users, just Google the title and you will find loads of students who love it. However, I have never actually met a student who used it. We had a couple copies in our library, but no one every looked at them. If you are a textbook lover, you might want to look at the Thieme book. It reads more like a textbook than an anatomy atlas.
is a sort of cult-favorite atlas. Many believe the illustrations in Clemente are the best on the market. They are clear and straight forward. There is a good mix of clinical information. The price is low, and the satisfaction is high. I have not used Clemente's but those who have used it say that they would use it again.
is one of histories best-known atlases. However, I think that the atlases listed above have surpassed this historical text. There are newer versions, but I fear the TV show named after the atlas will forever be more famous than that atlas itself. The images are nice and there are a number of photos and radiologic images which accompany the anatomy illustrates. Because of Gray's historical status, it warrants a few minutes to flip through the pages, but I would not purchase this text myself.
This list is part of a series of articles about the best books for medical students. Click on the 
is widely used by many medical students; it contains more detailed images and text that highlights some important clinical relationships. Check out these other Amazon links if you want to learn more about the other options available. 
.
and 
. .
I recently 
My name is Andrew and I am a first year resident training to be an ophthalmologist. I created ShortWhiteCoats to provide medical students, residents, and the public with all the information I spent so many hours looking for during medical school.
