We’ve talked about a few mnemonics in class – some came from you guys and some from me. I thought it would be a good idea to put these in one place so they don’t get lost.

If you have some mnemonics that you’d like to share, please email them to me and I’ll post them here!

Blood mnemonics

Never Let Monkeys Eat Bananas

This is a way to remember the relative amounts of each white blood cell in the blood. Neutrophils are the most abundant, Lymphocytes are the next-most abundant, then Monocytes, then Eosinophils, and finally Basophils, which are very few in number.

Endocrine System mnemonics

FLAT PiG

This is a way to remember all the hormones secreted by the anterior pituitary: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH), Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), Prolactin, and Growth hormone.

B-flat

This mnemonic only works if you have some connection to music (and know that B flat is a musical note). Or maybe it doesn’t matter! Anyway – it is a way to remember which hormones in the anterior pituitary are secreted by basophils (FSH, LH, ACTH, and TSH). And if you can remember that, then you’ll also be able to remember what acidophils secrete (the remaining hormones: prolactin and growth hormone).

GFR

This is a weird mnemonic, because it is an acronym for something in a totally different organ (GFR stands for the glomerular filtration rate in the kidney). But when you study the kidney, you’ll soon realize that “GFR” just sticks in your head. So why not use it? Anyway: this is a way to remember the names of the layers (or zones) of the adrenal cortex as well as the order of the layers (from the outside to the inside): zona Glomerulosa, zona Fasciculata, zona Reticularis.

Salt, Sugar, Sex: the deeper you go, the sweeter it gets

As I said in class, I hope this is not offensive to anyone. It certainly is not my intent to make you uncomfortable. I’m taking the risk and sharing it with you because in med school it worked REALLY well for remembering the products of each layer of the adrenal cortex, as well as the order of the layers. Salt (mineralocorticoids) is produced in the outermost layer; sugar (glucocorticoids) is produced in the middle layer; and sex (androgens) are produced in the innermost layer.