In this 20-minute video, I walk through how I memorized the entire facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) using a memory palace. The facial nerve is a key player in neuroanatomy and pops up repeatedly during gross anatomy in medical school. I explain how I capture the nuclei, branches, and key practical points in an efficient way.
This video covers: palace selection, loci selection, image creation, deciding what to encode, Anki card creation, writing mnemonics, reviewing mnemonics. Selected images and diagrams below.
Selected Images
(Palace: Ole Miss Chapel Quad)
Superior Salivatory Nucleus: Salvador Dali
Rostral Solitary Nucleus: Statue with upturned nose
Internal Acoustic Meatus: Meat inside cafeteria
Geniculate ganglion: genuflecting person
Greater petrosal nerve: Muhammad Ali on Stone path
Pterygopalatine ganglion: Pterodactyl
Lacrimal Gland: Tear
Stapedius: Stampede
Bell palsy: Bell
Stylomastoid foramen: Stylus Mast
Posterior ear: Ear
Posterior Auricular Nerve: Aunt
Posterior Belly of Digastric: Back belly
Facial Motor Branches: To Zanzibar By Motor Car
Petrotympanic fissure: Stone crushing Tympani
Anterior 2/3 tongue: Tongue
Sublingual and Submandibular Glands: Saliva
Diagrams
Here's my facial nerve nerve schematic (adapted from this original lecture by Peter Ward) and my corresponding palace sketch: