Anatomy and Physiology Flashcards
Updated · By the Revizly team
Here are 30 free anatomy and physiology flashcards on two units that trip up a lot of A&P students: the nervous system, from the CNS to the action potential, and respiratory physiology, from airway zones to lung volumes. Flip through them below, then make a deck from your own A&P lectures.
Real example
Nervous system and respiratory physiology
What went in: Cards Revizly generated from two public classes on revizly.app: nervous system physiology and respiratory physiology.
Real Revizly output, lightly formatted.
The flashcards
The practice quiz
Question 1 of 5
Which statement best describes the conducting zone of the respiratory tract?
Question 2 of 5
Which structures make up the respiratory zone where gas exchange occurs?
Question 3 of 5
What is the approximate alveolar-surface coverage and role of Type I pneumocytes?
Question 4 of 5
Which set correctly lists the four basic lung volumes?
Question 5 of 5
Which description best matches an obstructive ventilatory defect?
What’s in this A&P deck
Thirty cards across two units: the nervous system (organization, neurons, the action potential, myelin) and the respiratory system (airway zones, pneumocytes, lung volumes and capacities, spirometry). Each card asks one thing.
| Unit | Cards | What you’ll practice |
|---|---|---|
| Nervous system | 19 | CNS vs. PNS, afferent and efferent pathways, somatic vs. autonomic, resting and action potentials, refractory periods, myelin |
| Respiratory system | 11 | Conducting vs. respiratory zone, dead space, Type I and II pneumocytes, lung volumes and capacities, spirometry |
How to study anatomy and physiology
Split it in two. Anatomy is mostly names and locations, so it’s flashcard territory. Physiology is mostly processes, so draw them out and explain them in your own words, then use cards to lock in the numbers and steps.
Anatomy: lots of short cards
Structures, locations, what connects to what. Keep each card to one fact, review daily, and let spaced repetition bring back the ones you miss.
Physiology: understand the sequence first
Walk through the action potential step by step before you try to memorize it: threshold, sodium in, peak, potassium out, refractory period. Once the sequence makes sense, the flashcards just keep the details sharp.
Connect structure to function
Type I pneumocytes are thin because they do gas exchange. The conducting zone is dead space because it has no alveoli. When you can explain why a structure looks the way it does, it’s much harder to forget.
Test yourself before the lab practical
Practicals and exams ask you to recall, not recognize. Flip cards without peeking, and use a practice quiz a few days before the exam to find the gaps.
Card formats that work for A&P
Anatomy needs many short cards for names and locations; physiology needs cards that ask why and what happens next. Mixing both formats keeps you from memorizing structures without knowing what they do.
For muscles, give origin, insertion and action their own cards instead of one card with all three. You’ll see right away which part you keep forgetting.
| Format | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Where is the medulla oblongata? | In the brainstem, below the pons, continuous with the spinal cord. |
| Muscle action | What does the biceps brachii do? | Flexes the elbow and supinates the forearm. |
| Origin and insertion | Where does the biceps brachii insert? | On the radial tuberosity. |
| Sequence | What happens when pressure in the left ventricle rises above aortic pressure? | The aortic valve opens and blood is ejected into the aorta. |
What to put on cards for each body system
Every system has its own mix of names and processes. Use this as a checklist when you build or review a deck so you don’t end up with fifty bone names and nothing on how the system works.
| System | Card the structures | Card the processes |
|---|---|---|
| Skeletal | Bones and bone markings | Bone remodeling, joint types and movements |
| Muscular | Origin, insertion and action of key muscles | Steps of muscle contraction |
| Nervous | Brain regions, cranial nerves, neuron parts | Action potential and synaptic transmission |
| Cardiovascular | Heart chambers and valves, major vessels | Path of blood through the heart, cardiac cycle |
| Respiratory | Conducting and respiratory zones | Ventilation, gas exchange, lung volumes |
| Urinary | Parts of the nephron | What each part of the nephron reabsorbs or secretes |
| Endocrine | Glands and the hormones they make | What each hormone does and what controls its release |
Studying for the lab practical
Lab practicals test whether you can name a structure on a model or slide you haven’t seen in that exact view. Text cards help, but you also need to practice identifying structures on images and models.
- Use the diagrams from your lab manual and cover the labels with sticky notes, then name each structure out loud.
- Go back to the models during open lab hours; a structure looks different in 3D than in a drawing.
- Make cards for the structures you keep confusing, like the radius and ulna or the different neuron types.
- Quiz a classmate: one points, the other names. It’s the closest thing to the real practical.
Common mistakes in A&P
Students tend to overload on names, skip the physiology until the week of the exam, and review only by rereading. The fix is daily cards, sequence questions for physiology, and testing yourself on images before practicals.
- Learning names without function. For every structure, add one card about what it does.
- Leaving physiology to the end. Processes take longer to understand than names; start them early.
- Rereading the textbook instead of testing yourself. Close the book and recall, then check.
- Studying only from text before a practical. Practice on diagrams and models too.
Make A&P flashcards from your own lectures
Every A&P course moves through the body systems in its own order and at its own depth. Upload your professor’s slides for each unit and Revizly builds a deck, a study guide and a practice quiz that match.
If your PDF has labeled diagrams, Revizly can keep the important figures in your study guide next to the section they explain.
Sign in, upload a PDF, PowerPoint, photos of your notes or a YouTube lecture, and get your deck in about 30 seconds. The free plan covers 2 classes a month. Essential is $6.99 a month and Premium is $9.99 a month.
Make a deck from your A&P lectures
Sign in, upload your slides or a PDF chapter, and get flashcards, a study guide and a practice quiz in about 30 seconds. The free plan covers 2 classes a month.
PDF, photos, Word, PowerPoint or a YouTube linkYou can upload right after you sign inFrequently asked questions
Are these anatomy and physiology flashcards free?
Yes. The deck on this page is free to read and flip. You only need a free account to make cards from your own lectures.
Which A&P topics does this deck cover?
The nervous system (organization, neurons, resting and action potentials, myelin) and respiratory physiology (airway zones, pneumocytes, lung volumes and capacities, spirometry).
Where do these cards come from?
Revizly generated them from public classes on revizly.app that students built from their own course materials. We formatted them lightly and removed any card we found inaccurate.
Is this deck for A&P 1 or A&P 2?
It depends on your program. Many schools teach the nervous system in A&P 1 and the respiratory system in A&P 2. Build decks from your own lectures to match your course exactly.
Can Revizly make A&P flashcards from my slides?
Yes. Upload the PowerPoint or PDF for a unit and Revizly writes flashcards, a study guide and a multiple-choice quiz from it.
Does it work for nursing and pre-med A&P?
Yes. Revizly works from whatever material you upload, so it fits a nursing prerequisite, a biology major course or a med school block.
How many cards should I review a day?
Start with ten to fifteen minutes a day. Spaced repetition shows you the cards you miss more often and the ones you know less often, so the daily load stays manageable.
Can I study on my phone?
Yes. Revizly has iPhone and Android apps, and your decks sync with the website.
How do I memorize muscles in A&P?
Learn them by region, and give origin, insertion and action their own cards. Then link the action to where the muscle attaches: a muscle that crosses the front of the elbow will usually flex it.
How do I study for an A&P lab practical?
Practice naming structures on diagrams with the labels covered and on the lab models themselves. Text flashcards help with names, but the practical tests recognition, so you need to practice that directly.
What’s the hardest part of A&P for most students?
Usually the volume of terms in anatomy and the step-by-step processes in physiology, like the action potential or the nephron. Short daily reviews and sequence questions make both manageable.