Orthopedics and musculoskeletal (MSK) pathology is a common medical school elective and a huge surgical specialty.
Studying Orthopedics from pre-made Anki decks is one of the best ways to introduce yourself to core topics and achieve real mastery over the material.
The digital flashcards in each of the following decks can help you do exactly that!
Best Orthopedics Anki Decks
The decks we’ll be looking at are:
- Orthotic Devices (best for foundations of Ortho)
- Orthotic Pathologies (primarily pathologies)
- Netter’s Ortho (based on Netter’s Anatomy textbook)
- Ortho 1-60 XRay (radiology behind Ortho)
- Pharm Ortho (best for main drugs used)
Each of these decks is formatted and structured differently, suiting those with varied learning styles. They also differ in size, meaning some will be faster to run through than others.
We recommend taking a look at each and checking out the card examples first before downloading.
We’ve also included some helpful Orthopedics learning resources at the end of this article too!
Orthotic Devices Anki Deck
| Deck Name: | Orthotic Devices |
| Cards: | 2349 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2020 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | 241.7 MB |
| Download link: | Orthotic Devices |
This deck is perfect for students wanting to study Orthopedics for their clinical rotations. It covers the foundations very well.
It contains 2349 cards.
The deck contains lots of images and the questions are split to improve memory recall.
Different flag colours have been incorporated. Green flags will be updated with an image. Blue flags will be simplified. Orange flags require an update. Red flags should be suspended.
The creator recommends reading your materials first before going through the cards. They have been tagged by topic to make sure you keep an order. They suggest suspending all cards and then unsuspending each week according to content covered.
The deck is to be revised in conjunction with these other decks:
Many different topics are included such as spinal bracing, compression hosiery and footwear.
If you have any further questions, you can contact the creator at @LingfordPO.
Here is an example flashcard describing the Windlass mechanism….
This is another card on the tissue stress theory…
The card graphically depicts the theory and also provides a handy video link for further information!
Orthotic Pathologies
| Deck Name: | Orthotic Pathologies |
| Cards: | 1456 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2021 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | 106.9 MB |
| Download link: | Orthotic Pathologies |
This deck is handy for those wanting to focus primarily on the pathologies in Orthopedics.
It contains 1456 cards.
There are many images and split questions.
The flag system is the same as the Orthotic Devices deck above.
The same learning approach is recommended by suspending all cards initially then unsuspending as you cover the topics every week.
Here is a sample card on pain…
Here is another card depicting a stage one pressure ulcer…
Netter’s Ortho
| Deck Name: | Netter’s Ortho |
| Cards: | 4833 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2021 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | 54.1 MB |
| Download link: | Netter’s Ortho |
This comprehensive deck is ideal to understand the anatomy of orthopedics.
It contains a huge 4833 cards.
The deck is based on Netter’s Concise Orthopaedic Anatomy textbook. This resource is very handy for your rotation, residency or to refer to quickly in practice.
It’s very similar to the Netters Anatomy Anki deck featured here; Best Anatomy Anki Decks.
There is lots of key information on disorders, trauma, history, physical exam, radiology, surgical approaches and minor procedures in every chapter. Each Netter image is backed up by further detail on the corresponding bones, joints, muscles and nerves in table format.
Important material is highlighted in different colours- clinical pearls are in green and warnings are in red.
The deck is structured as in the image below…
This is a sample card from the “Arm” section…
Here is another card from the “Pelvis” section depicting the lumbar plexus…
Ortho 1-60 X Ray
| Deck Name: | Ortho 1-60 X Ray |
| Cards: | 59 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2021 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | 28.1 MB |
| Download link: | Ortho 1-60 X Ray |
This deck is perfect for students wanting to focus exclusively on the radiology behind Orthopedics.
It contains 59 cards.
This is a sample card related to pelvic radiology…
Download Ortho 1-60 X Ray here
Pharm Ortho
| Deck Name: | Pharm Ortho |
| Cards: | 92 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2021 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | MB |
| Download link: | Pharm Ortho |
If you wish to learn the drugs used in Orthopedic therapy, this deck is perfect. It describes the drug’s mechanism of action and lists key pharmacodynamic properties.
If you’re looking for a more broader overview of premade Anki pharmacology decks, check out this article: Best Pharmacology Anki Decks.
The deck consists of 92 cards.
This is a sample flashcard on Methadone…
The card highlights key properties such as Methadone having a longer half life than morphine and its route of administration. Such things seem trivial but in a clinical setting, knowing that this drug will last longer than morphine is essential.
Here is another card on the non analgesic effects of opioids…
Memorizing these is extremely high yield both for examination purposes and also if questioned by physicians on rotations.
Additional Orthopedics Study Resources
Besides the decks suggested above it’s also worth taking a look at the musculoskeletal and orthopedic-relevant cards in Anking’s latest deck (you can read more about this here). This deck takes Pathoma’s MSK chapter as a source as well as Boards and Beyond’s video series dedicated to the topic.
Video
Nabil Ebraheim, M.D.
Orthopedic specialist Doctor Nabil Ebraheim has a treasure trove of orthopedic video tutorials organized into varying playlists over on his YouTube channel. His videos are short, visual and contain all the relevant high yield facts you’ll need to master to pass school/residency exams.
Where To Find More Anki Orthopedics Decks
We highly recommend going to AnkiWeb.net and r/medicalschoolanki and looking at the orthopedic-related offerings.
You can filter your results to see the most recent and most relevant pre-made Anki decks via search.
Why Use An Anki Pre-Made Deck?
- Excellent free resource
- Saves time making your own cards while covering the most high yield principles
- Gives you more time to do practice questions!
Top Tips For Using Anki Orthopedics Flashcard Decks
There can be lots of information on some cards which can be overwhelming. Our top tip is to keep it SIMPLE and make sure you are actively practicing cards on a regular basis.
Keep reviewing the cards where possible, i.e. once you have finished your set for the day, briefly make a mental note or write down where your study session ended.
If you’re studying from a large multi-subject pre-made Anki deck, make sure you use tags and suspend (ctrl + J) all other cards outside of the usual EM topics.
The same goes for making sure you only cover the topics you’ve already studied in your primary learning resource!
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Hey guys, I’m Sumran. I’m a British 5th-year international medical student at the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. I transitioned straight from completing my A-Levels into university. Currently, I have interests in Psychiatry and Gastroenterology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy reading crime novels and visiting art exhibitions.