The 3 Best Anatomy Text Books For Medical Students

Textbooks are the most reliable and standard way of learning a scientific study properly. In this article, we are reviewing and ranking the 5 best textbooks for medical students.

No.1 Gray's Anatomy For Students

This is not to be confused with the Holy bible of anatomy, the centuries old Gray's Anatomy. This is simply the student's version of it. It has very comprehensive descriptions. Includes colored diagrams ideally placed, for students to go back and forth between the diagrams and the description to get a 3 Dimensional Understanding of the structures. The typography and design of the book makes it far more likely for you to pick up the book and start studying compared to any other anatomy textbooks. The white, glossy, and thick pages give the book a premium feel. The quality of the paper however may vary depending on the version available in your area. However, it is rather difficult to carry around because it is large and bulky and heavy.

Pricing

The high quality of this textbook comes with a price. I ranked this book on the top despite it being the pricer option because, the simple price difference would not hold most medical students back because that amount is microscopic compared to the enormous amount you would spend for medical school. A few extra bucks to make sure you get the full advantage of the hundreds of thousands you spend on the medical degree sounds worthwhile.

The prices may vary from time to time, therefore I will post a few links for you to check them and find out your self.

No.2 BD Chaurasia's Human Anatomy: Regional and Applied Dissection and Clinical

Chaurasia's Anatomy textbook is loved by many medical students in South Asia. Although It is not the most widely accepted and standard textbook, Its format is very easy to understand and feels much less overwhelming. This is because Chaurasia offers the more crucial and difficult information is presented in a sort of point form. However, this is not the most ideal way to read and understand the complex 3 dimensional relations because this simply cannot be represented in 2 dimensional pages. The diagrams are not as beautiful as the ones on the gray's anatomy. If you are using an anatomy atlas along with the textbook, this should not affect you as much. The paper white and glossy, similar to most of the other textbooks. Another significant feature of Chaurasia is that the book comes in 4 seperate volumes, making it much more portable. This significantly reduces the friction for you to pick up the book and study. The simplicity of the content might make it a bit more difficult to understand for some people but it makes the content far easier to memorize and keep in your head. Because what good is reading everything and understanding if it's too much for you to keep in your head?

I would rate this just as high as the Gray's Anatomy if it wasn't for the slightly low reliability because of having originated from India. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference, whether you like point form or paragraph form.

Pricing

All 4 volumes together is still cheaper than the Gray's Anatomy

No.3 Last's Anatomy: Regional and Applied (MRCS Study Guides)

This book is widely accepted among anatomy professors all around the world. And is the recommended reference book for anatomy in many universities. However, reading this might be a pain. The diagrams are not the prettiest, and the typography is not the most pleasant either. Using this as your main source to study is going to be a pain.However, this would be a great resource to resolve doubts and conflicts. If two different sources mention contrasting facts, you can always use Last's to verify which one is right. For example, If you are studying by reading articles from Senpai Simplified, and if you come across a disparity between what was taught in your university and what is on the website, This book would be a reliable place to go and clarify those doubts. The book is smaller, not because it contains less information, but because far more information is cramped into the pages. Although reading that may feel uneasy, carrying the book around may be a bit more convenient compared to the Gray's Anatomy.

Pricing

The price of this book stands somewhere in the same range as Chaurasia's.

Price on Amazon