NEET PG tricks & mnemonics — save minutes on exam day
Subject-wise short tricks and memory hacks for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (PG). Each one is meant to be used in the exam hall — read it, then lock it in with a quick practice question.
SCALP layers — S = Skin, C = Connective tissue (dense), A = Aponeurosis (galea aponeurotica), L = Loose areolar tissue, P = Pericranium. The dangerous layer is L where infection spreads easily.
Carpal bones (lateral to medial) — "Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle" = Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrum, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate, Hamate (proximal row first, then distal).
Rotator cuff muscles — "SITS" = Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres minor, Subscapularis. These four muscles stabilize the glenohumeral joint.
Cranial nerves — "On Old Olympus Towering Tops A Finn And German Viewed Some Hops" = Olfactory, Optic, Oculomotor, Trochlear, Trigeminal, Abducens, Facial, Vestibulocochlear, Glossopharyngeal, Vagus, Spinal accessory, Hypoglossal.
Branches of facial nerve — "To Zanzibar By Motor Car" = Temporal, Zygomatic, Buccal, Mandibular, Cervical (from superior to inferior emerging from parotid gland).
Physiology
Insulin vs Glucagon effects — Insulin does the 4 G's: Glycogenesis, Glucose uptake, lipogenesis (Grease), Growth. Glucagon reverses these—glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, lipolysis.
Oxygen-hemoglobin curve right shift — "CADET face Right" = CO₂↑, Acid↑ (pH↓), 2,3-DPG↑, Exercise, Temperature↑. Right shift = decreased affinity = more O₂ release to tissues.
Vitamin K-dependent factors — "1972" = Factors II, VII, IX, X (and proteins C, S). Warfarin inhibits these factors.
Obligate anaerobes — "ABC" = RBCs have Anaerobic glycolysis only, Brain and Cornea prefer glucose (though brain uses oxygen, RBCs are strict anaerobes due to no mitochondria).
Glucogenic vs Ketogenic amino acids — Only Leucine and Lysine are purely ketogenic ("LL"). Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine are both. Rest are glucogenic.
AI-curated from widely-used exam techniques — always sanity-check a trick on a practice question before relying on it in the hall.
Tricks stick when you USE them
Take a free NEET PG mock right now — apply these tricks under the clock and see your speed jump. No signup needed to try a 5-question quiz.
Glycolysis irreversible steps — "Phosphorylation Pays Forward" or remember enzymes: Hexokinase (step 1), Phosphofructokinase (step 3), Pyruvate kinase (step 10)—the three rate-limiting/committed steps.
Fat-soluble vitamins — "ADEK" = Vitamins A, D, E, K are fat-soluble; require bile for absorption; stored in liver/adipose; toxicity possible with excess.
Pharmacology
Cytochrome P450 inducers — "PC BRAS" = Phenytoin, Carbamazepine, Barbiturates, Rifampicin, Alcohol (chronic), Sulphonylureas. These reduce efficacy of other drugs metabolized by CYP450.
Selective β1 blockers — "BEAM" = Bisoprolol, Esmolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol. Cardioselective; safer in asthma/COPD than non-selective blockers.
Muscarinic antagonist effects — "Blind as a bat, Red as a beet, Hot as a hare, Dry as a bone, Mad as a hatter" = mydriasis, flushing, hyperthermia, anhidrosis, delirium from atropine/scopolamine.
Conditions with skip lesions — Think Crohn's disease (classic), also Takayasu arteritis, Buerger's disease. Continuous involvement = Ulcerative colitis.
Rb gene (13q14) associations — "ROB" = Retinoblastoma, Osteosarcoma, Bladder carcinoma. Loss of tumor suppressor causing these malignancies.
Microbiology
Encapsulated bacteria — "SHiNE SKiS" = Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, E. coli (some), Salmonella, Klebsiella, Group B Streptococcus. High risk in asplenic patients.
Urease-positive organisms — "PUNCH" = Proteus, Ureaplasma, Nocardia, Cryptococcus, H. pylori, Klebsiella. Proteus causes staghorn calculi via urease.
Catalase-positive cocci — "Cats Need PLACESS" = Staphylococcus (vs Streptococcus which is catalase-negative). Quick test to differentiate at bench.
Medicine
Cushing vs Conn syndrome — Cushing has high cortisol (hypertension, hyperglycemia, central obesity); Conn has high aldosterone (hypertension, hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis). Conn = "K+gone."
MUDPILES for metabolic acidosis — Methanol, Uremia, DKA, Propylene glycol/Paraldehyde, Iron/INH, Lactic acidosis, Ethylene glycol, Salicylates. High anion-gap causes.
Duke criteria major for endocarditis — 2 positive blood cultures with typical organism OR persistent bacteremia OR new valvular regurgitation OR positive echo (vegetation/abscess). Need 2 major or 1 major + 3 minor.
Courvoisier's law — Painless jaundice + palpable gallbladder = unlikely to be stones (likely periampullary malignancy). Stone-related GB is usually fibrosed, non-distensible.