h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... or at least, the more memorable

Two examples for anatomy (we were told not to use mnemonics as they make you remember the terms, but not understand... but none of us would listen...):

Branches of the Facial nerve;

Now, these are typically unmemorable - or at least, their real names are...

Temporal
Zygomatic
Buccal
Mandibular
Cervical

The mnemonic is:

'Two Zulus b******d my cat'

The Ascending Order of the Branches of the External Carotid Artery;

Again, typically hard-to-remember names;

Ascending Pharengeal
Superior Thyroid
Lingual
Facial
Occipital
Posterior Auricular
Superior Temporal
Maxillary

...with the more memorable mnemonic:

'As Sally lay flat, Oliver's penis sprayed magnificently!'

(actually, anatomy being the variable beast that it is, the first two branches can be found to be swapped around, so a new mnemonic can be formed thus: 'Sally's anus loudly farted; Oliver's penis sprayed magnificently!')

Problem is, you have to remember what the original nerves or arteries are, otherwise you could end up having a few embarrassing moments when trying to recount the memory device...

And, hell, another one; 'cos I'm bored:

The Cranial Nerves supplying the muscles that move the eye:

The Cranial Nerves III, IV and VI all supply the muscles which move the eye - if a nerve, or several, are damaged, it will cause very specific paralysis of the muscle, and hence, maybe you might not be able to move you eye from left to right, and so on.

The memory device is:

'SO4, LR6 and all the rest are 3'

...which translates as: Superior oblique (turns your eye down and out - and I don't care who says that's wrong - down and out *is* right, as any anatomist ) is controlled by cranial nerve IV, lateral rectus, which turns your eye to look out, is controlled by cranial nerve VI, and all the other recti (rectangular muscles) are controlled my cranial nerve III.

For all the cranial nerves, you have:

Oh, Oh, Oh To Touch and Feel Very Good Virgins And Homosexuals

Olfactory
Optic
Oculomotor
Trochlear
Trigeminal
Abducens
Facial
Vestibular
Glossopharyngeal
Vagus
Accessory
Hypoglossal

Or for the rotator cuff (shoulder muscles), you can have:

Tarts In Silk Stockings

Teres minor
Infraspinatus
Supraspinatus
Subscapular

Remembering all this rubbish was just one of the reasons I gave up medicine And, before anyone asks: yes, I could remember the mnemonics; no, I couldn't remember what they stood for and had to look them up...