MRCS Part B Revision · Anatomy spot tests
Femur — MRCS Part B Anatomy spot tests
By Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS · Reviewed
Femur is an anatomy spot test, asked within the three surgical anatomy stations of the MRCS Part B OSCE. A spot test shows you a numbered specimen and asks you to name what each marker points at, in order and against the clock. It is the fastest way to find out whether you actually know a region or only recognise it.
The specimen
What are you asked at the Femur station?
The station runs to 18 questions over nine minutes. A prompt the station repeats — against each marker on a specimen, for instance — is listed once here; the model answers are in the question bank.
- Identify: Name the attachment
How is the anatomy spot tests station marked in MRCS Part B?
Spot questions sit inside the anatomy stations, which are marked out of 20 with every mark going to clinical knowledge and its application. There are no marks for how you say it, which makes these the purest recall stations in the exam.
FAQ
What does the Femur station ask?
It opens with "Identify: Name the attachment" and runs to 18 questions over nine minutes. Spot questions sit inside the anatomy stations, which are marked out of 20 with every mark going to clinical knowledge and its application. There are no marks for how you say it, which makes these the purest recall stations in the exam.
What is an anatomy spot test?
A spot test presents a specimen with numbered markers and asks you to identify each one. Answers are short and specific: the qualifier that separates a structure from its neighbour is usually where the mark is.
How should I practise spot tests?
Under time pressure and out loud, on real specimens rather than diagrams. Naming a structure on a clean illustration is a different task from finding it on a prosection where the fat has not been removed for you.
How is a spot answer marked?
On clinical knowledge alone, within an anatomy station marked out of 20. Naming the right structure without the qualifier that distinguishes it, medial rather than lateral for instance, is where most marks are lost.
How many stations are in the MRCS Part B OSCE?
Seventeen examined stations of nine minutes each, with a minute to read the task before each one. Two preparation stations and at least one rest station bring the circuit to about twenty, and the exam takes about three and a half hours.
What is the pass mark for MRCS Part B?
There is no published pass mark. The cut score is set separately for Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills, for each circuit, by borderline regression. Published pass rates across the 2024/25 diets ranged from 51% to 66%.
Can I fail a station and still pass?
Yes. There is no rule about how many stations you may fail: the cut score applies to your total mark in each component, so a weak station costs the marks you lost on it and strong stations elsewhere can make them back. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills are passed separately and must both be passed at the same sitting, so a strong anatomy performance cannot rescue a weak communication one.
Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS
Station summaries are reviewed against the current intercollegiate MRCS syllabus and the published marking blueprint. Guidance changes between diets: check the royal colleges' own pages before relying on a date, a fee or a threshold.
Practise this station
The question bank carries the model answer to every question above, with the rest of the anatomy spot tests stations.
More anatomy spot tests stations