Reflection

As this is the last week of class, I felt it was appropriate to write a blog reflecting what I learned in this class. Overall, I feel like I have become much more efficient concerning microscope work and I feel confident enough to even help other people. I must also say that I have learned to pay attention to detail. Before this class, when I bought the book, I peeked through and thought all the cells looked the same. Today, I did the exact same thing, but I can now tell the difference between the shape and size of cells. I am also able to recognize cells by their shape and categorize them into different tissue systems. For example, fibroblasts have a teardrop shape and are part of connective tissue, while Purkinje cells are slightly more elongated and belong to cardiovascular tissue. I am surprised by how much I liked this class and how much I have learned. Hopefully, I am able to prove that on the upcoming final. : )

Asperger Syndrome

I was talking with a friend this week about Asperger Syndrome, and she peaked my interest in the cause of the disease. The main cause of the disease is linked to neural activity, although genetics may also play a part. In Asperger patients, there is an abnormal migration of embryonic cells during fetal development that affects brain structure. This, in turn, affects the neural circuits that control thought and behavior. The genetic component of this disease has not yet been linked to a specific gene, however scientists have determined that the disease runs in families. Asperger patients are usually identified by their lack of judgment, unusual facial expressions and repetitive behavior. Overall, they are most affected socially, although adults can lead relatively independent lives. I immediately thought about the chapter in our textbook about nerve tissue and how something as small as a thinning myelin sheath on an axon can have disastrous effects on an individual. As proved by this disease, even neurological abnormalities during fetal development can have lifelong effects.


The information above was taken from the following reference: 
"Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institutes of Health, 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/detail_asperger.htm>.

Fordyce Spots

This week in class, we were talking about the first part of digestion. One term that was new to me was Fordyce spots. These are modified sebaceous glands that are not associated with hair follicles, and yet, are found in the submucosa just lateral to the corner of the mouth and in the cheeks opposite the molar teeth. This was a new term to me because I assumed that all sebaceous glands were equal. It was new for me, not only to learn that these are really sebaceous glands, but also that these spots are visible to the eye. It's interesting that these are visible when they are found in the submucosa layer.

Reflections

This picture is taken from the following website:
http://imageshack.us/f/73/reflection1by9.jpg/

So we had our third exam today, and I must say I felt more confident on previous exams. This is good because I'm not only learning new subject material, but I'm able to teach myself a new way to learn material. Last week, I commented on how I thought exams and quizzes were my weakest point, but this week, I had a big change of heart. I spread out my studying time instead of studying for multiple hours at once. For some reason, it made a huge difference and I was able to retain the information for longer, in almost as much detail as I studied it in. Although I still think this area is my weakest area in this class, I feel like I have gotten much stronger in it. The other point that I was commenting on in my last post was about how I needed to make labs more fun for everyone. I am happy to report that we have formed a good group at the back right of the classroom. We have all finally gotten comfortable with each other enough to have fun while we complete our work. The funny thing is that none of us really knew each other before this class, and now we've all become friends. I always thought of myself as a shy person and I usually don't strike up conversations with everyone I meet, but for some reason, I've been able to come out of my shell in this class and accomplish my goal of making some noise in class.  : )

Reflection

Overall, I have come to enjoy Histology class. At the beginning of the class, I have to admit that I was skeptical about the interest I would have doing microscope work for 16 week straight. Now, however, I am at ease using the microscope. It seems like second nature. Even while doing drawings during lab, I feel as though I am more perceptive about the little details (that actually matter in this class). I find myself looking for them, and identifying other layers and structures in lab to help myself remember what they are (i. e. blood vessels or connective tissue) and how they look in different tissues. The hardest part of this class for me are still quizzes and exams. I'm not sure if I freeze up or if I just need more practice identifying specific tissue characteristics. Hopefully, this is something that will be fixed in the near future, especially as the end of the semester is drawing near. The only thing I really feel like I need to work on is talking. Our labs are still extremely quiet, and I just need to step up and make them more fun for everyone. : )

Vertigo

This picture was taken from the following website:
http://wpcontent.answcdn.com/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/VestibularSystem.gif

My mom loves to tell me stories about when I was baby, and I, in turn, love listening to them. I was born prematurely, and the doctors at the time diagnosed me with quite a few conditions. One of those conditions was vertigo. Naturally, my interest was peaked and I knew I would be able to find a correlation with histology. All I previously knew about vertigo was that it caused uncontrollable imbalance in a person, which is caused by the ear, the organ responsible for balance. The condition affects some individuals more than others. Some adults cannot get out of bed on a bad day, while it affects others only at certain times. For example, I cannot stand straight when I'm praying. Whether I'm standing up or kneeling down, when my eyes are closed, I lose control of my balance. I usually sway and lightly knock into the people on either side of me. Chapter 25 of our textbook focuses on the ear, and one clinical correlation described is vertigo. It is described as "the sensation of rotation without equilibrium" and "signifies dysfunction of the vestibular system." Causes include viral infections, drugs and tumors such as acoustic neuroma. These neuromas develope near the internal acoustic meatus and exert pressure on the vestibular part of cranial nerve VIII. Vertigo can be stimulated in normal adults with excessive stimulation of the semicircular ducts. Excessive stimulation of the utricle can also produce motion sickness in some adults.


In essence, this describes how vertigo can arise in an individual -- through manipulation of the internal ear. The relation to the cranial nerve was a reminder of how all our body systems work together to produce an overall effect. While we cannot necessarily prevent vertigo from occurring, we now know why it is caused.


The information above was sourced from: Ross, Michael H., and Wojciech Pawlina. "Ear." Histology: A Text and Atlas: With Correlated Cell and Molecular Biology. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health, 2011. 937. Print.

Factor VIII

This picture was taken from the following source:
http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/images/coagulationcascade.jpg

Just today in biochemistry class, we were discussing proteolytic cleavage in the process of blood clotting. Hemophilia came into the discussion and our teacher explained to us how clotting factor VIII is to blame. A deficiency in factor VIII causes hemophilia A, which is the most common type of hemophilia. In class, we were focusing on the cascading pathway that causes blood clotting. Factor VIII is a simple accessory in this pathway, yet its deficiency causes a life-threatening disease. In the diagram above, this is especially apparent. My attention was, once again, brought to the fact that something always affects something else, at least in the body. In there is one deficiency, it is expressed in another pathway. This reminded me of different diseases that occur within the cardiovascular system, since this is what we were studying most recently in histology. The difference between an active and inactive enzyme can be the difference between a disease and "normality". The textbook describes "prothrombogenic agents" as the "agents that promote thrombi formation." These agents simply fail to function in hemophiliacs. It was nice to be able to find a link between histology and one of my other classes. The things we learn relate to one another, but it's nice to be able to identify that in such a direct way.


The information above was taken from the following source: Ross, Michael H., and Wojciech Pawlina. "Cardiovascular System." Histology: A Text and Atlas: With Correlated Cell and Molecular Biology. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health, 2011. 409. Print.