[looking for MED 1?]
physiology
- membrane potentials (i used to hate Nernst, but now we’re pretty good buddies)
- action potentials (give it your all-or-nothing, baby!)
- neuromuscular transmission (where brain meets muscle)
- synaptic transmission (signals from pre-to-post and the pitfalls in-between)
- muscle: cardiac, skeletal, spindle, smooth, reflexes (calcium is important! who knew?!)
- autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and not-so-sympathetic)
- hemodynamics (the movement of blood through your body)
- cardiac action potentials, conduction velocity and muscle contraction (♥)
- ECG (squiggly lines named P Q R S T)
>> most interesting thing learned: after taking pre-med pre-requisite science for four years, i think i’m sick of regular old basic science theory. it’s the practical Doctor Stuff that really grabs my attention. as such, i loved learning to read ECGs! i finally know what all those squiggly lines mean! the more i learn about the heart, the more i think it’s a pretty darn cool little machine.
biochemistry
- amino acids (yes, you need to know every little thing about each one. there’s only 20!)
- proteins: globular (hemoglobin) and fibrous (collagen)
- enzymes (oxidases and transaminases and lyases and ligases and helperases)
- oxidative phosphorylation (not as scary as the name sounds)
- metabolism (an introduction to the Rest of Your Life)
>> most interesting thing learned: carbon monoxide is toxic because it actually increases your blood’s affinity for oxygen. it binds to one of the four spots reserved for oxygen. once one parking spot is filled up, the other three spots want to be full too. since your blood has a Super Duper High affinity for carbon monoxide, it doesn’t want to let go! which means it doesn’t want to let go of the other three oxygens. which means no oxygen to tissues. which is bad!
psychology
- psychodynamic theory (Freud was a bit of an odd duck)
- DSM diagnosis (axes of evil just about anything that can go wrong with your brain)
- suicide (predisposing factors, greatest risk, etc)
- depression and depressive episodes (*SIGH*)
- mania and manic episodes (*WHEE*)
- bipolar I and II (see *SIGH* and *WHEE*)
- dysthymia (bit of a depressing way to go through life)
- cyclothymia (when you’re up, you’re up and when you’re down, you’re down)
- adjustment disorder (having problems settling in on a tiny island in the Caribbean)
- factitious disorders (faking symptoms to get yourself admitted to a hospital)
- malingering (calling in sick to work – when you just want to skip out and go shopping)
- pharmacology of affective disorders (drugs are neat!)
- combined treatment of affective disorders (ECT, vagus nerve stimulation, psychotherapy)
>> most interesting thing learned: sleep deprivation can significantly (albeit only temporarily) relieve depression and premenstrual dysphoria. i find this insanely cool.
medical ethics
- societal norms (they differ depending on what society you’re in! surprise!)
- religion (do you give a Jehovah’s Witness an emergency blood transfusion?)
- lying (right before serious surgery a patient asks you to tell them it’s going to be “okay.” their prognosis is not good. what do you say?)
>> most interesting thing learned: most of my class believes it’s never okay to lie to a patient, even if it’s a white lie or the truth would adversely affect their health/prognosis.
wow … really enjoy your most interesting thing learned … cool stuff
Wow I’m impressed. That’s a lot to digest!
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