“Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose that you resolved to effect.”
~ William Shakespeare

whew. i really don’t think it went as well as i hoped, but won’t count my eggs until they’re hatched. or scrambled up for breakfast.

genetics
- the human genome
- chromosomes
- cell division
- human gametogenesis and fertilization
- medical relevance of mitosis and meiosis
- gene organization and structure
- gene expression, regulation and variation
- developmental biology
- genes and environment
- indications for and methods of prenatal diagnosis
- genetic counseling

>> most interesting thing learned: nondisjunction during anaphase of female gametogenesis is the most common mutational mechanism responsible for fetal chromosomal abnormalities. what do all those words mean? females are born with all of the eggs we will ever have. they are all sitting in us arrested in a stage of division that only progresses once each month. as a woman gets older, the chances of problems occurring with that monthly division increase dramatically. if the cell divides improperly, two chromosomes might end up in one cell. and if that cell gets fertilized by a sperm, then the fetus will have one extra chromosome in every new cell. a common example of this is the presence of 3 copies of chromosome 21, called Down Syndrome.

and then the stork flies away with the empty blanket. the end.

neuroscience
- organization of the nervous system
- general anatomy of the brain
- neurobiology of neuron and neuroglia
- general anatomy of the spinal cord
- lateral and anterior spinothalamic tracts
- posterior and anterior spinocerebellar tracts
- dorsal column/medial lemniscus
- cuneocerebellar, spinotectal, spino-olivary and spinoreticular tracts
- corticospinal motor tract
- reticulospinal, tectospinal, rubrospinal and vestibulospinal tracts
- reflex arc
- upper and lower motor neurons
- first, second, third order neurons
- dermatomes
- peripheral nerves & receptors
- Tabes Dorsalis, Brown-Sequard, Syringomyelia, Poliomyelitis, ALS
- complete/central/anterior cord syndrome
- spinal shock

>> most interesting thing learned: pretend you have brain damage at the back of your head. neurons from your eyes have to travel all the way to the back of your head (inefficient, i know!) in order to deliver messages about what you’re seeing. interrupt that pathway by blowing up the delivery station and even if your eyes are fine, you will be blind and unable to see a thing. it’s like you’re sitting in a completely dark room. BUT, if someone flashes a light to one side of the room, your head will still orient in the direction of the flash even though you can’t see it! this is due to the fact that the reflex arc in the tectospinal tract is nowhere near the occipital area and will still be intact if you only damage the back of the cortex. this phenomenon is called “blindsight”.

this is my favourite class. unfortunately, we started off with the less-than-exciting spinal cord. i want to get to the real brain stuff! on Wednesday we head back to the cadaver lab to look at real brains before studying textbook ones.

immuno/microbiology
- innate immunity
- antibody structure & generation of diversity
- major histocompatibility complex
- development & activation of T lymphocytes
- properties and functions of effector T cells
- B cell development and function
- activation of complement: classical, alternative, mannose-binding
- antigen-antibody laboratory tests
- immunological memory and secondary immune response
- vaccination
- childhood immunization schedule
- transplantation immunology

>> most interesting thing learned: there are three types of organ transplant rejection. hyperacute rejection can occur on the operating table when the recipient’s antibodies immediately attack the donor organ and occlude the blood vessels to prevent vascularization. acute rejection can occur days later when T cells attack the organ graft and destroy it. chronic rejection may take months or years to develop and involves a B cell response that thickens the vessel walls, reducing blood flow to the donor organ.

even though there are way too many CDs and CRs and ILs and IFNs and CCLs and HLAs, i learned this class might not be as intimidating as initially expected. it’s starting to feel like MED 1 and 2 were all about learning how things “should” work and we’re now getting deep into when things go wrong and the fact that they very often do. needless to say, the immune system is super amazing and i’m thankful for the way it keeps my body tick-tocking along.

epidemiology
- what is epidemiology?
- history
- changing patterns of mortality
- global burden of disease
- prevalence & incidence
- crude, category-specific and adjusted rates
- measures of association
- standardized mortality ratios
- attributable risk
- write a 3-4 page paper on a health issue in your town/county/state/etc

>> most interesting thing learned: i learned that Dr. Avery would like his kids to send him to a cruise ship instead of a nursing home. he hated gymnastics in school and will fail you out of the class if you don’t call “soccer” by its’ real name “football”. he believes the Republicans in America are making the country fat by secretly adding high-fructose corn syrup to every item in the grocery store from corn flakes to pasta sauce.

oh, and i think we learned an equation or two that we’ll need for Step 1. my assignment paper was on Moose Jaw as West Nile Virus capital of North America (2004).

————
looking for MED 1? or MED 2?

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.