Manlocks, roused from slumber, and ever cautious, moves carefully through the microvilli of the Tubuli Recti and Rete Testis, taking the opportunity, from cell to cell, to hide behind each palm-tree like, waving flagellum, careful not to get hit by any wayward coconuts that might be around. With increasing care, he jumps from hill to valley to hill to valley of the treacherous, ankle-breakingly irregular ductuli efferentes before converging on, finally! The cover of the branching stereocilia of the ductus epidydimus.
"Sperm," he mutters. "Why's it always gotta be sperm?"
Yup, it's histology time, again!!!!!
Showing posts with label histology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label histology. Show all posts
Apr 30, 2007
Who's Yo Daddy?
Er... mommy, rather...
Did I mention I go faux urban when I'm tired?
But it's a good tired.
Today's rundown, and I know this means nothing to most of you, and I don't care, because dammit, I'm proud of myself. The following are the things I have COMPLETED today:
Histology: Female Reproductive System. Good freaking gods, we have too much going on down there! Onto the male reproductive system, which should be subtitled "This wouldn't be so damn difficult if you wouldn't give a different name to every MILLIMETER of sperm-duct"
Embryology: (we have a class called "embryology?") Placenta/Fetal Membranes
Anatomy: Two hours of videos: Deep Neck, Infratemporal Fossa, Pterygopalatine Fossa/Nasal Cavities/Nasal Sinuses/Larynx (GOOD video), Orbit
Biochemistry: Hemostasis, Eicosanoids, Cell Membranes.
For reference, that is a LOT of stuff. That is like "Go to Spiceland Mall, grab some supplies, and work from 1 PM until NOW (midnight) kinda stuff. Freaking hell!
Did I mention I go faux urban when I'm tired?
But it's a good tired.
Today's rundown, and I know this means nothing to most of you, and I don't care, because dammit, I'm proud of myself. The following are the things I have COMPLETED today:
Histology: Female Reproductive System. Good freaking gods, we have too much going on down there! Onto the male reproductive system, which should be subtitled "This wouldn't be so damn difficult if you wouldn't give a different name to every MILLIMETER of sperm-duct"
Embryology: (we have a class called "embryology?") Placenta/Fetal Membranes
Anatomy: Two hours of videos: Deep Neck, Infratemporal Fossa, Pterygopalatine Fossa/Nasal Cavities/Nasal Sinuses/Larynx (GOOD video), Orbit
Biochemistry: Hemostasis, Eicosanoids, Cell Membranes.
For reference, that is a LOT of stuff. That is like "Go to Spiceland Mall, grab some supplies, and work from 1 PM until NOW (midnight) kinda stuff. Freaking hell!
Mar 7, 2007
Drama Queen
Sigh. My poor roommate. I don't know how the hell she puts up with me, and consider her muted reaction to having her computer undergo cataclysmic difficulties right before midterms, she is an infinitely better, more self-controlled person than I am.
Due to the complexity of biochem and volume of anatomy, Histo often gets neglected, so last night as I was staring blankly at modernist art disguised as something I should be able to identify, I had a nuclear meltdown, was convinced I was going to fail my histo exam, so just tried to get some sleep, yet, in those circumstances, as it happens, you can't sleep because your damn heart is buzzing like a... uh... electric razor, to keep it somewhat G-rated.
So can't sleep... just study... but can't study, why? Too tired. Gonna fail histo; gonna fail histo, and I was *trying* not to impinge on my roommate's study or sleep, but when your roommate is alternating between trying not to cry and throwing up, I'm certain it's distracting.
This morning, sleepless, with burning eyes, and still feeling woefully inadequate in GI tract, liver, nerve cells, and life, I went outside and called my mom because sometimes ya just have to, and was weepy gonna fail histo which is going to make me fail biochem at which point they'll kick me out of school and I'll have to sell my body for smack. So much for G-rated.
So I stumbled sleepless to the test at 1 pm, dread in my heart, though by then I had a tacit acceptance of my fail-ed-ness, and was whistling the Imperial March from Star Wars, which I'm sure the other students deeply appreciated.
Dr. Paparo was at the door (we apparently weren't supposed to bring pencils, and I'm not sure how I missed that, and someone swiped mine that I left outside!) and said encouraging words which makes me adore him all the more but did little to perk me.
60 "identify the structures" based on slides, and 150 total questions... I figured I was dead.
Then they start the slideshow, which I had been concerned I wouldn't even be able to stay awake during, but adrenaline does strange things, beyond acting often synonymously with glucagon. Damn you, biochem. But Sweet Random Chance! The slides! I couldn't help thinking "Are you guys kidding? Is it my birthday?"
Damn, I thought I liked Dr. Paparo before. I have to say, that was one of the most *fair* exams I've ever taken... and I did well on it...
Well enough that when I Skyped my mom to sheepishly report my results, she innocently asked me to put my roommate on for a second, who then, upon the orders of my own FLESH AND BLOOD, the woman who birthed me, smacked me on the back of the head.
I know; I know, I deserved it... I so did too.
So I'm not going to stroke out for biochem. Not going to stroke out for biochem. Not going to stroke out for biochem....
Due to the complexity of biochem and volume of anatomy, Histo often gets neglected, so last night as I was staring blankly at modernist art disguised as something I should be able to identify, I had a nuclear meltdown, was convinced I was going to fail my histo exam, so just tried to get some sleep, yet, in those circumstances, as it happens, you can't sleep because your damn heart is buzzing like a... uh... electric razor, to keep it somewhat G-rated.
So can't sleep... just study... but can't study, why? Too tired. Gonna fail histo; gonna fail histo, and I was *trying* not to impinge on my roommate's study or sleep, but when your roommate is alternating between trying not to cry and throwing up, I'm certain it's distracting.
This morning, sleepless, with burning eyes, and still feeling woefully inadequate in GI tract, liver, nerve cells, and life, I went outside and called my mom because sometimes ya just have to, and was weepy gonna fail histo which is going to make me fail biochem at which point they'll kick me out of school and I'll have to sell my body for smack. So much for G-rated.
So I stumbled sleepless to the test at 1 pm, dread in my heart, though by then I had a tacit acceptance of my fail-ed-ness, and was whistling the Imperial March from Star Wars, which I'm sure the other students deeply appreciated.
Dr. Paparo was at the door (we apparently weren't supposed to bring pencils, and I'm not sure how I missed that, and someone swiped mine that I left outside!) and said encouraging words which makes me adore him all the more but did little to perk me.
60 "identify the structures" based on slides, and 150 total questions... I figured I was dead.
Then they start the slideshow, which I had been concerned I wouldn't even be able to stay awake during, but adrenaline does strange things, beyond acting often synonymously with glucagon. Damn you, biochem. But Sweet Random Chance! The slides! I couldn't help thinking "Are you guys kidding? Is it my birthday?"
Damn, I thought I liked Dr. Paparo before. I have to say, that was one of the most *fair* exams I've ever taken... and I did well on it...
Well enough that when I Skyped my mom to sheepishly report my results, she innocently asked me to put my roommate on for a second, who then, upon the orders of my own FLESH AND BLOOD, the woman who birthed me, smacked me on the back of the head.
I know; I know, I deserved it... I so did too.
So I'm not going to stroke out for biochem. Not going to stroke out for biochem. Not going to stroke out for biochem....
Mar 6, 2007
One down...
Predictable title, ain't it?
To continue the trend of absolute yawning predictability, two midterms to go! Unfortunately, said two get progressively more difficult for me, with histology reminding me of the hazards of focusing all your study efforts elsewhere, and biochemistry reminding me of the hazards of ever daring to dream of becoming a doctor. Acetyl CoA Carboxylase anyone? Know it; love it; memorize 17,000 more of its enzymatic buddies.
But some of you may be wondering about the anatomy midterm. A practical this morning, in which we were subdivided into groups (350 people don't slide nicely into a gross lab, as you can imagine), and had to identify structures without any secondary type questions (essentially, arrow points at something, you say "it's that").
Not too bad. The questions were fair, with jaywalk from ValueMD (know it; love it) providing some damn good tips.
Then came the inevitable down period (after being sequestered outside the upstairs of the anatomy building until all the people from the following group were inside) in which everyone desperately tried to cram straggling bits of information into his/her brain.
Except, of course, for a select group that had already started drinking, presumably to study the anastomoses in their livers. I'm saving my cirrhosis for Friday night.
The written part of the test was pretty frigging hard with not just secondary questions but quantiary and googleplex type questions. If you don't know one link in the chain (winging scapula caused by paralysis of serratus anterior which is innervated by the long thoracic nerve which comes off the five roots of the brachial plexus), you're screwed.
Also fun are those questions where you cover up the answers, read the question, feel confidant in an answer, lift your hand to reveal the choices, and your answer isn't there. Never a good feeling.
But I passed I passed I passed! Even got a high pass, meaning that sinking horrible feeling I got around question 80, when I was essentially doing the Macarena to try and situate my body planes correctly and spent seven minutes drawing vertebral bodies in an effort to figure things out, was misplaced. And freaking WHEW for that.
So back to histo. Manlocks is bored right now, because I'm reviewing intercellular structures, which doesn't give him a whole lot to do, so he's sitting on a centriole (the microtubules massage his butt, like a barcalounger), periodically grabbing passing organelles out of the cytosol and licking them to see if they'll get him high. Some mixed results with a Golgi vesicle but otherwise, no dice. Poor poor lazy hallucinogen-addicted Manlocks.
To continue the trend of absolute yawning predictability, two midterms to go! Unfortunately, said two get progressively more difficult for me, with histology reminding me of the hazards of focusing all your study efforts elsewhere, and biochemistry reminding me of the hazards of ever daring to dream of becoming a doctor. Acetyl CoA Carboxylase anyone? Know it; love it; memorize 17,000 more of its enzymatic buddies.
But some of you may be wondering about the anatomy midterm. A practical this morning, in which we were subdivided into groups (350 people don't slide nicely into a gross lab, as you can imagine), and had to identify structures without any secondary type questions (essentially, arrow points at something, you say "it's that").
Not too bad. The questions were fair, with jaywalk from ValueMD (know it; love it) providing some damn good tips.
Then came the inevitable down period (after being sequestered outside the upstairs of the anatomy building until all the people from the following group were inside) in which everyone desperately tried to cram straggling bits of information into his/her brain.
Except, of course, for a select group that had already started drinking, presumably to study the anastomoses in their livers. I'm saving my cirrhosis for Friday night.
The written part of the test was pretty frigging hard with not just secondary questions but quantiary and googleplex type questions. If you don't know one link in the chain (winging scapula caused by paralysis of serratus anterior which is innervated by the long thoracic nerve which comes off the five roots of the brachial plexus), you're screwed.
Also fun are those questions where you cover up the answers, read the question, feel confidant in an answer, lift your hand to reveal the choices, and your answer isn't there. Never a good feeling.
But I passed I passed I passed! Even got a high pass, meaning that sinking horrible feeling I got around question 80, when I was essentially doing the Macarena to try and situate my body planes correctly and spent seven minutes drawing vertebral bodies in an effort to figure things out, was misplaced. And freaking WHEW for that.
So back to histo. Manlocks is bored right now, because I'm reviewing intercellular structures, which doesn't give him a whole lot to do, so he's sitting on a centriole (the microtubules massage his butt, like a barcalounger), periodically grabbing passing organelles out of the cytosol and licking them to see if they'll get him high. Some mixed results with a Golgi vesicle but otherwise, no dice. Poor poor lazy hallucinogen-addicted Manlocks.
Mar 1, 2007
The problem with ditching lecture...
Sometimes you end up pre-reading a lecture because you figure it was one you missed.
I was reading the lecture on the "Functional Anatomy of the Abdomen" thinking "You know... this is actually a really good lecture. It's a shame I missed it.
Then I note that we have anatomy lecture tomorrow (later today) and think "Review session?"
Functional Anatomy of the Abdomen. That was an hour well-spent. Ah well, at least now I can go to the lecture well prepared.
I'm also discovering that even with awesome instructor dude, it's somewhat useless for me to go to biochem unless I've preread, because otherwise I just sit there with a growing look of horror and consternation on my face until I scuttle back to my room in a panic, read Lippincott and go "oh".
Today, Saint Paparo began the review histo lecture with "I have a dream..." and proceeded to rattle off Very Important Histology Facts which I suspect will have a Very Strong Influence on the Midterm. The suspiciously full class took frantic notes catching all of it, except for the smart people (of which I was not one) who taped it.
There were still some empty seats in the hall, so for those of you who missed that lecture, oh my GOD does it suck to be you!!!
After that came the multitude of practice identification slides. Ruh roh. Then the practice practical (name the slide) in which I discovered that Manlocks and I need to go right back down to the bowels and work our way through and up SLOWLY, including, instead of sneaking PAST the Crypts of Lieberkuhn, we need to go right down in there with those darned vampires and check out the paneth cells for ourselves. Tsk tsk. Manlocks is in luck in that I can readily identify the rectoanal junction, meaning he never has to set foot there again.
And then... more studying!! Histo was supposed to be on the bill, but I got sidetracked by anatomy, which is probably fortunate since that's the exam we have first.
Right at the point my brain was going back to that liquid state (but, I'm getting better at histo in that I'm sure I was able to identify a purkinje cell plopping onto the floor), I decided screw it, go to the gym, and did so, throwing notes and flashcards to the wind and bathing myself in sweet sweet blissful music with an upped intensity to chase the enzyme activity and innervations out of my head.
THEN I was able to study histo to start getting a better grasp on things. It's bad for Manlocks though. Now that he knows the parietal cells secrete hydrochloric acid, he's flipping terrified and won't come out of the Peyer's patches in the ileum to save his life (or sacrifice it). I've tried telling him that if he doesn't come back up to the stomach, the only way out is to go back through the Rectal Shelves of Houston, but I don't think he cares. Sigh. I hate wimpy heroes.
I was reading the lecture on the "Functional Anatomy of the Abdomen" thinking "You know... this is actually a really good lecture. It's a shame I missed it.
Then I note that we have anatomy lecture tomorrow (later today) and think "Review session?"
Functional Anatomy of the Abdomen. That was an hour well-spent. Ah well, at least now I can go to the lecture well prepared.
I'm also discovering that even with awesome instructor dude, it's somewhat useless for me to go to biochem unless I've preread, because otherwise I just sit there with a growing look of horror and consternation on my face until I scuttle back to my room in a panic, read Lippincott and go "oh".
Today, Saint Paparo began the review histo lecture with "I have a dream..." and proceeded to rattle off Very Important Histology Facts which I suspect will have a Very Strong Influence on the Midterm. The suspiciously full class took frantic notes catching all of it, except for the smart people (of which I was not one) who taped it.
There were still some empty seats in the hall, so for those of you who missed that lecture, oh my GOD does it suck to be you!!!
After that came the multitude of practice identification slides. Ruh roh. Then the practice practical (name the slide) in which I discovered that Manlocks and I need to go right back down to the bowels and work our way through and up SLOWLY, including, instead of sneaking PAST the Crypts of Lieberkuhn, we need to go right down in there with those darned vampires and check out the paneth cells for ourselves. Tsk tsk. Manlocks is in luck in that I can readily identify the rectoanal junction, meaning he never has to set foot there again.
And then... more studying!! Histo was supposed to be on the bill, but I got sidetracked by anatomy, which is probably fortunate since that's the exam we have first.
Right at the point my brain was going back to that liquid state (but, I'm getting better at histo in that I'm sure I was able to identify a purkinje cell plopping onto the floor), I decided screw it, go to the gym, and did so, throwing notes and flashcards to the wind and bathing myself in sweet sweet blissful music with an upped intensity to chase the enzyme activity and innervations out of my head.
THEN I was able to study histo to start getting a better grasp on things. It's bad for Manlocks though. Now that he knows the parietal cells secrete hydrochloric acid, he's flipping terrified and won't come out of the Peyer's patches in the ileum to save his life (or sacrifice it). I've tried telling him that if he doesn't come back up to the stomach, the only way out is to go back through the Rectal Shelves of Houston, but I don't think he cares. Sigh. I hate wimpy heroes.
Feb 28, 2007
Glurgh
Oi, my brain... that much exposure to biochem can't be good for you.
Quick hero update: Good news!!! Despite my absence (or perhaps because of it), Manlocks has recovered from his brutal retreat to the Rectal Shelves of Houston and is at this moment hopscotching his way from Islet of Langerhans to Islet of Langerhans in noble pursuit of... I dunno... a final goal of securing lingual lipase? For the uninitiated, that puts him all the way up at the pancreas. For the REALLY uninitiated, that's near your stomach. For the really REALLY uninitiated, if you stick your finger in your bellybutton and drag it up your tummy a little bit, around there.
For those of you REALLY confused about why there's a little dude with long flowing manlocks and bulging man-biceps running around someone's GI tract (with a sidetrack off to the glands), scroll back a few posts to the "Histology Relevance" post, which celebrates the last shreds of my sanity flying out the dorm window.
Speaking of dorms, I've been locked in mine since... uh... when was my last scheduled lecture for Tuesday? 3 PM? Yeah... I've been locked in the dorm since about 2 PM. Since I think the recorded times may be a bit jacked due to still being set to Pacific Time, or Eastern Time, or Greenwich standard or whatever, for reference... frickity frick frick, it's 3:30 in the morning.
Yeah yeah, I ditched Clinical Skills again... I have a 100 in that class, which I don't believe is difficult. I would feel bad, because I actually really like the instructor that was teaching today (since he's the one that let me off with an ace bandage rather than a big bulky cast when I sprained my ankle), but midterms be midterms. It's not like I walked out mid-class or anything.
I was going to work out tonight in the gym, and honestly ended up taking my study BREAKS by doing sit-ups and push-ups in my room. I'm officially a spiderweb tattoo and a gang allegiance away from prison. View's nicer though.
On the plus side, I now really have a full appreciation and understanding of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase, as well as the glandular GI system and the blood supply of the abdominal region.
On the minus side, there's warm goo leaking out my ears, and we haven't studied the head and neck in Anatomy or histo yet, so I can't determine which portion of my brain it is or whether it's important enough to cause probbbbbbblblblblblblbbbbbllbllbllb
Quick hero update: Good news!!! Despite my absence (or perhaps because of it), Manlocks has recovered from his brutal retreat to the Rectal Shelves of Houston and is at this moment hopscotching his way from Islet of Langerhans to Islet of Langerhans in noble pursuit of... I dunno... a final goal of securing lingual lipase? For the uninitiated, that puts him all the way up at the pancreas. For the REALLY uninitiated, that's near your stomach. For the really REALLY uninitiated, if you stick your finger in your bellybutton and drag it up your tummy a little bit, around there.
For those of you REALLY confused about why there's a little dude with long flowing manlocks and bulging man-biceps running around someone's GI tract (with a sidetrack off to the glands), scroll back a few posts to the "Histology Relevance" post, which celebrates the last shreds of my sanity flying out the dorm window.
Speaking of dorms, I've been locked in mine since... uh... when was my last scheduled lecture for Tuesday? 3 PM? Yeah... I've been locked in the dorm since about 2 PM. Since I think the recorded times may be a bit jacked due to still being set to Pacific Time, or Eastern Time, or Greenwich standard or whatever, for reference... frickity frick frick, it's 3:30 in the morning.
Yeah yeah, I ditched Clinical Skills again... I have a 100 in that class, which I don't believe is difficult. I would feel bad, because I actually really like the instructor that was teaching today (since he's the one that let me off with an ace bandage rather than a big bulky cast when I sprained my ankle), but midterms be midterms. It's not like I walked out mid-class or anything.
I was going to work out tonight in the gym, and honestly ended up taking my study BREAKS by doing sit-ups and push-ups in my room. I'm officially a spiderweb tattoo and a gang allegiance away from prison. View's nicer though.
On the plus side, I now really have a full appreciation and understanding of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase, as well as the glandular GI system and the blood supply of the abdominal region.
On the minus side, there's warm goo leaking out my ears, and we haven't studied the head and neck in Anatomy or histo yet, so I can't determine which portion of my brain it is or whether it's important enough to cause probbbbbbblblblblblblbbbbbllbllbllb
Feb 25, 2007
Get Your Study On!
So we're in the last week before midterms; the final countdown, and while I still feel woefully unprepared, at the same time, I've studied so much that I think my eyeballs are bleeding. I haven't gotten a chance to revisit Histo, so Manlocks is still on hiatus, though he does get new episodes at least more often than House, who is being CRUELLY pushed back again and again because Fox has decided to change its name to "All American Idol; All the Time". Frigging insipid show.
In biochem though, I'm finally cracking the mysteries of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway. Apparently, it's to produce NADPH for fatty acid synthesis. Couldn't have let you guys go your whole lives without knowing that, right? Hooray. But at least the burden of knowing NOTHING about it is off my shoulders. Now ask me about the enzymes in the pathway... uh oh! Back to studying.
So... this video has been circulating around campus, and though we don't have the bitchin' ice rink, it's a pretty accurate representation of first year medical school. You're just lucky I posted this instead of the House and Wilson clips synthed to the theme song from Pinky and the Brain. That's next week.
And yes, I'm a Netter slaaaaave.
In biochem though, I'm finally cracking the mysteries of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway. Apparently, it's to produce NADPH for fatty acid synthesis. Couldn't have let you guys go your whole lives without knowing that, right? Hooray. But at least the burden of knowing NOTHING about it is off my shoulders. Now ask me about the enzymes in the pathway... uh oh! Back to studying.
So... this video has been circulating around campus, and though we don't have the bitchin' ice rink, it's a pretty accurate representation of first year medical school. You're just lucky I posted this instead of the House and Wilson clips synthed to the theme song from Pinky and the Brain. That's next week.
And yes, I'm a Netter slaaaaave.
Feb 24, 2007
Now Playing...
At SGU, student access to television is rather limited if one doesn't want to go to great hassle to bring one/buy one, attempt to get Cable/Wireless to hook one up, and get your roommate to consent to this.
Some people have tv tuners on their laptops. I don't know if mine has one. I'm not sure I *want* to know if mine has one. I have a bit of an addictive personality.
So my television is filtered through either youtube, with mundo thanks going to Google for screwing that up (though I can still get Red Dwarf; Hooray!!), peekvid (Shhh), iTunes, and trying to secure one of the TVs at Glover's.
This sounds like a lot of access. It isn't.
So I'm not sure if the dissection videos on the Macdaddy honestly are must see tv, the third best medical show since House and Scrubs (sorry Grey's people, but I just can't like it), or if I'm simply in so much television withdrawal that ANY form of continuous media seems absolutely awesome, but it's working for me.
I'm also a big fan of passive studying because hey, I'm lazy, but this passive studying is honestly working!!
I was searching for gross structures by hunting through Rohen's and Netter, which works, but takes a long time. Half hour watching Dr. No-gloves (ewwwwwww) mangle the mediastinum and I was spotting structures like a pro.
Also, upon suggestion in Nina's blog, I took to eating mysterious midnight BBQ while watching said dissection videos. I'm hardcore, beotches.
Which brings me to the tentative regeneration of the "I got beef" dance. Apparently I *can* eat beef when prepared mystery-meat style in a midnight BBQ outside the dorm and suffer no ill effects. I simply cannot buy extremely healthy (not juicy, good coloration, no odor) looking meat from the supermarket, cook it myself, and refrain from spending the night worshipping the porcelain idol. Be advised. If you're gonna eat meat, buy it from people who have no credentials who throw it into fire. Now, if you're gonna eat mayonnaise, buy it sealed at the supermarket and keep it in a passworded refrigerated safe. I haven't done mayo poisoning yet because I've heard too many stories, thus I don't eat it when I go elsewhere.
I was supposed to do a mock practical today, but there was no announcement, no schedule posted or whathaveyou, so I don't know if they did it and I missed it or I had the wrong day, but damn. Ah well, I've done anatomy lab practicals before. One hopes it's the same here. How many ways can you tag the azygos vein? That was a Browning poem, right?
Later on, it's biochem for Ishie. It's the last midterm of exam week on Friday, but I take no chances. I wouldn't know a pentose phosphate metabolic pathway if I were metabolizing one. Which I probably am. See how much trouble I'm in?
And histo. Ah, histo. Do they pick these slides by throwing darts at modernist paintings, because that's the only conclusion I can come to. I like scanning electron micrographs though, not because I can identify any of the structures or anything, but because they look cool and I'm a dork. I hate transmission micrographs though. They are to histo what body cross sections are to anatomy. Everything just looks like a hole or a not-a-hole. I don't even know how to begin identification beyond that. Since exams are multiple guess, I'm hoping that "Hole" and "Not-A-Hole" are listed options.
But I think I just lost a big part of my audience. So... gerbil in rectum!
Oh, and another "hi!" to Sej's sister. She says you're totally down with the Crypts of Lieberkuhn. And she's studying her ass off with a brief hiatus to also engage in midnight BBQ.
Some people have tv tuners on their laptops. I don't know if mine has one. I'm not sure I *want* to know if mine has one. I have a bit of an addictive personality.
So my television is filtered through either youtube, with mundo thanks going to Google for screwing that up (though I can still get Red Dwarf; Hooray!!), peekvid (Shhh), iTunes, and trying to secure one of the TVs at Glover's.
This sounds like a lot of access. It isn't.
So I'm not sure if the dissection videos on the Macdaddy honestly are must see tv, the third best medical show since House and Scrubs (sorry Grey's people, but I just can't like it), or if I'm simply in so much television withdrawal that ANY form of continuous media seems absolutely awesome, but it's working for me.
I'm also a big fan of passive studying because hey, I'm lazy, but this passive studying is honestly working!!
I was searching for gross structures by hunting through Rohen's and Netter, which works, but takes a long time. Half hour watching Dr. No-gloves (ewwwwwww) mangle the mediastinum and I was spotting structures like a pro.
Also, upon suggestion in Nina's blog, I took to eating mysterious midnight BBQ while watching said dissection videos. I'm hardcore, beotches.
Which brings me to the tentative regeneration of the "I got beef" dance. Apparently I *can* eat beef when prepared mystery-meat style in a midnight BBQ outside the dorm and suffer no ill effects. I simply cannot buy extremely healthy (not juicy, good coloration, no odor) looking meat from the supermarket, cook it myself, and refrain from spending the night worshipping the porcelain idol. Be advised. If you're gonna eat meat, buy it from people who have no credentials who throw it into fire. Now, if you're gonna eat mayonnaise, buy it sealed at the supermarket and keep it in a passworded refrigerated safe. I haven't done mayo poisoning yet because I've heard too many stories, thus I don't eat it when I go elsewhere.
I was supposed to do a mock practical today, but there was no announcement, no schedule posted or whathaveyou, so I don't know if they did it and I missed it or I had the wrong day, but damn. Ah well, I've done anatomy lab practicals before. One hopes it's the same here. How many ways can you tag the azygos vein? That was a Browning poem, right?
Later on, it's biochem for Ishie. It's the last midterm of exam week on Friday, but I take no chances. I wouldn't know a pentose phosphate metabolic pathway if I were metabolizing one. Which I probably am. See how much trouble I'm in?
And histo. Ah, histo. Do they pick these slides by throwing darts at modernist paintings, because that's the only conclusion I can come to. I like scanning electron micrographs though, not because I can identify any of the structures or anything, but because they look cool and I'm a dork. I hate transmission micrographs though. They are to histo what body cross sections are to anatomy. Everything just looks like a hole or a not-a-hole. I don't even know how to begin identification beyond that. Since exams are multiple guess, I'm hoping that "Hole" and "Not-A-Hole" are listed options.
But I think I just lost a big part of my audience. So... gerbil in rectum!
Oh, and another "hi!" to Sej's sister. She says you're totally down with the Crypts of Lieberkuhn. And she's studying her ass off with a brief hiatus to also engage in midnight BBQ.
Feb 21, 2007
Poor Vamps
Apparently, there is poor vascularization in the Crypts of Lieberkuhn. Translation? Not much blood for the vampires. No wonder the hero was able to vanquish them so easily! He's off to the Valves of Kerckring now. We wish him godspeed.
In other vampire news, the vampires in St. Louis apparently got me, because according to my Living Anatomy clinical tutor, I don't have a brachial or radial pulse. D'oh.
In NON-vampire related news (how novel?), our new biochem professor throws candy at us, and introduced himself with study tips in the guise of pictures of animals doing cute human things. This came as such a sharp slap in the opposite direction of our previous biochem professor that I swear, an airbag deployed from the seat in front of me. Where has this guy been all my life???
Combined with the fact that Paparo took back over for histology again, because apparently the department likes screwing with my emotions, this may be the first time since the first week of school that I have actually attended all four hours of lecture on a given day. Perish the thought!
Oh, I slept! I slept I slept I slept I slept! Wahoo!!!!!!! I am going to worship at the altar of Unisom for all I'm worth, and the first thing I did after biochem small group (which inexplicably *wasn't* a waste of an hour of my life) was run to the pharmacy to secure a supply. Oh sweet slumber, how I've missed thee!!! Though I dreamed that I was diving and ran out of air with twenty minutes of deco left. Weird.
In other vampire news, the vampires in St. Louis apparently got me, because according to my Living Anatomy clinical tutor, I don't have a brachial or radial pulse. D'oh.
In NON-vampire related news (how novel?), our new biochem professor throws candy at us, and introduced himself with study tips in the guise of pictures of animals doing cute human things. This came as such a sharp slap in the opposite direction of our previous biochem professor that I swear, an airbag deployed from the seat in front of me. Where has this guy been all my life???
Combined with the fact that Paparo took back over for histology again, because apparently the department likes screwing with my emotions, this may be the first time since the first week of school that I have actually attended all four hours of lecture on a given day. Perish the thought!
Oh, I slept! I slept I slept I slept I slept! Wahoo!!!!!!! I am going to worship at the altar of Unisom for all I'm worth, and the first thing I did after biochem small group (which inexplicably *wasn't* a waste of an hour of my life) was run to the pharmacy to secure a supply. Oh sweet slumber, how I've missed thee!!! Though I dreamed that I was diving and ran out of air with twenty minutes of deco left. Weird.
Feb 18, 2007
Histology Relevance...
Okay, perhaps I've been studying too long, but the Rectal Columns of Morgagni sounds like some place a young noble hero with flowing blond manlocks would have to fight his way through to free the fair maiden from the thick longitudinal bands of the fearsome taenia coli.
And poor poor Morgagni. You're a well-schooled Italian anatomist dedicating your life to the study of the human body, and you are remembered in posterity as a developed, MUCOUSY part of the mammalian arsehole. Simply undignified.
If I ever discover some until-now unseen area of the human ass, please, oh please, just cut me the check and leave my moniker out of the naming ceremony. Attribute all discoveries to Nicholas Cage. He knows what he did.
*Addendum: Our hero has now fought his way past the Rectal Columns of Morgagni and is sneaking past the Crypts of Lieberkuhn, (Lieberkuhn apparently had a better press agent than Morgagni, though not by much) as we speak, perhaps in search of Lemmiwinks the Gerbil. Mr. Slave, how could you??
And poor poor Morgagni. You're a well-schooled Italian anatomist dedicating your life to the study of the human body, and you are remembered in posterity as a developed, MUCOUSY part of the mammalian arsehole. Simply undignified.
If I ever discover some until-now unseen area of the human ass, please, oh please, just cut me the check and leave my moniker out of the naming ceremony. Attribute all discoveries to Nicholas Cage. He knows what he did.
*Addendum: Our hero has now fought his way past the Rectal Columns of Morgagni and is sneaking past the Crypts of Lieberkuhn, (Lieberkuhn apparently had a better press agent than Morgagni, though not by much) as we speak, perhaps in search of Lemmiwinks the Gerbil. Mr. Slave, how could you??
Feb 3, 2007
Playing with...
the idea of shorter posts... (what did you think I was going to say?) in the interest, naturally, of being responsible, studying excessively, and getting in as much diving and beach time as humanly possible.
Naturally, the second something even slightly pisses me off, this policy will go out the window and you all will be treated to a dissertation length blog entry and I do thank you kindly for the hits!
Today I finally got to meet with my advisor/sometimes histo prof (they switch around, sadly, since new guy isn't half as good), Dr. Paparo, and Saora is quite right; he does appear to give a damn. Lovely breakfast at the university club followed by entertaining conversation which included his statement that he was trying to force the administration to put in a running path around the school so that we're a bit *less* likely to get hit by a bus (and a guy in Lance aux Epine apparently got mowed down by a jeep that didn't stop and now sports a broken arm; poor dude) and have a safe place to run. He also gave us a bunch of tips on safety in Grenada, which largely revolves around common sense, as well as a few places to NOT be (for the girls, though probably the guys as well, Fish and Chick seems to top the list).
He even drove us back to True Blue so we wouldn't have to wait for the bus. Cool guy. I think he finally takes back over the histo lectures this week which means it'll be easier to stay awake.
Apparently the rainy season has started early in Grenada, though I'm currently observing it from a choice vantage point in my dorm's study lab rather than swimming, er, walking through it grasping my books for dear life as I had the distinct pleasure of doing last night.
So I have little to report because I've pretty much been either sleeping or studying all day. Wanna know about basophilic white blood cells? They have a darkly staining nuuuuucllleeeuuuus? No? Ah well.
To those planning on attending, currently attending, or whatever though, I again have to say for biochem READ LIPPENCOTT. Read it like a novel, a Bible, a tome of information that will ride you through the bitter storm. Words cannot describe how much I love this book. It may top Stranger in a Strange Land for "favorite" because I'm slowly, but surely, seeing the light.
If only they'd had a Lippencott ORGANIC chemistry, hell, I might be in an American medical school right now... though come to think of it, with the view I have from this window, that's all right with me.
I'm in a state of being slightly behind in embryo in not having studied it, though I fully comprehend what is going on, just perhaps not at a testable level. Anatomy's going to need a bit of catch up, but so far I feel like I'm managing my time all right.
Unfortunately, this is the second week of medical school, and I am well aware that the pace will gradually increase until Unifieds, at which point, someone will fire off a starter pistol, and we'll all wish we were dead.
But in the meantime, I get to dive tomorrow morning, culminating in yet another fascinating day of exploring the human body at all levels, most specifically the one accessed by clicking through lecture slides on my laptop. Am I boring yet? Yes? All righty then. Come to think of it... this isn't all that short. Curses! Damn my technical writing/Annexcafe-induced typing speed!
Naturally, the second something even slightly pisses me off, this policy will go out the window and you all will be treated to a dissertation length blog entry and I do thank you kindly for the hits!
Today I finally got to meet with my advisor/sometimes histo prof (they switch around, sadly, since new guy isn't half as good), Dr. Paparo, and Saora is quite right; he does appear to give a damn. Lovely breakfast at the university club followed by entertaining conversation which included his statement that he was trying to force the administration to put in a running path around the school so that we're a bit *less* likely to get hit by a bus (and a guy in Lance aux Epine apparently got mowed down by a jeep that didn't stop and now sports a broken arm; poor dude) and have a safe place to run. He also gave us a bunch of tips on safety in Grenada, which largely revolves around common sense, as well as a few places to NOT be (for the girls, though probably the guys as well, Fish and Chick seems to top the list).
He even drove us back to True Blue so we wouldn't have to wait for the bus. Cool guy. I think he finally takes back over the histo lectures this week which means it'll be easier to stay awake.
Apparently the rainy season has started early in Grenada, though I'm currently observing it from a choice vantage point in my dorm's study lab rather than swimming, er, walking through it grasping my books for dear life as I had the distinct pleasure of doing last night.
So I have little to report because I've pretty much been either sleeping or studying all day. Wanna know about basophilic white blood cells? They have a darkly staining nuuuuucllleeeuuuus? No? Ah well.
To those planning on attending, currently attending, or whatever though, I again have to say for biochem READ LIPPENCOTT. Read it like a novel, a Bible, a tome of information that will ride you through the bitter storm. Words cannot describe how much I love this book. It may top Stranger in a Strange Land for "favorite" because I'm slowly, but surely, seeing the light.
If only they'd had a Lippencott ORGANIC chemistry, hell, I might be in an American medical school right now... though come to think of it, with the view I have from this window, that's all right with me.
I'm in a state of being slightly behind in embryo in not having studied it, though I fully comprehend what is going on, just perhaps not at a testable level. Anatomy's going to need a bit of catch up, but so far I feel like I'm managing my time all right.
Unfortunately, this is the second week of medical school, and I am well aware that the pace will gradually increase until Unifieds, at which point, someone will fire off a starter pistol, and we'll all wish we were dead.
But in the meantime, I get to dive tomorrow morning, culminating in yet another fascinating day of exploring the human body at all levels, most specifically the one accessed by clicking through lecture slides on my laptop. Am I boring yet? Yes? All righty then. Come to think of it... this isn't all that short. Curses! Damn my technical writing/Annexcafe-induced typing speed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
