Dissection #2

Pratik keeps my friends in group 4 busy at all times. Seems like very good theoretic revision.

Dissections today were a lot more hectic than last Friday. I don't know why it felt that way because it started off pretty quietly. Since half my group had retest in ligaments and joints they stayed in the big lecture hall and I actually got the whole limb for myself. I took my time and tried to apply some knowledge that I repeated during the weekend.
I knew we had to go through a small test during the day and since I was alone around the table with the best dissected specimens one of our demonstrating assistants came over and started to test me on the lower limb. I got questions on random muscles, topography such as the retromaleolar space, popliteal fossa and the nerves running along the spaces.

I did pretty good and the best thing is that I feel pretty confident with my knowledge so far.
Later on I got to know that I know far from enough, I got quizzed by different demonstrators and every time another detail came up that I didn't recognized - not to nice for the moment but it's a good way of filling the gaps.
The best thing about having the instructors around is that you can always drain them on information and I spent more time revising with them than dissecting which I guess is more important for passing the test on Friday.
I also have my skull test around the corner but I won't stress out about that just yet, there're still a lot to cover in the topography and pure anatomy of the structures on the cadavers.

Ever since we started to dissect I've been trying to keep a look out for the lymph vessels and the lymph nodes. It's a structure that we haven't touched yet which I don't understand since it's as important as every thing else. I finally got to see a lymph node today thou, but it wasn't as awesome as I'd imagine it to be - what a let down, right?!
Imagine a little boy hoping for an awesome TMNT-action figure for x-mas gift and finds out that the box contains... socks....

Still, the human body is pretty amazing and it sucks that I can't share the experience of seeing it with all of you.

Well, three more days to go before the big test and I hope that I'll be able to cover it all and feel somewhat confident to pull it off nicely.
I'll wake up early tomorrow for some breakfast and revision...

Dissection #2: Getting geared up

Exhaustion, Brains and CPU

It hit me now as I'm going to bed, and I'm not joking, that I've been outside the apartment thrice this weekend: once for some grocery shopping at the Potraviny downstairs and two times to go to the gym.
The rest of the time I have been, guess what?
You probably guess right; studying. (I also started watching Grey's Anatomy but mainly: studying)
Not only am I amazed over how quickly the time just disappeared but also over how much work I've got done. Now I just hope that it all have sticked to my head - a head heavier than after the worst hungover imaginable.
I can't relax and trying to sleep is even more pointless. My head is exhausted, and it's still trying to revise as I close my eyes. It's like I'm mentally worn down but physically my body is fine - I guess I shouldn't have skipped the gym tonight.
I think there's a party going on up in my office with everyone invited: muscles, nerves, arteries and veins, everyone except sleep.

Computers have it easier, I guess they don't "feel" exhausted but hey, even they get worn down by time. It's stated that we'll never invent a computer as powerful as the human brain.
I can imagine why the computer always are slower; in a simple equation they can't just see the answer out of experience, take 1+1=2 for example. I at least are able to just see the number 2 without even processing the calculation(?). The computer however have to put the equation together, process it and then give the answer. But what if the computer stored all the answers and created "experience", if you know what I mean. But after all, I guess the human will program that binary equation for the computer to find all the answers in the first place.
But I still really can't neglect the thought that one day there might be computers wired together with neurons. Or even more far-out: humans wired up with a spare part of CPU (hopefully we wont go there, I'd rather see that we unlock the technique to reproduce organs instead...)

I'm not enlightened enough to understand it yet, but no matter how the brain works, it's an amazing structure in the body and I am grateful that it works...

Moral questions and science - can it be connected?

I had to take a break from my muscle studies and use another part of my brain for a while.
Moral questions are always interesting and this perspective, presented by Sam Harris, were absolutely new to me - and probably to everyone else.
Religion and moral questions have always walked hand in hand and I guess that a link between science and moral have never been drawn like this before. I find this very related to my own way of thinking which makes it all even more exciting to watch. What about you?

Dissection #2: Pre-studies

Today's task: repetition of the muscles in the upper and lower limb; their innervation, function, blood supply, origin and insertion.

Dissection #1

(photo borrowed from kickassetout, note that this is not Uni. dissection room. no cred taken)

I went to the anatomy building a good half an hour before the dissection course started in order to get a locker and perhaps get a good slot at the table.
When I entered the entrance was filled by my colleague, every one of us ready to carve in on the specimens.
Dr. Snajdr gathered the group and tried to get the attention of the buzzing crowd of students, which he managed to do rather quickly considering all the excitement.
A short introduction followed with information about the different cutting techniques, important areas to be vary not to destroy, common rules and so on. It was nice to see all of my colleagues in lab coats, looking all proper and professional.

I was expecting our class to have two full specimens and some free limbs but unfortunately, by unknown reason, we only got one full scale body. We divided into two groups with 13 people in each group and started to continued carving of the fat tissue from our specimen (the second year demonstrators had already started to dissect during our introduction in order to save us time).

We got to dissect on our own under supervision of our teacher assistant Kristyna and the first hour simply flew by. A few minutes later I moved from dissecting the dorsal side to clean up the posterior aspect of the left arm and finally engaged the fascias of the muscles and some yet unidentified nerves and veins. I isolated the nerves and vessels and found out it was the ulnar nerve.
By now my scalpel was blunt but I din't change it due to the fact that time soon was over any way.

Even with 6-8 sharp scalpels working on one specimen from all sides and angles there were no cutting incidents - only a close one.
 The grease from the subcutaneous layer covers pretty much everything including your gloves and tools. I slipped many times, luckily only with the forceps, but the demonstrator to my left was not far away to cut my cheek up.
She was making a cut from underneath, with the sharp edge of the scalpel pointing in my direction, while I was sitting down on a chair concentrating on my own cutting with my face just next to the tissue. I guess she tried to get through a rather dense structure and in my periphery I suddenly saw her either slip, or actually get through the tissue, plunging out with the overpowered motion towards my face. Luckily my reflexes projected my head back and sideways and the blade never reached me. I don't know how close it actually was but I can guarantee you that it felt pretty close.

I didn't learn a lot today but more importantly I got to see how the tissue behaves when cut and now I know what to study during the weekend.
Kristyna even set up a test on Monday, which I in fact really like since it motivates me to study even more.

It's going to be a long week with a lot of studying but the reward is pretty neat; a lot of knowledge, fun and in the end hopefully a credit...

Preparing for a busy week

Next week is dedicated to dissections.
Every day from noon till evening we're going to have intense dissections and we've been promised tough studies to keep up with the course and little sleep.
I'm looking forward to it due to the fact that we'll start from the beginning, dissecting our way through the different layers of the body to finally isolate different structures in the task given to us. This means that we'll cover pretty much everything from skin, subcutaneous layers, muscles, nerves, arteries and veins - repetition of these chapters will be crucial over the weekend.
Simultaneously I've chosen to study and get tested on the skull which in fact are one of the most heavy parts of the winter course, at least so I've been told. Some of my colleagues are taking the skull test on Friday to get rid of it before the dissection course start but since I've spent time on Latin and Czech, perhaps a bit too much, I don't feel ready for a pretest.
I'm positive that I'd pass it if I'd take it but I rather study it properly and thoroughly simultaneously with the dissection in order to keep up my good marks.

Last week's hard labor got payed off rather good; getting back a really good result on the previous Anatomy test of the axial skeleton as well as passing the Czech test and the Latin test of this week. Tomorrow we'll get back the Histology test and as previously posted I do believe I'll pass it as well which makes me really happy.

I'd love to write a lot more, but time is not to be wasted these days, and soon I'll give a bunch of friends a Latin crash course walk-through for their test tomorrow...

Decisions, are we in control?

I've previously linked to Dan Ariely speaking about the Human Moral Code and here he is again but on the topic "decisions", if we're really have control and how illusions may affecting our choices.