Day 43 - Are You Respiring?

This evening's class went well, despite being combined AGAIN with another class. Their instructor took vacation and apparently, somebody dropped the ball on communication and about 60 of us were crammed into a classroom built for about 35. This does not make for a pleasant learning experience, but despite this, we managed. In some ways, I think it made our class more attentive.
It was our first class of Anatomy VI (that's a Roman numeral 6 for those of you who don't read Roman), and according to the syllabus, we were to be learning about the lympatic/immune system. However, due to the circumstances and class size, we learned something far easier: the Respiratory System. From the nasal cavity to the alveioli of the lungs, we learned it and will have a quiz on it next week. I can see that during my holiday weekend I will have my nose in some books for at least part of it.
When we take anatomy classes, we get to color with colored pencils so we can learn parts and functions better. Sometimes I feel like a kindergartner again. I'm still not very good at coloring in the lines. Especially when the instructor is also writing important notes on the board that I need to copy down as soon as I'm done coloring.
Don't you wish you could take some fun classes like this?

Day 29 - Nervous Progress

This evening's class represented my progress in learning the nervous system, as we had our first QUIZ! I've been graded on written and hands-on final exams and I've been graded on homework, but tonight, we had our first quiz, worth only 10 points, in Anatomy, and more specifically, the Nervous System. More importantly than the points, though, it demonstrated where I may need to study more or if I'm studying enough. To make a long story short, I got a 100%, so I guess I'm stduying well enough.

After the quiz, we learned even MORE about the nervous system, specifically the Central Nervous system, and the different names for connective tissue and spaces within the brain, like dura mater, pia mater, and arachnoid mater.
Even prior to this class, I had a tendancy to break down words when I heard new vocobulary, sometimes taking it back to the Latin roots and such. So, do you know what these names actually translate to?
Dura Mater - Strong Mother
Pia Mater - Delicate Mother
Arachnoid Mater - Spider-like Mother
I like Dura and Pia, but Spider-like? When looking at the anatomical reason for that name, it makes sense, but I think that most mothers out there may be slighty weirded out by that.
We colored some brain pictures to get used to where things are, and I realized that my coloring skills haven't improved that much since I was five. We learned about craniosacral fluid, where it's produced, not in Colorado, but in the Choroid Plexus, and also what it does - protects the brain, giving it cushion to keep from bumping up against the skull everytime it gets jolted.
Speaking of brains, mine is on overload, so good night and watch out for Spider-Mothers.