River Clean Up Service Project

Being a volunteer is a great opportunity to learn something new while you are helping the community.
Last Saturday morning I attended to a River Clean Up, it is not related to the class of Anatomy and Physiology but it is always good to help the community. 

As soon as we got to the creek they gave us gloves and a bag for pickup all the trash. During the couple of hour that I spent in the river I saw a lot of different types of trash that the people throw to the creek. I picked up a stack of crystals and also we found clothes, wrap of sweets and a pizza box.
We walked by all the creek and while we picked up all these garbage.
There was another thing that made me thinkin do more volunteer hours, the organization told us that they are not used to have that huge amount of volunteers. Basically the people does all these types of activities if it give them something in exchange.

We passed this cave and this explains why there was a pizza box or wrapping of snacks. The people go there for hangout but they don't get responsible of the cleaning.

From this experience I had learn that the environment is super important for our lives and we should take care of it. If we want to have the opportunity of enjoy the nature we should clean it. Seen all this garbage I realize that the people don't take care of their own community and this only affect them and us. 

Unit 8 Reflection

The Muscular System is one of my favorites because of the fact that is, with the skeletal system, the basic external appearance of us. 

We learn about the basic anatomy of our body, with the different names of the muscles and the classification depending of shape, size or action. Also the fact that our muscles work in opposing pairs, when one contracts the opposite relaxes. 

We verified it in the Chicken Lab where we saw the different opposite muscles as the biceps brachii and the triceps brachii.

We learned the different synovial joint's movement by doing a dance where we used different parts of the body and different positions of the muscles. 

There are different movements such as rotation (when you move your head side to side) or, depression (when you open you mouth and elevation when you close).




Also we learn about the muscle contraction that is divided into different steps:

1. Motor neuron sends action potential (nerve impulse) to the muscle.
2. Acetylcholine released from vesicles on motor neuron.
3. Ach binds to receptors on muscle membrane and activates 2nd action potential, now on muscle.
4. Action potentials opens active transport pumps of sarcoplasmic reticulum.
5. Ca2+ floods sarcoplasm, AChE degrades Ach.
6. Ca2+ attaches to troponin of TT complex and changes in shape.
7. This shape change pulls tropomyosin away from myosin-binding sites on actin.
8. ATP attaches to ATP binding site on myosin crossbridge.
9. ATPase on myosin head in presence of Mg+ splits ATP into ADP+P which energizes myosin head (swings forward)
10. P flies off and myosin head binds to binding site on actin.
11. ADP is pushed off and myosin head is de-energized (pulling actin forward) now myosin swivels back to resting state.
12. REPEAT steps 8-11 until Ca2+ comes off the TT complex.

We have learnt a lot during this unit and I think that it helped me to decided what do I want to specifically in my future career.

Also as a student I think that I have grown because each time I'm more interested in all the work that we do, so I do all the activities with more enthusiastic.

Chicken Dissection Analysis

Yellow: Pectoralis major
Blue: Pectoralis minor

The dissection we did the other day in class consisted of observing and comparing the muscles of a chicken with those of humans. The dissection started with the cleaning of the chicken by drying it and the next one was start to peel the skin. After this we open the chicken by the chest and we observe the different muscles that are in that zone, like the pectoralis major and minor. The pectoralis major goes from the keel through the shoulder to the humerus and it pull the wing vertically, and the pectoralis minor lifts the wing dorsally.

Blue: Trapezius
Yellow: Latissimus dorsi

In the upper back of the chicken we found two different main muscles: the trapezius and the latissimus dorsi. The trapezius run perpendicular from the backbone to the shoulder and pulls the shoulder back; in humans they are split into two parts. The latissimus dorsi runs from the spine into the armpit and extend or pull the wing.

Green: Biceps brachii
Blue: Deltoid
Yellow: Triceps humeralis

In the chicken first wing segment we found the biceps brachii that flexes the wing or arm, also the deltoid that is the muscle on the center of the top shoulder and helps to raise the upper arm, and lastly we found the triceps humeralis that extends the wing or arm; in humans this is a muscle used in doing reverse curls.

Green: Brachioradialis
Yellow: Flexor carpi ulnaris

The second wing segment is divided into brachioradialis that is the largest muscle on 

the superior side of the lower wing closest to 

the alula and it pulls the hand back, and also 

the flexor carpi ulnaris that is the largest muscle

 on the posterior side of the lower wing and 

it flexes the hand; in humans this is a primary muscle used in doing wrist curls.

Yellow= Sartorius
Blue= Quadriceps
Black= Iliotibialis
Red= Biceps Femoris
Green= Semitendinosus
White= Semimembranosus

In the chicken thigh we found a lot of different muscles. The sartorius that flexes the thigh and allows crossing of the legs. The iliotibialis is a group muscle that covers the whole lateral side of the thigh and extends it at the time that flexes the leg. The semimembranosus and the semitendinosus only extends the thigh. The quadriceps femoris lies on the inside of the thigh just medial to the sartorius in the bird, it's a group of 4 muscles which flexes the thigh and extends the lower leg. This muscles are used in doing leg extensions in humans.

Red= Gastrocnemius

Yellow= Tibialis anterior

Blue= Peroneus Longus

The chicken's drumstick is divided into the gastrocnemius, the peroneus longus and the tibialis anterior.

The gastrocnemius has two distinct heads in both birds and humans. It extends the foot and flexes the lower leg.

The peroneus longus helps to extend the foot.

The tibialis anterior is large and is directly under the peroneus longus in birds and flexes the foot.

All the muscles are differentiate between the insertion and origin because the intersection of the muscle moves but the origin not.

Owl Pellet Lab

For the Owl Pellet Dissection we basically measured and weight it before start doing anything, after that we started to separate carefully all the different part and taking out the bones for after create the skeleton. After separating all the different types of bones we organize them and analyzing them for start identifying what type of animal could be, after taking pictures and finding the correct type of animal we finished the lab cleaning.
In our pellet we found the bones of a vole:

If you compare the bones of the picture and the ones in the packet you will see that they match, so this show us that it should be it. Also we found the fibula and the tibia who match with the picture, the vertebral column show us that this animal walk because it needed it for support the body. We found smaller bones that could be part of the tail and the scapula bone show us more evidence for finally determinate that it's a vole.

The similarities with the human skeleton are visible in were both skeletons are slightly similar in structure, both have femur, tibia, fibula or humerus. Another similarity is the amount of bones in the extremities like the legs. And the last similarity is that the vertebral column is formed by vertebrae.

The differences are in the size because as is appreciable  the vole is smaller. Other difference is the hardness of the bones, the human are harder because we are bigger than the voles. And the last difference is the fact that the voles have tail bones.

Unit 6 Reflection

This unit was about the nervous system, its organs like the brain and it parts, and the ones related like the eyes. We studied more about the parts of the brain, we did the dissection and see all the specific brain parts, also we read about the functions of the brain and cases where the people was born without some parts, so we learned how their brains need to adjust to work as good as it can. We learned how works the neurons that process the information and create a answer, and the receptors that take the sensations and send them to the brain by the nerves, like in the reading of the training we learned that if you exercise your body and brain, in the future all will work better. Other lab that we did and was connected to the nervous receptors was the "Reflex Lab" where we tested our reactions in front of different situations. Also we learned about the senses and the different types of receptors that each one has like the eye and the photoreceptors, and we did the dissection for see all the parts inside the eye.

During this unit we had about 5 reading where we learned more about the information that we had in our notes and vodcasts. The first was"The Woman with a Whole in the Brain"where we learned about a woman that life 20 years without knowing that she was missing¡g a part of her brain, but her brain adjust to make all the basic functions. After "A woman perpetually falling" where I learned more about the bad connections between learned in the brain and the parts of the body, after this one came " How to became a Superager" where I learned more about the fact that if old people have an active their brains are more active too so their functions continuing working. "Fit Body, Fit Brain and Other Fitness Tends" talks about the importance of exercise for the good functioning of the brain. And lastly "How we get addicted" talks about the problems that some people have when they get addicted to some substances and they can't stop consuming it. 

This unit was more hard that I really thought that it will be but the fact that the brain is connected to a lot of different parts of the body makes it a long and hard unit. Maybe I should have done the readings with more attention because I only got the basic information of each one. And the fact that a lot of new vocabulary appeared for me made it harder.

I would like to expand more information inside each of the diseases and also watch more videos than read, because in my personal opinion when you hear a video you understand the information better than when you are reading.

During this unit I didn't really make my goals because in the other subject the time of working started to be longer so I leave the daily review.

Reflexes Lab

In this Lab we were testing the reactions of our body in different situations. During the readings I was learning a lot but when you really experience it you realize easier how our body works. A reflex is the reaction that our body does for try to decrease our danger, your pupil dilates depending the light that you need in each moment or the eyes closed when something is going to go into them.

The Photopupillary Reflex  help to control the amount of light that our eyes need, so when you are in a dark place and a light comes to your eye, the pupil change so you receive the right amount of light.

The Knee Jerk Reflex is controlled by mechanoreceptors that help us when we need to react to some situation by moving our body and the muscles fast.

The Blink Reflex help us to avoid getting anything into our eyes.

Babe, what's your sign? is the test of the foot from the sole of it to the heel helps to check the working of the nervous system and to detect any future disease.

How Fast are You? is a test where you need to catch a ruler and depending the distance it tells you how fast does your body react in current situations, after we made the same test while texting and this tries to show that our brain works slower when it needs to send several information at the same time. When I was waiting for the ruler my reaction was of 0.2 seconds but while I was texting it almost duplicate, this show as why they say that we should not drive while been distracted with the phone.

Brain Dissection Analisys

1.

2.
Cerebrum: Integration, sorts data
Cerebellum: Body control, motion memory
Brainstem: Breathing, circulation, digestion

3.
The myelin is a buffle of electrical signals, and it protects the brain

4.

5.

Thalamus: Sorts data
Optic Nerve: Send light signals from the eye to the brain
Medulla Oblongata: Controls digestion
Pons: Blood circulation
Midbrain: Digestion
Corpus Callosum: Sends information between both hemispheres
Hypothalamus: Homeostasis

6.

RELATE & REVIEW

The Brain dissection was easy to perform because the cuts where simple and the instructions were very clear. At the first when I saw the specimen it looked like a piece of flesh, beige in color with ridges and depressions. I could clearly identify and see the cerebrum because is a major part, below it was the cerebellum that was also clear, the posterior end was the brainstem.
Inside the brain upon cutting the flesh looked clear and clean.
I learned that the biggest part of the brain is the Cerebrum which is so important in higher brain functions like thought and action.

Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

The light goes through the eye in the following order: Cornea, Aqueous Humor, Pupil, Lens, Vitreous Humus, Retina, Optic Nerve and finally the Brain.

Cornea, first layer of the eye and bends the light, after goes by the Aqueous Humor; the Pupil ,opening in the Iris where the light goes into the eye; the Lens,that change shape to focus light on the retina; the Vitreous Humor, this extra component helps to give shape to the eye; the Retina,where are found the photoreceptors for vision and the Optic Nerve finally send this information to the brain where is transform to images.

A Woman Perpetually Falling ...

"Cheryl's problem is that her vestibular apparatus, the sensory organ for the balance system isn't working"
       - This woman can't stay stand because the part four of our body that is responsible for the balance of our body is not working.

"We are now working on getting this device small enough so that it is hidden in the mouth" 
       - They created a device that send the movement to your brain so it can react sending movements for prevent falling.

"How is it that Cheryl can dance and has returned to normal functioning without the machine?"
      - The machine helps to reinforce the signals from the healthy tissues, so her brain is starting to work again slowly.

* A woman that lost her vestibular apparatus that gives us the balance, is subjected to a new experiment that maybe improve or change her life, a helmet that sends to the brain the signals that our vestibular apparatus would do, so she can stay up strong without feeling dizzy and having balance.*

The Clay Brain

During the past class we were doing two models of the human brain. We divided the brain in the different parts and we differentiated them with different clay colors. Later we indicate which color represented each part and finally we made sure that all the different parts were good indicated.

"The Woman With a Hole in Her Brain"

This article talks about a woman that basically had lived during 24 years with our Cerebellum, organ that have 50 % of the total of nerves of the brain. She started talking when she was 6 years and to walk when she was 7. The doctors where impressed because the other cases that were know were discovered in the autopsy, this people die when they are so young. Related to the subject of Anatomy & Physiology we can learn that the Cerebellum is responsible of the body control, voluntary movements and balance. But this girl talked and walked, the doctor said that the explanation for that was that maybe the cerebral cortex have been taken over this.

Midbrain: Imagine that a person have missed or severely damaged this structure, what would they not be able to do? Could they survive without it? Could other parts of the brain take over? 
The Midbrain is responsible for transfer visual & auditory input to the brain and motor information from the brain. It is located in the brainstem, between forebrain and hindbrain. 
So basically any person would not be able to see or move if no-one of the other structures could helping the transfer of the information. I think that they could survive but with all their lives without moving. Maybe other parts of the brain could help like the ones that are involved in processing information.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was about the digestive system its functions, organs and related diseases. The digestive system break down the food, its functions are: Ingestion, Secretion, Mixing/Propulsion, Digesting, Absorption and Defecation. When we eat food it goes by the Digestive System starting at the mouth, continued by the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, anal canal and finishing at the anus. In each organs the digestive system do different functions. Between the related diseases we can find Diabetes, that it's a disease related with the Insulin of our body. There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 is when your body doesn't make Insulin so there are Insulin shots required; by the other side Type 2 is when your body doesn't react to the Insulin.
This unit I think was a little bite better that the 1st Semester, but I don't finish to understand all at the information at the first time, also the subject it's getting harder and there is more specific information for study, from my opinion. A success that I'm making is have the homework the day that is due, last semester was hard because in this subject we never stop so you really need to spend a lot of hours in it, but know I'm more excited for have better grades.
In the class we made a Digestive System Lab were we learned all the different organs, their dimensions and how they really work and help our body. We also had some readings like "Does Your Metabolism Need an Overhaul?", in this one I learned that for loose weight doing exercise you need to continue eating because your muscles need this food for stay stronger and make your metabolism work better.
I really want to learn more about information that is related with our experiences and daily life, also more examples of diseases related with the theme that were are studying. 
In my Goals I said that I would review the new material each day after class, but really this had been so hard because the fact that we have a lot of homework and a lot of subjects makes leave the studying for the last minute, so maybe after the basketball season finished I would have more time improve in this aspect of my Goals.

Why do we have stomach pain?

Stomachaches (Links to an external site.)

Some reasons for stomach pain are Infections, Constipation, Irritation and Inflammation and other like Acid reflux, Food allergies and Reproductive/Anatomical problems or Emotional Distress. When Infections occur due to Bacterial usually are from food poisoning. Viruses like stomach flu can also be another cause spread from person to person. When you don't have a right diet with fiber and enough fluids your stomach works bad and give pain. Appendicitis is an inflammation of a internal organ that also can give us stomach pain. When people get stressed out, depressed or anxious, their emotions can trigger physical symptoms, such as stomach pain.

This topic is related to the class of Anatomy because we are studying the digestive system and I wanted to search more information about "Why do we have stomach pain?", all the people have experience some stomach pain, so I also thought that was an interesting topic to search about.

I had learn a lot by searching for more information.

The Digestive System Lab

During this lab we measured the length of our entire digestive system. For make it we took different length and color yarns and cut them by the right mesure for each of us. The fist step was to measure the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, and both intestines and cut the yarns. When we had all we measured them in cm and right all this number in the data table. When we had all the yarns we tied them and took a photo of the real length of the digestive system. 

I had learn and realize how big is the digestive system, and I understood better how our body process the food.

The digestive system is able to fit inside the body because is bent several times, and is all together. The food spend an average of 53 hours to go through the entire digestive system, but I thought that was less, about 30 hours. The time that the food spend inside the large intestine is bigger that the one that I thought, and also depends the type of diet that you eat will be easier or harder to digest. The digestion is the breaking down the food in small pieces and the absorption is taking the nutrients, water, etc. needed. The organs hat are involved are the stomach, the small intestine and the large intestine.

I would like learn why do we barf when we are sick.

New Year Goals

During the break I've been thinking about my goals for this 2017 year, one of them is focussing more in my studies and improving my grades in general, my future depends on the grades I will achieve during the actual year and the next one, therefore I will have to spend more time reviewing and working on the staff we learn in class and don't leave it to the week before the test. I think that now that I have improved a little bite more my English skills I will be able to understand better all my teachers explanations than before and it will be also easier and much more enjoyable to study. In fact I feel very lucky because I really like the subjects I'm taking now, and that's another reason why it won't be difficult for me to get interest on them!
My other goals for this 2017 are to waste less money in unnecessary things and instead donate that money to charity; and to participate in more volunteer activities or projects. Two years ago I participated in community activities like caring for elderly people, or going to schools to help socially disadvantaged children to do their homework. Through this volunteer activities I realized how lucky I am with all I have, and how much I want to continue helping others that aren't as lucky as me. 
Finally my last resolution so far is to make the most of my second semester in the USA, keep learning and experience USA´s culture, enjoy each tradition and learn as much as possible form this great country to become in the future a good ambassador of the USA, giving this country and its people back all what you have been giving to me during my stay in here.