A update to my previous post!

I wrote a blog about hydrocephalus and then today while perusing the news I found a story about a texas baby named baby Klaus. He is 11 months old and has severe hydrocephalus. For some reason no neurosurgeons would help this family and now his head has swollen 130% larger than it should!
Finally a physician has stepped in to help this poor baby and so far since installing a shunt, his head has shrunk 12 inches.
It is tragic, they fear he may be blind, deaf and disabled, but as the dr poignantly says in the video at the bottom of the news story, you never give up on a babies brain!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/11/29/2010-11-29_doctors_in_texas_rally_to_save_baby_klaus_born_with_massive_head_due_to_excess_f.html

Its megamind baby!

That is what my 4 year old exclaimed when she saw this picture from my A&P textbook! I don't know who megamind is, she tells me its a movie.
This adorable little one however has hydrocephalus, which is an abnormal accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid in the brain. It is a condition that one can be born with or acquired later on at some point in life. It can be life threatening, and damaging to the brain. In newborns the skull is not fused so there is some room for the fluid building up. At this point a shunt can be inserted to drain excess fluid out of the skull. In adults it can be very dangerous because the skull is fused and can lead to brain damage much faster from the excess pressure buildup.
I had a friend in high school who had a shunt placed as an infant because he was born with hydrocephalus. He was lucky and had no deficits as a result. He was very smart and ran cross country. Once his shunt became infected and had to be hospitalized, he did recover though. I know he had said he had to have surgery to revise his shunt when he hit puberty and grew several inches. I am guessing the shunt didn't grow with him!

 

Home stretch!

Just a handful of weeks left in class, I am ready for a break! This class has been such a marathon and its not over, one more semester to go! I try not to think to much about that fact. I truly think of this much like a marathon, if I think about how far I have left to go, I wont make it to that final mile!
Its so much work to study for an A, exhausting actually, but that is the goal I gave set for myself and have been accomplishing.

We have a test on the central nervous system in a few days so I am in full study mode, as soon as I finish this psych paper, and algebra test! Such a balancing act, and I suck at it!

We have gotten to see Katie now twice and it is so amazing. I am so very grateful for this opportunity, and so glad I chose to come to this college. Not many at my level of education get the chance to see something so cool.

She is 91 years old and seems so far to be in fantastic shape! I wonder how she died and marvel at the muscles and organs that carried her through 9 years short of a century!
I caught myself on the first night, resting my fingers on top of her hand while Molly was showing us something. Much like I would if I was comforting her or something. I know she doesn't need comforting anymore but it seemed only right, for what she is giving us! I looked at her hand, age spots and so grandmotherly. I get way over sentimental sometimes but I thought this hand must have held little hands across the street and cooked food for loved ones. So much, someone does in 91 years.
I imagine she was wonderful and did amazing things, even if it isn't true, because I don't want to think anything less.
   

My first Stitches!

I can think its cool,  now that it doesn't hurt so bad.....

2 stitches

I had a very normal flesh colored round mole there, for as long as I could remember. This summer it started getting red and itchy and sometimes painful. Then it suddenly deflated! Thats the only way I can describe it, it looked empty. At my checkup I told the doc about it, and he decided since it had been changing and irritated, that we should remove it.

I had a punch biopsy, which basically consisted of them taking a little cookie cutter to my leg. She then stitched up the spot that they cookie cuttered the mole out of, and wahlaa!
It hurt more than I expected, and the stitches bled more than I expected but I did stand in line for 45 minutes to vote after that appt. (when I was supposed to be laying on the couch taking it easy for a little bit) There are some things that must not be ignored however!

They called with the results, No suspicious cells! However she did say it was actively growing deeper in a non cancerous way.....No wonder it was irritating! I wonder if the pathologist could see cells in differing stages of mitosis or something, to make that call!

Bells Palsy

Bells Palsy, is a paralysis caused by damage to cranial nerve VII. It causes paralysis on one side of the face and is harmless but for the damage it can do to ones psyche.

google images

This girl is not me, but is a good example of bells palsy.
I had bells palsy twice in the span of a year! I consider myself lucky to not have permanent drooping as I have seen people who have had permanent damage from multiple attacks.

I think that my bells palsy is brought on by stress as both times I was under great duress. However it doesn't always happen when I am under great stress because so far A&P has not caused a relapse...Altho I am cautious when I say this, as I have only just begun this 2 semester odyssey!
I woke up after a very very stressful night and got ready for lunch with a girlfriend. On the way to lunch I noticed while applying lipgloss that I couldn't seem to rub my lips together to smooth it over. I was puzzled and thought maybe I never had been able too. I had a good lunch and as far as my friend can remember, I looked perfectly normal. That evening my daughter said something funny to me, and I happened to pass by a mirror as I was smiling and I was HORRIFIED! I thought I was having a stroke! I rushed myself to the ED and they calmed my fears with a CT scan and sent me on my way with prednisone. Prednisone is a steroid and I believe is critical to a good recovery. I dont know if it was the steroids but one thing that stood out markedly while I was recovering was I was obscenely tired! I slept so much! I also remember how upset my little girl was at the time, she would cry when she saw me and say she was so sad my smile was broken!

The second time I was struck, I felt very very tired that day and I awoke from a nap and could feel a certain numbness in my face! I again rushed to the ED and managed to get on steroids very quickly. The drooping was not as severe this second time, and I believe the quick steroid treatment is credit to that.

Sometimes when I am tired my eye blinks slower than the other one and people can notice they seem to be out of sync but otherwise my face looks pretty good considering!

We are headed out of muscles and into nerves so I thought it was a good time for this story! I am interested in finding out more why this may have happened to me and the mechanism behind how the nerve damage causes the paralysis although I am finding a better understanding with what I know about the muscles now and neuromuscular junctions!

There are no pictures of me with bells palsy, I was embarrassed and didn't leave my house for weeks the first time it happened. I try to pay attention to how I feel and I have a days supply of prednisone just in case it happens again! That way I can quickly start meds and prevent severe drooping!

All about the muscles

I haven't much to say about the muscles yet. I want to understand them better! I have so many questions and ideas.....like why has my bicep been twitching obnoxiously for 2 hours while I try and study! I also want to know about muscle fatigue and why that happens. We are supposed to cover that next class!
The nervous system is pretty intertwined with muscles and the how and why of paralysis really interests me so I am looking forward to getting deeper into the nerves and how they control the functions of things.
Are cat dissection started this week which I find thoroughly enjoyable despite the smell....I wish I could remember what we named our kitty!
I separated the scapula from its under and overlying tissues a bit and got a great view of the spine and the infraspinatus and supraspinatus muscles!

I can tell you when its going to rain!

The other day I was sitting in the student center and my wrist started to hurt...BAD!
It almost brought tears to my eyes....
I broke my arm my freshman year of high school, I am almost positive of this. I dont know for sure because my parents had no money and didn't take me to see a dr. (I know you did the best you could mom....we talked about it this week, but it makes for a good blog post about bones)
I was running after school at my first band practice and a stupid 7th grade boy tripped me! I was holding drumsticks with one hand and so I caught all of myself with my right. It made an interesting crunchy pop sound and I couldn't use my hand very effectively. I could not turn my hand from a palm down to a palm up position without physically doing it with my opposite hand, and as soon as I let it go it would flop back over to a palm down position. It started hurting after an hour or so and it got bruised and swelled. 
The aftereffects lasted about 6-8 weeks, and eventually I was able to turn my hand and keep it there, but it still feels a bit odd even today, 13ish years later. I never knew exactly if it was broken but I would say it was highly likely.
It was probably simple and non displaced, because if it was broken...it healed pretty well considering.
This leads me to last week. It was hurting bad! I couldn't take it and I was feeling worried as to why it would be flaring up so bad. It hurt in exactly the same spot of the probable break.
I went outside to get to my algebra class and low and behold a front was blowing in....We were getting some very nasty looking weather! About an hour after the weather stabilized my wrist started feeling better and is fine now. I remember having similar pain during weather before but never as severe. Maybe it is Colorado, IDK...I had always heard about people having flare ups of arthritis and other conditions when the barometric pressure dropped. I would have been interested to see how fast and far it dropped that day. I saw online that others had felt similar pain in old break spots so I guess I am not alone! So long as thats the only time it hurts...and I will always know when to grab an umbrella!

Feel like I got hit by a truck....

Test due complete!
If the bones were difficult from the look of the online practice lab, the muscles are gonna be worse!
I am going to start studying now, I don't want to feel as unprepared as I did for this test again!
I tense up while taking these A&P tests so bad, the next day I feel so sore....I guess I will find out soon exactly what muscles are sore as well!
My back hurts from how heavy my backpack is. I am hoping its just muscle strain and not a slipped disc....just learned about those so my medical knowledge hypochondria is acting up there :)
I need one of those wheelie suitcases lol
All and all, I feel like things went well but I am for sure ready to move on from the bones!

Domani

Another test over the skin and bones!
I am not feeling super strong, the bones are a difficult knowledge for me to retain.
However I am studying the bones constantly throughout the day, and I am even studying bones in my dreams...that should help, right?

A little extra sumthin sumthin!

So I already wrote a blog about my awesome boyfriend's, awesome webbed toes...

Well his very best friend has an interesting anomaly as well, a triple nipple, more formally known as a supernumerary nipple.
Emedicine has this to say about the pathophysiology of this interesting anomaly
"Between the fourth and fifth weeks of embryogenesis, an ectodermal thickening forms symmetrically along the ventral lateral sides of the embryo. This epidermal ridge extends from the axillary region to the inner side of the thigh to form the embryogenic milk (or mammary) line. During the second and third embryogenic months, the glandular elements of the breasts are formed near the fourth and fifth ribs, with regression of the rest of the thickened ectodermal streaks. In the case of failure of a complete regression, some foci may remain to result in a supernumerary nipple. This can develop into a supernumerary complete breast (polymastia) or into any other supernumerary nipple variant according to the Kajava classification."
Like Ryan, he is not ashamed of his uniqueness and he let me take a picture of his triple nip to share with the world!
Here we have it folks...dont drink the water in highlands ranch for fear of extra nips and webbed toes ;)

So cool.
Anyway also online I found information about ectopic supernumeray nipples...and those can be found as far away as the foot...
(google image)

or the thigh, as seen on this geriatric male
(google image)

Most are found along the mammary line leading from the armpit down towards the groin, the same line normal breast and nipple tissue is found.
(google image)

There is even a degree of supernumerary nipples that when stimulated by the hormones of pregnancy and birth, have the necessary tissues to produce milk! A woodcutting from a long ago time shows a new mother nursing her new baby from her breasts while her toddler suckles on an extra breast located on her outer thigh!
(google images)

As it stands that is pretty cool, and supposedly extra nipples can be found in 1 out of 18 people...most are just simply thought to be moles!

OUCH!!

We were talking about the classification of fractures in class last week. The professor said the picture of the compound fracture didn't really do the injury justice. I googled imaged it and she was right! OUCH!
A compound fracture is a fracture of bone that breaks through the skin.
It looks pretty horrific and complicated to treat.
I haven't looked into it too far but I am sure it requires surgery and is at a high risk of infection.
It looks insanely painful and I wont post a pic of it here, but google image has some pretty graphic results, if you so desire!

Sweet

On the move!

My 1st A&P test is on next Wednesday! I am nervous and I hope I can do well.....
I have very high expectations for myself, and I do not want to disappoint. I just don't want to fail and I have a very big addiction to the letter A!

In anticipation for the big test, my bed mess is on the move! It follows me everywhere and I am working on it pretty consistently throughout the day.
I will hopefully post a big ole smiley face here very soon!

Laundry day at Ryan's

That's hot......

You know you have been waaay absorbed in A&P when..........
Your boyfriend says, "thats kinky" and in your head a little voice says, "kinky like an unsaturated fatty acid chain!"
Oh God! 

Cool Bruise, Great Timing!

I told my boyfriend we were learning about epithelial tissues and such so he went out and got this fantastic bruise for me! Took a hockey puck to the arm actually, hazard of using your body to stop them from flying into a net, I suppose!

Anyway, bruises are a result of injury to the endothelium lining of capillaries which causes blood to leak out into the surrounding tissues. The colors of a bruise are a result of hemoglobin breakdown and phagocystosis within the tissues.

Ryan's bruise is really tender. It is also very hot to the touch, but I assume there is quite an inflammatory response happening.

somebody's toes did not a-pop

I kid I kid....sorta!
Apoptosis- A process of programmed cell death

I was reading in my textbook and got to the section on cell structures and their functions. Then I got distracted and geeked out about lysosomes for going on 5 days now! Lysosomes are organelles that clean up cellular debris and anything else that needs to be disposed of. They also play a role in the apoptosis that happens during fetal development of fingers and toes. A lack of lysosomal activity can lead to syndactly which is "webbed toes" or fingers.
I totally geeked out because my fantastical boyfriend has webbed toes! I started to wonder if he lacked lysosome activity in-between his toes...does he lack lysosome activity elsewhere? Could that even be dangerous...
So a googling I went! I found out that syndactly is included in syndromes of many genetic diseases! It can also be a result of familial inheritance. 
My man is healthy and for sure inherited his webbed toes from a family member who shall remain unnamed ;)
 However other types of lysosomal dysfunction can have devastating effects when they happen! One example of a lysosomal storage disease is Tay-Sachs disease, which is a result of lysosomes lacking a specific lipid digesting enzyme. This causes a buildup of this lipid in cells, especially in the cells of the nervous system. It leads to progressive neurodegeneration and eventual death in infants and young children. So lysosomes are quite important and have a role in many crucial cell processes! So far they are my favorite organelle!

My man is quite proud of his toes, and I think they are super cool too! My 8 year old was convinced we were trying to trick her when he showed them too her. She insisted he had glued them together! It was hilarious!

A learning journal....

My A&P instructor has assigned us a writing assignment for our semester. I could either write a term paper with references and all that official jazz or keep a learning journal. Easy choice!
 I like blogging I have done it before and I love the subject material and I think it will be fun to analyze it and then share how I think and feel about it here.
So for starters we have been reviewing things we are already supposed to know, based on our pre-reqs for this class. I am at a loss as far as chemistry goes but I do have my genius boyfriend helping there. As far as other basics go, thank goodness for Bio 106 (as limited as it was) and my prior insane interest in the subject. Its not hard for me to remember things I love to know about!
I have been practicing the regions of the abdominopelvic area by tickling them out on my chosen toddler subject. As I am tickling her I call out exactly what I am tickling....The umbilical and illiac regions seem to be the hardest for her to maintain anatomical position in but that's to be expected I suppose : )