Oh, Dr. Blue-McLendon

This article quotes my Correlates professor... she really does sound this insane in real life when she talks:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_fe_st/rudolph_s_gender;_ylt=Ark3k5NJxHWlM.h3lwtYkV3tiBIF

There may be a perfectly good reason why Santa doesn't get lost on his annual Christmas globetrot: His flying reindeer just might be female and don't mind stopping for directions.

The gender of Rudolph and his or her sleigh-hauling friends — the subject of goofy Internet chatter every year around this time — is now being pondered by renowned wildlife experts at Texas A&M University.

"Santa's reindeers were really females, most likely," said Alice Blue-McLendon, a veterinary medicine professor specializing in deer who cites the depictions of Santa's helpers with antlers as the primary evidence. It turns out reindeer grow antlers regardless of gender, and most bulls typically shed their fuzzy protrusions before Christmas.

But Santa's sleigh helpers might also be castrated males, known as steers, said Greg Finstad, who manages the Reindeer Research Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Young steers finish shedding their antlers in February and March, just as non-expecting females do. Bulls generally lose theirs before Christmas, while expectant mothers retain their antlers until calves are birthed in the spring. This allows them to protect food resources through harsh weather and to have enough for developing fetuses, he said.

Sledders most often use steers because they maintain their body condition throughout the winter, he said. Bulls are tuckered out from rutting season when they mate with as many as a dozen females in the months leading up to December. That leaves them depleted and too lean to pull a sleigh or sled through heavy snows, Finstad said.

Many females are pregnant after rutting season, which lasts from summer and into the fall. That would mean long hours of backbreaking work for an expecting Rudolph, as well as Donner, Blitzen, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet and Vixen.

"You don't hook up your pregnant females to a sled," Finstad said. "That is not good animal husbandry."

But other aaspects of the Christmas story support the all-girl sleigh team theory, Blue-McLendon said.

For example, would a boy reindeer really sport a shiny red nose that almost glows?

"Females like accessories," said Blue-McLendon, who in 2003 led the school's cloning of a white-tailed deer. "I think that fits because females like bling. We like shiny stuff."

As for the reindeer games, forget the rough antler-smashing stuff. Blue-McLendon suggests a female Rudolph would be more up for "games of wit."

And as for the name, Rudolph could certainly still work.

"Why not?" Blue-McLendon said. "I know women named Charlie."

Grades

Grades are mostly in (at least in the unofficial grade display online) and I did pretty darn well, if I do say so myself.

Physiology (6 hours): A
Anatomy (4 hours): B
Histology (4 hours): A
Immunology (2 hours): A
Clinical Correlates (1 hour): A
Professional Development (1 hour): A

Vet School Jokes # 3

Caroline and I have composed another song, because the first one went over so well! (We sang it to the whole class and won a contest with it for a $50 prize we split between the 2 of us!)

This one takes a little more slurring/creative liberty, and wasn't quite as popular. Oh well, sequels never are.

The 12 Nerves of Cranial

1:
On the first day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
One olfactory.

2:
On the second day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory.

3:
On the third day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

4:
On the fourth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

5:
On the fifth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

6:
On the sixth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

7:
On the seventh day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

8:
On the eighth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Vestibulocochl’r
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

9:
On the ninth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Glossopharyng’l
Vestibulocochl’r
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

10:
On the tenth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Vagus a-wandering
Glossopharyng’l
Vestibulocochl’r
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

11:
On the eleventh day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Accessory, who cares?
Vagus a-wandering
Glossopharyng’l
Vestibulocochl’r
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory

12:
On the twelfth day of classes
Doc Hoffman gave to me
Hypoglossal, tongue
Accessory, who cares?
Vagus a-wandering
Glossopharyng’l
Vestibulocochl’r
Facial nerve as motor!
Abducens abducing!
TRI-GEM-IN-AL!
Fourth, trochlear
Oculomotor
Optic, to see!
And one olfactory!!!!

Long Absence

Sorry about disappearing off the face of the blog-o-sphere.

The end of the semester rush caught me up. It's been crazy busy with end of semester exams and social activities... and, now, brought to you by people who seem to hate students: FINALS!

I have a final every day this week, except Friday:
Monday: 9 - 11 AM: Physiology
Tuesday: 8 - 10 AM: Immunology
Wednesday: 1 - 5 PM: Anatomy
Thursday: 8 AM - noon: Histology

Anatomy Terms

Sometimes the words we end up using in Anatomy bother me.

Some of them are not descriptive, which bugs me. For example, the accessory pancreatic duct in the dog is the primary route by which pancreatic secretions reach the jejunum. The pancreatic duct may not even be present. (That varies from dog to dog.)

Some of them are overly descriptive. For example, the perforating branch of metatarsal II. This would make sense if there were other branches that perforated the foot... but, there's only the one artery. Too much information!

Then, we just use some of the same words over and over and over. For example, there are 3 (!) zygomatic processes in the skull. The zygomatic process of the maxillary bone, the zygomatic process of the temporal bone (both of which join the zygomatic bone to form the zygomatic arch) and the zygomatic process of the frontal bone (which points off the frontal bone toward the zygomatic arch... which has a frontal process of the zygomatic bone.)

Anyway, I think the terminology is ridiculous sometimes!

Pathology Club Rounds

The pathology club that I'm in periodically does what they call "50x rounds" where clinicians present a case seen by the clinics.

Today, one of the cases was a 6 month old Doberman Pinscher show dog who presented this summer with a week long history of lethargy and an insanely high white blood cell count. It turns out he had leukemia.

The most interesting part of this was that dog was refered by the clinic I worked for this summer! I remember this dog! He came in for the appointment that got him referred to A&M while I was working! I think I may have even actually run his initial blood work myself!

What a small world!

Vet School Jokes #2

So, there is this structure in the abdomen that rhymes with Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius (the celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus.) Today during our study time, Caroline and I were singing the Mary Poppins song, but with mostly the real lyrics (except replacing the ganglion and plexus.) It was pretty hilarious... but, even better... Caroline and I have composed a better version!


Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus!
Found near major arteries and other things that vex us.
You’d better know just where its found
Cuz’ likely they will test us,
Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus!

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Looking in the abdomen
can make you very sad
The tangle of the vessel s and the nerves can get quite bad
But finding the aorta sure will help you stay on track
And if you find this structure you will surely get the knack!

Oh, Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus!
Found near major arteries and other things that vex us.
You’d better know just where its found
Cuz’ likely they will test us,
Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus!

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
So when you’re taking the exam
And you get all confused
Remember all the very weird mnemonics that you used.
Don’t breathe the formaldehyde and try to find the answer,
And don’t forget to wash your hands or else you might get cancer!

Celiacomesenteric ganglion and plexus!

Bobcat!

Today was pretty much the longest day of school ever. I was at school for more than 12 hours. This 12 hours included a histology exam (with a part at 8AM, a part of 3PM and a part at 4PM), an anatomy lab, and a 3 hour after school session about veterinary ethics. It was a long day.



Then, when we walked out to the parking lot, there were cars surrounded by caution tape... including, mine. In fact, mine was in the center of the caution tape zone.



Because... there was a bobcat in the car under mine. Yes, an honest-to-God bobcat.



After the wildlife people showed up, they ended up poking the bobcat with a syringe on a stick. After the first stick, the bobcat crawled under my car! THERE WAS A BOBCAT UNDER MY CAR! It was super cool!!!



Sadly, I didn't end up with any good pictures. I left my real camera at home and the situation was a little too much for the iPhone. But it was so cool!





You can't really see anything, but the 2 spots of light under my car with the shadow in the middle is the bobcat.

The cool thing about being a first year

Or at least, one of them.

Some background: This week, I took my parents' dog, Raz, in to the Teaching Hospital to get the mass on his face evaluated then removed.

It's really cool how excited everyone-- older students and clinicians-- is to talk the you, the first year. They like to ask about your classes (and reminisce about how awful anatomy and physiology are.) They like to tell you that it will get better. They like to tell you stories from their own time. They like to offer to let you help out during procedures and show you around. It's really nice to feel like they're all really excited that you're there and that they want to teach you and want you to do well!

Auction Barn

Well, food animal medicine is definitely out. I have full, 100% eliminated that from my possible career choices! (Not that I was ever seriously considering it. I really am down to lab animal medicine or small animal practice, essentially depending on how much I want to put myself through more school when I finish my DVM.)

Today, I went to the Auction Barn for Correlates class. It was... horrifying, and kind of scary. I mean, I know they're trying to find the best/safest/most humane way to quickly move a lot of animals... but... still.

We were sitting in the back watching the cow/bull auction. And, it was just painful to watch them shock the cow up for bid multiple times. I understand that the buyers need to be able to see all sides of the animal (to look for things like bad eyes/limbs/teats/whatever)... but, it's sad to see an animal run into the chute looking terrified then see it get shocked 4 or 5 times to keep it spinning.

Then, in the back, it was even worse! There was 1 guy that I really couldn't tell what he was shocking the cows for, except maybe for fun. They were trying to get them into the chute kind of single file, but he was paying attention to this set of them that were in the back (pointing the wrong direction) and he'd shock their butts. This does not make them turn around... it just makes them try harder to go straight... The thing about animals is they run AWAY from pain, not towards it.

It was just... really sad.

Vet School Jokes

You know you're a vet school nerd when...

... you make Histology jokes! And you laugh at them.


In class on Thursday we took the written part of our Histology exam at 8AM. As Caroline and I were walking back into class she was making sure she'd found "her" seat (which is one row forward and to the left from me.) When she sat down she said "Oh, good, my little lacuna!" (A lacuna is the little well that a bone cell sits in inside the bone) and my response was to stick out my arm and say "canaliculi!" (A canalicula is a channel between two lacunae allowing communication between the bone cells.)

We both laughed and laughed and laughed.


Canaliculi!

Anatomy Reaction

Well, I am continuing to react to Anatomy lab.

Monday I got through without any ill effects. I was super, super careful about not touching anything, though.

Today, I must have been more lax. Near the end of lab, I ended up with the right side of my face, my right ear, and a bit of my neck turning bright, bright red and itchy and a little bumpy/hive-y. I washed it off and used the anti-histamine cream again... but, it's just really embarassing and kind of scary.

I do not want to keep doing this. I need to find out what, exactly, I'm reacting to and if there's any way to avoid coming into contact with it. Because, you know, I have tons of spare time to be spending doing that!

Anatomy Exam, Round 2

I haven't been posting much lately because we just moved into the second round of exams. This time, we started with Anatomy, rather than ending with it.

I spent the whole week in pretty intense study mode. I think I learned it pretty well, or at least, did the best I could!

The exam went well enough! I don't look at the key posted afterwards, because honestly, it doesn't make much sense to just look at a list of terms disconnected from anything. I don't even remember what I answered for the questions by the time the key gets posted.


The most interesting part of the exam, though, was that I managed to get a skin reaction about halfway through the lab portion. I was sitting there at my questions (we rotate through stations every 70 seconds) scratching my neck like crazy. Eventually, Dr. Herman came over and asked me if I was ok. I told her that my neck REALLY itched and she looked at iy and said I was gettng some hives. She then brought me a damp paper towel and I rubbed it down, which helped a lot but didn't make it better. She then brought me some cortizone creme, which helped a lot. At least, it made it bearable to finish the exam! My head and neck still feel a little weird though!

I guess I am just really reactive to formaldehyde (which I already kind of knew, I just didn't know it was so extreme. It might just be getting worse as I'm exposed more.)

Funny/Interesting Things Professors Say #2

(I meant to do this weekly, but then I kept getting busy! Also, I will add more once I go home and have all my notes with me. I only carry a select set on any given day at school.)

Anatomy:
"We don't want those 50 skull bones moving around... We want joints of stability there!"
"Gomphosis... kind of a silly word, but a joint nonetheless."
"Do we need to know innervation? Absolutely not... yet."
"When I was in vet school, I was taught, and learned, and believed that somebody made these up. But they do exist! but, functionally, they don't exist."
"We can't use 'knee' in veterinary medicine because of those horse people."


Physiology:
Dr. Cudd
"If you bang your retina with a hammer, you would have a sensation of light."
"They're going to think you're a Turk if you don't."
"If you go out of here and only vaccinate poodles for the rest of your life, you'd be in your own personal hell. At least, I would be."
"I don't know how many of you watch Robot Wars.... yeah, it's a great show."
"Obviously, the [chicken] head is not required for flapping and running."
"We're going to be black and white in here, but it's a grey world out there, folks."
"It's what's going to take care of you if a bengal tiger walks in."
"The nervous system is kind of like a little old lady who drives with both feet."
"The rare horse can kind of flip out on you."
"If you dilated all your blood vessels maximally at once... you'd die."
"I was an exciting horse doc... now, I am a boring professor."
"We don't have to think 'I don't want to urinate right now' all the time."
"There are many reasons dogs could be having accidents in the house. Sometimes, they're 'on purposes.'"
"Most dogs don't drive."
"Skeletal muscle is greedy, liver is generous."
"When you graduate, 50% of you will be poodle punchers. 10% of you will have green arms..."
"They have "Vagaled" out. Their heart rate goes buhbuhbump... bump... .... ... clunk."
"Hopefully, if you're terrified you're running and not crying."
"The important thing about eyes is, you can screw them up."
"Human adaptation to light takes about 30 minutes... animals just aren't saying."
"Usually, that's an acute death."
"Know the classic drug for this? Cocaine."
"Animals are very uncomfortable with cornea problems whihc can lead to veterinarian discomfort."
"Ear infections. Do you know what they smell like? I'm pretty sure you'll find they smell like money."

Dr. Wasser:
"You know which edition you're getting because the number of dolphins on the cover increases. So, even if you can't read, you know which one you've got."
"Bald eagles... not really a good bird. They're fancy vultures."
"As you know from your experience with vision..."
"Owls are... dumb as bricks. They're massively stupid. It may be that they don't have so much brain because they have so much eyeball."
"I was out in the swamp at night... usually for biology reasons..."
"There's your mouse... or rat... it's kind of hard to tell. There's your rodent."
"This is about to be an ex-mouse."
"Your eyes would shrivel up, rendering them useless."
"I don't know why you'd want to have a poisonous fish on your space ship."
"I don't mean me.. I mean 'we'... science..."


Phys lab:
"Just think of the horse as a big, one toed dog."


Histology:
"I don't know if penguins have lymph nodes..."
"I don't eat any kind of viscera. But, Dr. Russel, he'll eat anything. He's British."


Immunology:
"We basically dealt with the enemy last week."
"We don't consider these professional phagocytes. They must be amateurs, I guess."
"A cell gets infected with a virus and gets stressed. You would too."
"Like many diagrams in immunology, there are a lot of boxes and arrows that go all over the place."
"Remember that part of organic chemistry? Oh, I feel sorry for you!"
"...T cells are a hell of a lot more complicated than that."
"They're the kind of cells that live fast and die young."
"Macrophages are sloppy eaters... they drool a little."
"... probably working with whooping cough. That was popular in those days."
"Steroids have a different context if you're an Olympic athlete, but these have different actions!"

Osteosarcoma

My cadaver in anatomy this week was euthanized probably relatively shortly before dying of cancer.

When we started to open the thoracic cavity today we found a little growth on the bone of the 7th or 8th right rib. As we opened the cavity further, we found another small growth and then an enormous (2-3 inches across, in a 40 or so pound dog) growth on his right 1st rib. We showed it to Dr. Hoffman, who was very impressed, and then told us that this was probably the dog with a tumor on his thoracic limb (it was!)

So, the poor little guy (who was probably only about 8 months old) had a primary tumor on his antebrachium (forearm) that metastisized to several locations in his thoracic cavity... and we think we can feel a tumor or two on his liver through the diaphragm. Too bad we aren't opening the abdominal cavity this week!

Exams

Today I finished the incredibly grueling first round of exams. Between 2 Mondays, I took Immunology, Histology, Anatomy and Physiology.

So far, I have three of those grades back (including the Physiology exam I took this morning.)

Immunology: 98%
Histology: 94%
Physiology: 92%

Basically, I'm doing really, really well and I feel really, really good about it!



And I'm not going to study tonight. I deserve a break after all that!

AAFP Panther Declaw

This Friday evening to Saturday evening I went to San Antonio with the American Association of Feline Practitioners to watch a panther declaw then do some practice visual-only medical exams at a wildlife sanctuary.

After a relatively long drive, we went out to dinner together as a group!


Saturday morning, we went to the clinic and posed for a photo-op before doing surgery!



We then weighed him, drew some blood, did a bunch of xrays then did 2 declaws to remove ingrown toenails that were causing him significant pain. This is a picture of me and the black leopard after his surgery.







Then we did some practice medical exams and got to see a lot of animals at the wildlife sanctuary. It was really interesting. Though, it got really hot, and because of some scheduling trouble, we ended up skipping lunch. So, by 3:45 I was hot, hungry, a little dizzy and totally ready to leave.

First round of exams!

Next week will be my first round of exams. All of them are "minor" exams (meaning they weigh less than "regular" exams, and may be shorter, but have the same level of difficulty as all future exams will have.)

I must admit to a fair bit of nervousness. Though, actually, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I did well on the Histology practice exam. I'm very comfortable with Immunology (thanks to Dr. Hillis at Baylor!) Anatomy I'm a little worried about, but I just need to keep going over and over and over the muscles and I'll be ok. Physiology doesn't actually happen til the 8th, and I have no idea what to expect from it.

Wish me luck!

Lab Animal Medicine

We had the first meeting of the Lab Animal Medicine club today. And I'm very excited about the prospect of working with lab animals!

There are so many different kinds of things you could end up doing in lab animal medicine-- from governing type work (writing Good Laboratory Practices, GLPs) to taking care of animals used in reasearch to doing your own research projects. Also, it's a field that is in desperate need of new recruits (meaning that there's lots of available positions!) and it's in the top 2 most highly paid veterinary positions (starting salary is somewhere around $100,000!)

The downside? A 2-3 year residency then taking boards. (However, the residency does defer your student loans and pay enough to live on...)

So, this seems like a really great possibility! Now I just need to figure out what it takes to be competetive for lab animal medicine residencies!



Also, next weekend I'm going to an Wildlife Orphanage in San Antonio to watch a panther declaw and tour their facilities with the AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners). I'm pretty excited!

Veinipuncture

Today we did a "blood and plasma" lab in physiology lab.

Our (remarkably patient) lab dog, Winkler, got blood drawn with a syringe in two veins (once each in the right cephalic and right saphenous veins... essentially, the major vein of the front leg and back leg.) And, we tried (about 5 times) to place a catheter.

I got to draw the cephalic vein blood... and, I hit the vein on my first try! I was very proud of myself. Actually drawing the blood was harder, though, because while I have the one handed motion down for a 3cc syringe, the 12cc syringe provides A LOT more tension. I ended up having to use 2 hands.

We never did get the catheter inserted properly. Poor Winkler was really patient with us, though!

Professionalism #1

One of the things they're really stressing to us is that we're "professionals" now and that means we have different standards of behavior than we did in undergrad.

One (of the many) things about professionalism that our professors are stressing is punctuality. We heard about it at orientation. It is written into every one of our syllabi. DO NOT BE LATE. Don't do it. (With one exception. Dr. Landis is willing to make a few minute allowances on the 8AM histology lecture for unforseen circumstances like car trouble or your cat threw up all over the floor and you had to clean it up before you left.)

Dr. Hoffman, the anatomy professor, takes punctuality so seriously that he says that if you are going to be late, do not come to class. Stay in the hall. Talk to him later and he'll catch you up. If you walk in the door late, the whole class will have to take a pop quiz.

Well, someone decided to test him today. And we had a pop quiz (luckily, it wasn't hard because we haven't learned much.) We were all glaring daggers at the girl who came in late. I'm still peeved about it.

Be professional! Or at least make sure that your problems and your bad planning don't negatively impact the rest of us!

Funny/Interesting Things Professors Say #1

Anatomy:
"Veterinarians are highly trained, well educated problem solvers."
"Even though it is a dead animal course, we're going to evaluate you on some live animal stuff!"
"I said 'do do,' I'm sorry."
"Some of us are lumpers, some of us are splitters. I'm a lumper."

Physiology:
"The day before you graduate is the smartest day of your life. The day after you graduate is the dumbest year of your life."
"If you're bored with physiology, then study anatomy..."
"Excerise. It's a really good idea. Sleep. You have to. Play. But not too hard or too often."
"Is it a gorilla glue bond?"

Physiology lab:
"So, if you have a 1% dirt solution, you have 1 g dirt per 100 mL solution."

Histology/Clinical Correlates/Professional Development:
Uhm. I didn't write anything down, so it would seem they haven't said anything that struck me at the time as particularly funny!

Anatomy Lab Couldn't Stay Injury Free Forever!

Dr. Hoffman was so impressed that we got through the first day with sharps without any accidents... but, apparently that was just to lull him into a false sense of security!

One of my classmates went to the hospital today. (Well, really, 2 did... one got hurt and one of his lab partners drove him to the hospital.)

Apparently, he was transecting a muscle and his hand slipped... and he gouged himself in the other hand. Dr. Hoffman said that he "has good tendon function" but he needed to go get sutures. It really freaked the poor kid out. He was fine going over to the sink, but he started throwing up when he actually looked at it. (I probably would too... it's very different when it's your own body.) Hopefully he'll be the only injury this year! (And, hopefully his hand is really ok! They're so delicate! You really don't want to go cutting stuff in your hands... you can do permanent damage really fast.)

What We DON'T Know

Quite frequently when I read science textbooks I'm struck by what an incredible volume of knowledge we have accumulated about a wide array of topics.

But, almost as frequently, I'm struck by how much we DON'T know. (And also by how much we think we know, but then find out we were wrong about.)

Right now I'm reading pretty general information about bones-- such as how to classify bones by shape (which is more touchy-feely than classifying them by location)-- and I come across this statement:

"The exact constitution of the crystal lattice is still under study, [...]"

And it is just incredible to me that we know so many things about the bones, and their structure and their function and their histology, but we're missing something so fundamental as the constitution of the crystal lattice.



(Also, apparently, if you soak a dog fibula in hydrochloric acid for a day, you can then tie it in a knot.)

Cadaver day!

Today was our first day in anatomy lab actually doing work with the cadavers.

It's really interesting, though, also kind of gross. I noticed at the end of the lab session that I had a glob of dog fat in my bangs. It was really quite unpleasant. But, I took it out with a paper towel and went on with my day! (And showered immediately upon arriving at home.)

I am slowly getting a handle on the osteology (bones), arthrology (joints) and musculature (muscles) of the thoracic limb (the front leg.)

My interesting factoid from today is that what we commonly refer to as "the arm" (you know, shoulder to finger tips) is not actually "the arm." The brachi, the region between your shoulder and your elbow, is scientifically defined as your "arm."

Oh, and another one... domestic animals don't have collar bones! Dogs and cats have a vestigial clavicle, but it isn't even ossified. Horses and cows don't have a clavicle at all.

Horse Doctoring in the Dark Ages

My physiology lab professor was in practice at Ohio State Univeristy a long, long time ago (he says.) It was far enough back that bags of sterile IV fluid didn't exist for horses. (I'm not exactly sure when those came about, but apparently a while ago.)

He was talking to us about calculating osmolarity of solutions because it was something they had to do frequently when mixing up batches of salt to pour into water to use for IV fluids. (You can't put pure water into veins or realllllly bad things happen.)

As he was talking, he said that after a while of his horse doctoring, he would get calls in the middle of the night at home about horses he had on fluids running fevers. His first response was always to change out the resevoir of IV fluids, because "sometimes there are varmints."



Oh, to be a horse doctor in the dark ages! I'm glad things are a little more advanced than that now!

Bone Box!

I keep getting some of the coolest tools... especially for anatomy.

I have a giant necropsy knife for large animal anatomy next semester (oooo, exciting!)

Then, today in lab, we were issued a bone box! And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a red toolbox full of small animal bones. I have a (broken) skull, a scapula, 2 mandibles, a full vertebral column, some ribs, a humerus, radius and ulna, a femur, tibia and fibula, a front paw and a back paw. It's really neat!

Do I Always Have to Go First?

The first day of classes went very well. My professors all seem very nice and very good. I'm sure that I'm going to be learning a lot!

Many of the classes are set up so that we're all doing pretty much the same thing at the same time... except for Physiology. There is a project (worth 6% of the total grade) where we are given an actual clinical case that we have to write up a differential diagnosis for. We then have to meet with a clinician to present and talk about our work, then write a (really short) paper about it before giving a presentation in class. There will be 5 cases throughout the semester, with 4 groups assigned to each. Each case will be assigned on a Friday and then presented to the class on the following Friday.

My case is going to be given to me on August 29. Yes, next Friday! I don't think we'll have learned enough by then to make a good diagnosis! I mean, I know he isn't expecting as much depth from us as the last groups of the year, but I think it would be more educational to get to do one of the later cases... Oh well, it will be nice to get it done early!


After coming to terms with that, I get home and read my e-mail... and I have an e-mail from our Clinical Correlates professor (to me and 8 other students, most of whom are in my faculty mentor group) saying that we get the (dubious) joy of starting Animal Husbandry rotations in Clinical Correlates TOMORROW! Yes, tomorrow. I will have to spend a week taking care of a horse. This includes feeding it before 8AM and again before 3PM. (Before 8AM isn't so hard, just get to school early... but before 3PM again could be hard... I have class solidly from 8AM-5PM...) I will also be learning all of the things you have to do to do a physical exam on a horse.

Well, at least I didn't get stuck with the ostrich!

Just beginning!

I decided to seperate out my general life blog from my blog about specifically vet school experiences. I wanted to be able to sort out the interesting and amusing ups and downs of vet school from other random ramblings about things like my pets, my friends and my message boards!

So, to kind of get this one started... Orientation was amazing. And really scary! It seems like they spent a lot of time trying to impress on us how hard everything is going to be, though the second years made sure to say over and over and over that they're just trying to scare us and it really won't be that bad! Here's to hoping!

Well, keep your eyes peeled! I'll let you know how vet school's treating me!

:)