Parasite Paranoia

<---Toxoplasma gondii in liver cells

So I learned this really cool fact in school today.  We were talking about a disease called toxoplasmosis (the reason pregnant women can't clean out litter boxes) and its mode of transmission.  Apparently, the parasite, toxoplasma gondii, only replicates in felines, so naturally it is to its advantage to obtain access to said cats.  It does this through rodent hosts by acting in the amygdala of the brain.  The amygdala is a major fear center, responsible for the innate rodent knowledge that cat smell=bad things.  Toxoplasma gondii comes in and mucks this region up so that not only are the infected vermin not afraid of cat scent, some are even attracted to it.  Resulting, obviously, in lots of satiated cats now the unwitting site of toxoplasma gondii replication.

Sometimes I wonder if the 'simple' organisms of the world aren't laughing to themselves at us higher mammals going unsuspectingly about our all-important business while they secretly control our brains.

Do Not Try This At Home, Even If You Are Demented Enough To Want To

Today was one of our first official opportunities to play with real live animals in vet school.  We spend a lot  of time with our cadaver dogs in anatomy and there is always the teaching hospital right next door, but for the first semester at least there is not a whole lot of people-animal interaction built into the curriculum.  So it was a great treat to get our bovine handling lab in this afternoon (and you know it's really neat when we are still excited about it, even though it takes up our Friday afternoon).

Admittedly, we were working with very kind and docile university-owned Holstein dairy cows.  This is a poor approximation of conditions in The Real World, but for those who've never been around cows it's a safe place to start and for we who are somewhat seasoned it's a really refreshing change (also, it was a reasonable time of day--I feel like I've spent all the rest of my cow time getting dragged across our dairy yard by angry milkers well before dawn).  We split into small groups and first practiced picking up a cow's feet and inspecting them, getting used to normal parameters.  Then we put on our cowboy hats and learned how to take down a calf: in case you ever need this information, you lean over the calf and grab onto the flank with one hand and the front leg closest to you with the other, then flip them out and drop them along your legs.  Before you do this you get your Tom Fool's knot ready to hobble the hind legs and tuck them up to the belly to tie behind their head.  Believe me, the calves just love it.  Mama cow vocally expressed her apprehension about these proceedings, but everyone emerged unscathed and only one student fell on their butt (for once, it wasn't me!).

Next we migrated over to our victim in the squeeze chute (this picture isn't our rig, but it's a good example).  Squeeze chutes are incredibly handy and time and injury saving, and they don't hurt the cows--but they do look impressive.  Our very tolerant patient was being harassed at both ends, as we haltered her and learned how to administer oral medications (big long pill-er, stuck your fist in the cow's mouth to hold it open, thrust in the medicine, bury your hand and discharge the bolus).  We even got to palpate her epiglottis.  Imagine sticking your hand past the elbow in a cow's mouth to tickle the back of her throat.  That was about it.  Also, they have giant razor-sharp molars.  As Ernie put it, "It's a leap of faith.  And, uh, don't spread your fingers if you wanna keep 'em."  Thanks, Ernie.  It was very cool and very slimy.  I have since disinfected my hands.

Back at the caudal regions of the cow, the shoulder sleeves came out.  Hurrah for the good old left arm warmer!  We donned our plastic shields and dove in for the rectal palpation.  The goal was to locate the cervix, the uterine bifurcation and the horns of the uterus.  I found the cervix and the bifurcation, but never could follow it up to the horns.  It is truly astounding how big the inside of a cow is.  Also warm.  And squeezy.  And...er...other things you can probably imagine without trying too hard.

Continuing the landmark day, we got our first Anatomy exams back today.  I was very pleased with mine (96%!) so that is a good start to the exam season.  I have my first histology exam on Monday so I suppose I should start reading those 50+ pages of notes now (Mom, you are going to spend a lot of time looking through microscopes with me this weekend!).  Fortunately, histology is not in any way difficult, it is simply intimidating through sheer volume.

Also!  (It has been a busy day) I started work at our Clinical Instructional Services department today.  I am the basest rookie there, so I was mainly folding hospital gowns today, but eventually I will be involved with the junior-year surgeries, treatment and care of our surgery animals, and it's interesting to know how surgery works from the other side.  Hopefully it will give me a good perspective on the life of a tech and I will remember to be very nice to mine someday in the future.  Vet school is a sea of overwhelming options and new experiences and it's hard to filter what you want, but I feel like it's off to a good start.  And now, my Mom should be here in an hour or two and I am still sitting on the small corner of my couch that's not overrun with laundry or homework detritus.  Off to get crackin' on the housework!

Toodles and love to all.  Especially Toby Zeigler who probably needs it most.  Chin up!

Muscles/Bones/Connective Tissue

Muscles of the distal forelimb:

-extensors attach laterally

-exceptions: ulnaris lateralis (flexs carpus) and pronator teres (pronates limb)

-flexors attach medially

-beginning cranially, moving clockwise looking down from above the dog

-extensor carpi radialis

-pronator teres

-flexor carpi radialis

-deep digital flexor (radial, humeral, ulnar heads)

-superficial digital flexor

-flexor carpi ulnaris (humeral and ulnar heads)

-ulnaris lateralis

-supinator

-lateral digital extensor

-adductor digiti I longus

-pronator quadratus

-common digital extensor

-extensor carpi radialis

Muscles of the distal pelvic limb:

-from cranial to caudal

-cranial tibial

-long digital extensor

-peroneus longus

-lateral digital extensor

-deep digital flexor

-superficial digital flexor

-gastrocnemius

Now let's check that.  Ah.  Should have specified; looking down from above at the LEFT LIMB of the dog.  The book shows a right limb and for a moment I had a total panic attack.  And on the hind limb: forgot about the popliteus.  But really, that is very proximal so who cares.

At this point I am simply ready to have this anatomy test over with.  I have dreams not about anatomy but certainly incorporating more than is normal or sane.  I'm pretty confident that I know enough not to fail and that is okay for now.  (Thank you again, pass/fail!)

PS, Does anyone have any clue how to make this image be wrapped by the text (which is where blogger says it is, but clearly it isn't) instead of ginormously in the beginning?

Exam Season

Cell Phys exam was last Friday, and I think that went well (I think that because I looked up the answers to almost all the questions on the exam in my past exam files--I love the test file, and it's even legal!).  This Friday is anatomy.  I am not so sure about that one....  I can point to all the muscles and tell you what they are but as to where they originate and insert and what they do, that is another story altogether!  Not to mention the bones, tendons, ligaments, fasciae, retinaculum, menisci, joints and radiographs.  Sometimes it feels like my head should be drooping from the weight of all the STUFF crammed into it.  I have about 100 flashcards of just simply muscle (ask Eli how much fun I was having with those).  Fortunately everyone else in my class is in the same boat and we all have funny ways of remembering things to trade back and forth.  I would list some here but they are mostly highly inappropriate (we're still immature college students, after all).  And as we all know I am never inappropriate and do not approve of that sort of thing.

Ahem.

One of the greatest things about being a vet/professional student is all the free stuff.  I suppose that after it's all said and done, it's $120,000 free stuff but hey, I'll take it.  There is almost always a lunch lecture with free subs or tacos and tonight is oncology rounds, and they provide pizza.  I guarantee you every student in this vet school will know more about oncology than any other service in the hospital by their fourth year if they keep this up.  Also, we're members of all kinds of organizations--Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) which gets us lots of discounts and sponsored travel to the SAVMA symposium, and memberships to the AVMA and that sort of thing.  The Graduate and Professional Student Association is great at getting you into things (sports, theater, climbing wall) for free or really really cheap.  They  had a ripping barbeque on Sunday with brisket and pulled pork and amazingly good cookies.  They're also good about allowing you to bring your significant others to these sorts of events and so almost every time Eli is here I haul him off to some free thing or the other.  So far no complaints.

Speaking of Eli, he was here this weekend and we got probably our last camping trip of the year in.  He's just gotten a big shiny new truck so naturally we went and found some gross dirt roads to bomb around on (this is a lie-he was not going to bomb anywhere in his swanky truck no matter how much I pleaded.  But we did mosey through some places that would have had my Volkswagen crying out in terror).  We ended up in the national forest in north central Idaho camping on a little dammed-up creek.  It was beautiful, but especially neat because the resulting pond was the local watering hole for all the range cattle in the area.  Eli and I had fun watching the cows wander around; Indy was less than amused.  She will not make a great cattle dog but she did get a chance to practice her Big Scary Guard Dog Voice.  She also collected every burr in the Idaho panhandle in her paws.  I'm still pulling them out.

PS Regarding my recent Embryology quiz: 102.5%

Vet School: 0

Kate: 1

GO TEAM!

Am Successful Entertainer (With a Lot of Help From My Friends)

My new vet-school friend had this great idea to have an ethnic food potluck, and so yesterday evening we did.  It was a good time, I think there were 11 people and we did Indian food.  This is because in Pullman they have never heard, culinarily speaking, of the Eastern Hemisphere.  So there was daal, and cucumber salad, and lentil salad, and naan, and chicken korma, and that classic Indian favorite, no-bake peanut butter balls.  My dog did not pee on anyone or anything, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and there was much discussion about instituting a tradition of different cuisines on a semi-regular basis.  I feel it was a success.  I have never had a party before, and I like this potluck thing where everyone else cooks and I just have to provide plates and utensils (perhaps I should wash those dishes, come to think of it).

I even started today out on a go-getter note.  Indy and I headed off to the Chipman trail to get a run in before it got hot this morning, and walked the 1/2 mile there, ran two miles, and walked (more slowly) back.  Without stopping!  We are so proud of us.  At first I thought it would be great because Indy would be tired after these runs but I think she is getting fitter and more energetic.  That was supposed to be my role, and instead I am tired.  (The whole point of this is that next time I see Uncle Dan, I will be the one running back and forth across the street, while he is the one stumbling down the sidewalk struggling to maintain consciousness.  So Dan, 5 more years sound good?)  However, did I mention I ran an eight minute mile the other day?  If I didn't, I ran an eight minute mile.  Thank you very much.

Tomorrow: 1 embryology "quiz" (I looked at last year's quiz; it is nine pages long.  This greatly exceeds my quiz threshold), 1 cell phys case study quiz (Quarter Horse presenting with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, an autosomal dominant C-G point mutation resulting in an amino acid substitution from Phenylaninine to Leucine in the protein coding for sodium ion channels in skeletal muscle).  Friday: cell phys exam (certain death).  Tonight: beer.  At Rico's, because I am now a classy graduate student and no longer slum it on campus.

Ahhh.  It's good to be back.

For Evan, or, I Didn't Know You Could Do Titles!

It is almost 10 pm and I returned from the anatomy lab approximately 15 minutes ago.  We had a 7 am lecture.  Vet school is an all-consuming endeavor.  But it is really fun, and hey, it beats a real job!  Jessica and I were becoming slightly hysterical in the lab and eventually had to call it a night after repeatedly confusing left and right, attempting to connect the scapula to the radius and ulna (completely bypassing the humerus, which we found humorous), and finally degenerating into singing improvisational muscle-and-bone-interaction songs.  It is about to be exam season (Cell Phys-next Friday, Gross Anatomy-two more Fridays) so I think this is the beginning of a beautiful all singing, all dancing comedic anatomist duo.

Other major highlight of the marathon day: Indiana's "Near Death Experience".  My dog is a capital sissy.  We were running along in the park (I have started a marathon training program hahaha) and suddenly she gave a huge lurch, yelped and began furiously shaking her left foreleg.  I sat her down to inspect the injury, whereupon she threw herself onto her back and began howling and yipping to beat the band, refusing to let me see the paw.

So I had to carry her home.

For those of you who do not know her, she is not small.  Actually, I was informed (for the low, low price of $59.95!) that she weighs 45 pounds now.  That may not sound like a lot until it is squirming and yipping in your ear for three blocks.  I decided that since she needed to go the vet anyway, and I needed some advice re: heartworms and food, it was a good reason to cause her further agony by stuffing her in the car (who have not seen this spectacle: it's nothing, forget I mentioned it).  So, long story not any longer, my dog...was stung by a bee.  Or poked by a very tiny stick.

This pain, I can tell you from experience, does not merit the Oscar-worthy reaction it elicited.  She was loud.  She was three-legged.  She was surely going to die, right this very instant.  I initially suspected a bee but as the drama dragged out I was afraid of something worse.  Nope.  Just one wimpy labradoofus.  Who's now completely over it.  Sleeping on my couch.

I think I will go join her.  Goodnight, all.  TTFN.

Kate

PS To Evan: I took my box of sugary goodness to school yesterday.  I don't think I made any fast friends but I sure was popular for about 30 seconds.  Seriously; there were fights.  I got wet.  You would have loved it.

HALLELUJAH, ONE AND ALL!  I have now got the internet!  After a 3 week deprivation it is so comforting to have my number one procrastination method back.

Not that I should be procrastinating.  Our first quiz is on Friday, and the hits keep on coming after that.  And I haven't even attempted any club meetings or rounds yet.  First year students are welcome in the hospital, and once every week each department has its rounds presentation at lunch time.  Tomorrow is Ag Animal, which is my favorite department so hopefully I will get to that.  It's amazing--I don't have class as many hours as I thought and yet there still doesn't seem to be enough time!  Anatomy lab is always fun (if smelly) four days a week, histology lab is sort of a cruise in at your own pace, cruise out whenever you're done affair, and some classes have a very erratic schedule leaving some much appreciated holes in my day.  I think Indiana likes them, anyway.

Pullman is a small world.  I live next to a veterinarian at the College, upstairs from a veterinarian at the College, and just down the street from at least 3 of my class mates.  It's fun to be back with my friends in the same town, and after 8 pm it's almost bearable to move.  Today I came home and went to sleep because it was too damn hot to do anything else.  My apartment is great, and we are really enjoying the deck (Indy practically lives there).  If I get bored (which I won't anymore, now I've got the internet!) I have 30 pages of DOD paperwork to turn my attention to.  References, anyone?

Until next time, cheerio.