"The Women With a Hole in Her Brain"

I found this article extremely interesting. It is absolutely amazing that this woman was able to go about so much of her life normally when her entire cerebellum was missing. Despite the lack of the cerebellum, her brain was still able to fill that spot with cerebrospinal fluid in order to protect the brain against disease and act as a sort of cushion. There has never been a report of someone living through their adult life because people with the lack of a cerebellum die young and this missing part is only discovered in the autopsy. Since the cerebellum controls motor functions and the ability to speak, it is amazing that how even without it, this woman was still able to learn how to walk and talk. That just goes to show how adaptable the brain is.

Without the pons, the person would not be able to control their facial muscles, look from side to side, hear, and much more. Without all of those things, a person could still survive. However, sections of the lower pons help to control and stimulate the intensity of breathing while sections of the upper pons decrease depth and frequency of breaths. A person would not be able to survive without their pons. If there was damage to the pons, the person may find an effect on their sleeping patterns and habits as the pons has control of the sleep cycle.

Unit 5 Reflection

The first thing that we learned about in this unit was the digestive system. The digestive system all begins in the mouth, where the food you chew forms a bolus. The bolus then moves to the pharynx, which is the passageway from the mouth to the esophagus. When the bolus reaches the esophagus, peristalsis moves the food into the stomach. Once the food has entered the stomach, the food is "mashed up" and covered with digestive enzymes. When the food leaves the stomach, it is then called chyme. From the stomach, chyme travels to the small intestine where absorption of the nutrients and digestion takes place. Your pancreas is located in the small intestine and is imperative for digestion as it produces many of the digestive enzymes, such as lactase which works to digest lactose. The small intestine is also lined with microvilli in order to increase absorption. The food is then moved to the large intestine, which extends from the ileocecal valve all the way to the anus. In the large intestine, the indigestible food is dried out and water is absorbed. Your large intestine also secretes large amounts of mucous in order to lubricate the sides of the intestine. During this unit, youwe did a lab that measured the length of our digestive tract. It is amazing to think that your digestive tract stretched out could be taller than you. Digestive System Lab

The next thing that we discussed was all about metabolism. We learned that there are three states. The first is the fed state. In the fed state, the sugars are absorbed by the intestine and travel directly to the liver while the pancreas releases insulin. In addition, the majority of glucose taken in by the liver is converted to glycogen. Next is the fasting state. In the fasting state, all glucose is used by cells so the body must continue to make glucose available in order to maintain blood glucose levels. During this state, your insulin levels drop while glucagon levels rise. Gluconeogenesis also occurs and the liver synthesizes glucose from amino acids and glycerol. Your liver then converts fatty acids in ketone bodies. Ketone bodies happen when carbs are low and fatty acids need to be broken down for energy. The next state is the starvation state. During the starvation state, your muscles rely solely on adipose tissue for fuel. The brain also switches ketone bodies for fuel in order to conserve protein. How long you survive during this state is dependent on how much fat you have stored. We then talked about organ specialization and how the liver is the "master of the metabolism". The liver's main job is to maintain proper blood glucose levels. We then discussed the major hormones, insulin, glucagon, cortisol, noradrenaline/adrenaline. Insulin will signal high glucose levels while glucagon will signal low glucose level. In conclusion, metabolism essentially depends upon your genetic makeup, the enzymes you produce, hormones, and if you have a good nutritional balance and live a healthy life. In the article "Does Your Metabolism Need an Overhaul" I learned that building muscle is an essential part of maintaining a healthy metabolism as well as preventing diabetes. I found that article very interesting and it definitely got me to do much more than cardio when I am working out.

The next thing we spoke about was diabetes, as it is a disruption in your fuel metabolism. An important hormone when talking about diabetes is insulin. Insulin is the "key" that "unlocks" cells allowing glucose to enter. When a person is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, that means that your body is experiencing an auto-immune disorder. In this case, your body does not make insulin all and you are considered "insulin-dependent". For type 1 diabetes, you must take insulin shots daily. Type 2 diabetes is more common than type 1 as is occurs mostly in adults. Type 2 diabetes is a resistance to insulin as the body does not respond to insulin properly. In order to manage diabetes, people must try to keep their blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. In addition, a proper diet and exercise are essential.

Next, we talked all about the Endocrine System. The endocrine system controls the processes involved in movement and physiological equilibrium and hormones are critical for this. One important hormone are steroid hormones. Steroid hormones pass through the cell membrane and then bind to specific receptors. They then enter the nucleus and bind to the cells DNA which then activates certain genes. From there, mRNA is synthesized in the nucleus and enters the cytoplasm and promotes protein synthesis for things such as tissue growth and repair and regulation of enzyme function. Homeostasis is maintained in the endocrine system by negative feedback, secretion of a specific hormone is turned on or off by a specific physiological change.

The last thing that we talked about was the lymphatic system. The major functions of the lymphatic system are immunity, lipid absorption, and fluid recovery. Lymph is the fluid that flows within the lymphatic vessels. Lymphatic tissue is specialized connective tissue that contains lymphocytes. Lymph capillaries are located everywhere in the body, except bone marrow, cornea, and the cartilage. Another major part of the lymphatic system in lymph nodes which help to filter lymph by trapping foreign substances and then are destroyed by immune cells.

Since I came up with my new year goals, I believe that I have been following them pretty well. Now that we are into February, I want to continue the momentum that I have going. A lot of times, as the year goes on I tend to lose motivation so I hope to continue the motivation that I have right now. 

The Digestive System Lab

1. In this lab, we used different colored yarn and measured some of the parts that make up our digestive system. It was very interesting to be able to see a visual of just how long our digestive tract is. When looking at how long all of the yarn and string was together, it was so amazing to think that that's about how long all of our digestive tracts would be. Through reading the instructions while doing the lab, I reinforced what I learned from the lecture with the function of each part of the digestive system being explained. It was a very fun and interesting lab to do.

2. I am 5 feet and 7 inches and in meters, I am 1.7018. When I did the calculations to find out how long my digestive tract was in meters, I found out it was 9.04 meters. My digestive tract would clearly be much taller than me. The abdomen appears very small and so I believe that the digestive system is able to fit inside of it because it is very compacted. Although your small intestine is very long, about 16 feet in length, it is able to fit into the abdomen because it tightly compacted.

3. I believe that it would take about an hour to two hours for food to move through your entire digestive system. After looking up how long it takes, most sources showed that it takes about 30-40 hours (WOW I was off). One factor that I believe would have a great impact on digestion time is what kind of food that you have consumed. If it a fibrous and nutritious food, then I imagine that it would take less time for the food to be digested. However, if you have consumed a junk food such as chips or candy, I believe that it would not be as easy to digest.

4. Digestion is when the food is being broken down, while absorption is when the nutrients are absorbed from the food you have eaten. Most chemical digestion and absorption occur in the small intestine. Your liver helps to produce bile for large fats while the pancreas produces enzymes. These enzymes are critical in digestive, as they help to break the food down. Each enzyme has a different part that is trying to break down. For example, the enzymes peptidase is used to break down proteins in the digestive system.

5. I would like to gather more of an understanding of how absorption works in the digestive system. I have learned that it occurs mostly in the small intestine but I would like to know more of the specific organs involved and how the process works specifically. I would also like to know more factors that affect digestion time and specific foods that are harder to digest than others.

New Years Goals

1. I will improve my general health. I will do this by working to eat healthier and more well-balanced meals, making sure to minimize my intake of sweets and other junk food. In addition, I will also work to improve my general health by making sure I get an adequate amount of sleep. These have always been goals I have tried to work towards, but due to the stress of college applications and a hectic Senior year schedule, I find myself often neglecting these things. For the rest of the school year, I will make it my priority to improve my eating habits as well as get a sufficient amount of sleep each night. I will strive to do maintain this lifestyle through the rest of the school year but ideally, make it something I do for the rest of my life.

2. As I finish out my last semester of high school (YAY), I will continue to give my best effort at school, on my homework, and in preparation for tests. I will do this by being an active participant in class, making sure I get my homework completed in a timely manner, and prepare properly and give myself enough time to study for my tests. As many may tend to slack off in the last semester, I will strive to still put forth my all.

Wellness Day Reflection

I chose the topic of yoga because it has always been something I have been interested in. My freshman year I started doing yoga and I absolutely loved it. At first I started out doing Vinyasa or flow yoga. I found that it was a great way for me to stretch and increase my flexibility. When I did yoga in the mornings, I found that it really helped to wake me up and energize me for the day. Eventually, I started to hot yoga. I found this to be a bit more challenging due to the heated environment and quicker pace, but I really enjoyed the workout I got from it. In addition from the physical benefits that I received from yoga, it also helped me to destress and relax. Yoga is a very fun way to exercise while relaxing and clearing your mind at the same time, that is why I thought it would be the perfect for my Wellness Day.
While preparing for this presentation I discovered all the fun different types of yoga that there are. I had always known about aerial and even tried it a couple times myself. Another type of yoga that I discovered while doing research for this project was acro yoga. This is a combination of acrobatics and yoga. In order to do any of these poses a partner is needed, and a very strong one at that. Another funny type of yoga is called doga, or yoga with your dog. This has helped people to create harmony and form a greater connection with their dog.
Yoga is very important topic for health and wellness because it has so many benefits, both physical and mental. Some of it's physical benefits are increase inflexibility as well as balance. In addition, it also helps to strengthen your muscles and promotes blood flow through all the movement that is done in a yoga class. Some mental benefits include mindfulness through meditation and your breath-work. Another mental benefit is relaxation responses that are shown to help relieve stress and even reduce symptoms of depression.
On a scale of 1-10, I would rate our presentation a 9. I believe that we had a good balance between lecturing and educating the class on our topic while also demonstrating different yoga poses and walking the class through a basic yoga sequence. I also believe that we were able to keep the class engaged and interested throughout our presentation. I hope that the class was able to take away something from our presentation.
Another thing about this topic that interests me is pilates. There are many type of pilates such as traditional pilates, that include the use of a special apparatus, mat pilates, that includes the exercises being done on a yoga mat, and hot mat pilates, where the exercises are done in heated room of about 104-105 degrees. Pilates incorporates many aspects of yoga, such as poses like downward dog and the importance of flexibility. I have always liked pilates because while it has some aspects of yoga in it, I find that it provides me with a more intense workout than yoga gives. I do also find that I receive a lot of same mental benefits that I receive from yoga, such as relaxation and mindfulness.

Unit 4 Reflection

In this unit, we learned all about the Integumentary system and it's basic functions. The main function of this system is to protect the body from mechanical, chemical, thermal, and bacterial damage. When I think of protection for our body, the first thing I think about is the skin. The skin is composed of three layers, the first being the epidermis. The epidermis is what everyone can see since it is the part of the skin that contains melanin, a pigment for color. However, underneath the epidermis the dermis. Made up of dense connective tissue, collagen, and elastic fibers, the dermis is what provides the skin with it's toughness. Finally, there is the hypodermis, which is the deepest layer. The hypodermis is not actually a part of the skin; however, it is an anchor of the skin to underlying organs. Although the skin might be the first physical barrier we think of for protection of our body there are many more. Others include ceruminous, which is essentially the wax found in your ears. Along with the tiny hairs found in your ears, this helps to trap foreign particles and prevents unwanted bacterial from entering the body. Another source of protection is your nails. Formed from keratin, your nails help to perform everyday tasks such as grasping and manipulation small objects but they also serves as a form of protection to keep unwanted bacteria and other foreign particles away. Similar to ceruminous, mucus membranes create linings on body cavities that are open to the exterior in order to help trap and filter invaders.
Another system of defense that our body has is chemical defense. One method of chemical defense includes sebum. Sebum is an oil that is secreted by the skin to form a protective layer. Similarly, we have sweat, or perspiration. Secreted by the sweat glands, this helps us to flush microbes from the skin's surface.
The next form of non-specific protection is through anti-microbial substances, like natural killer cells. These are white blood cells that have the ability to kill viruses infected body cells or even cancer. There are also anti-microbial processes such as inflammation. Inflammation is triggered by stress due to tissue damage. This can help to prevent the spread of pathogens and promote the repair of damaged tissue. There are three stages of inflammation, vasodilation and increased permeability of blood vessels, phagocytes migrate, and then repair. Another anti-microbial process we learned about are fevers, which inhibit microbial growth and help to stimulate the production of white blood cells.
There is also specific resistance, which is effective against a single pathogen. There is cell-mediated immunity where invaders are attacked directly by the cells and are T cell driven, and then there is antibody-mediated immunity, where invaders are destroyed by antibodies and are B cell driven. T cells help by directly attacking the infected cell and some can be memory T cells that store the memory of invading antigens for years.
The last thing we learned about was cancer. Cancer can have two types of tumors, malignant and benign. Benign tumors are noncancerous and cannot spread throughout the body, while malignant tumors are cancerous and can be very dangerous and can spread throughout the body. Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body and is the most advanced and worrisome stage of the progression of cancer. Some treatments of cancer include surgery, radiation, internal radiation, and chemotherapy. In order to prevent cancer, one should avoid tobacco, limit their sun exposure and most importantly know their family history.
In this unit, I learned a lot about what happens when we get sick or when our defense system needs to go into action. I was very surprised to see how many of the everyday processes we go through help us to keep pathogens out of our body. Something as simple as sweat can help us from getting sick or an infection.
From the debates, I learned a lot about some very interesting topics. From the Nature Deficit Debate, I learned the importance of going outside and some of the amazing benefits it has, such as helping veterans with PTSD. From my debate on the organ market, I learned about the pros and cons of being able to sell your organs and how it may help but also hurt us. I found the debates very interesting and I thought it was a good way to be engaged and learn something new.












I have always considered myself to be a visual learner, and after taking the VARK questionnaire, I learned I was correct. These results were exactly what I would have expected. To play into my learning style in preparation for the test, I will study by drawing out diagrams and other visuals so I can see the material in a visually appealing way. My results from the questionnaire are below.
Visual 12
Aural 1
Read/Write 5
Kinesthetic 9

Heart Dissection Lab

1. The pericardium is a lubricated sac that surrounds the heart. The purpose of the pericardium is to protect the heart.
2. In their structure, arteries are thicker than veins and ridged inside.
3. The auricles are basically an extension of the atrium and allow the heart to pump more blood. They provide an extra space and fills up like a balloon with blood.
4. Between atria and ventricles, the ventricles appear to be darker in color on the outside. While the atria appears to have more surrounding fat and have the attached auricle that appear a brown color.
5. The exit of the coronary sinus is seen on the posterior side of the heart, but was unfortunately blocked my fat. The inferior vena cava would be inferior and posterior to the apex of the heart but was already cut off.
6.

 In this photo you can see the chordae tendinae, which look like long, white fibers and the papillary muscle which is inferior and appears like a lump of muscle. 

7. The heart valves being anchored by the chordae tendinae and papillary muscles is important because it prevents the valves from caving and keeps the blood from back flow. 

8.

When looking at the bicuspid valve, you can see the long white chordae tendinae as well as the papillary muscle which is inferior from the chordae tendinae. 

9. The function of the semilunar valve is to prevent the back flow of blood. 

10. a) Valve disease on the right side of the heart may result in the the swelling of the feet and ankles because the blood is being pushed out of the heart and you might be experiencing blood pooling in other parts of the body, which explain the swelling. 

b) If you experience a valve disease on the left side of the heart you would expect to see a lack of oxygen in your blood, making things such as exercise more difficult. 

11. The chordae tendindeae of the bicuspid valve resemble long, white fibers. They are attached to the posterior surface of the valve. On one side the chordae tendinae are attached to the bicuspid valve, and on the other, they are attached to the papillary muscle. 

12. The left side of the heart receives the oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins and then helps to pump throughout the body. The right side of the heart receives the deoxygenated blood from the body and then returns the blood to the lungs through the pulmonary artery. 

13.

Interior cross-section of the heart.