84 faces. 183 parts of the canine forelimb skeletal system. 70 thoracic limb muscles. 29 nerves, arteries, and veins. 60 dog breeds. Erythrocytes and leuckocytes. Cell-mediated vs humeral immunity. Innate vs adaptive immunity. Dog restraint. Sheep restraint. Tyrosine kinase receptors… and the list goes on…
At what point does the human brain implode from an un-measurable influx of information? I’m now in the 5th week of school, and I cannot wrap my head around the expansive amount of information that I have been exposed to. I say exposed, not learned, (yet) because somehow the human brain (maybe just my brain) has that tendency to take in information and hide it from me. It’s going to take some time to properly sift through the date complied ever so neatly and secretly in my brain cells. My head does feel a little heavier lately…
For the most part, I love my classes. Especially the ones I understand. For others… [physio], it would be nice to have the option of having a capsule inserted near the base, or directly into, my brain. From there, the information could just infuse into the places they’re supposed to. (Or would my leukocytes attack the pathogens, causing a gigantic infection before I even learned anything…?)
Histology on the other hand, [knock on wood] has proved to be enjoyable and understandable. As much as I grumbled about taking Eukaryotic Cell Biology at MSU, I am SO thankful that I did. [Thanks to you Chrissy Brownlee, my understanding of Euk has somewhat stuck with me! I know you’re reading this!] Dr. Hullinger’s chalk drawings stimulate my visual learning side, everything is just ‘clicking.’
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| Sugar 2 y.o. |
Husbandry has proved to be a more relaxed class. At least 5 times a week, I get to ‘have my own dog.’ Groups of 4 share a lab dog, ours is the ever crazy, yet simply adorable Black Labrador, aptly named Sugar. Donated from a breeder, as are all the other dogs, she is not house broken, nor does she have social manners, but she is slowly learning. Sitting and going up and down stairs were extremely foreign to her. Luckily, she is peanut butter driven, and, I would say, highly intelligent. Sitting and stairs outside are now no problem. We’ll see if that holds true next time we try to get her down the slippery stairs of the veterinary school. For those of you interested, we do adopt our dogs out at the end of the year!
The one downside of constant studying and homework is lack of communication I have with the outside world. If you ask me about something that has happened in politics, government, weather, history, or entertainment, I can almost guarantee you that I know nothing. Maybe I should care a little more, pick up a newspaper every once in a while. So I didn’t know that the Sears Tower was no longer called that, or some hurricane had traumatized some state/country… In undergrad, for my Dad’s sake, I did make MSNBC my homepage so if something REALLY important came up, there was a greater chance of me recognizing it when talked about later. I also do not get a great amount of time to talk to people outside of my class. My parents and friends often think I’m dead, or dropped off the face of the Earth. Thank God for texting. I really do think of you people; I just don’t get to say it. Staying up with this blog has also proved difficult...
Overall, I think I love veterinary school. I would label it as ‘stressfully fun.’ Between the formaldehyde burning my eyes, the lab dogs slobbering me, and the beautiful smocks and overalls we are to wear during husbandry, I think I can manage the 8 hours of sitting in the same uncomfortable seats, with the same people EVERYDAY!
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| Apyrl and Me before Husbandry Class. |
