Owl Pellet Lab

What happened was my partner (Mary) and I unfolded the pellet for the aluminum casing and weighed it in grams. After finding the weight, we measured the length and width of the owl pellet. The, we deconstructed the pellet and took out all the bones that were stuck in it. We then took all of the bones and tried to put it back into the place of the original animal. After comparing each bone to the manual, we found that we had a vole. Based on our picture, it is very clear that the back leg (upper leg bone and lower leg bone) and shoulder blade match. 

The bones are similar in which humans and voles have a fibula part of the lower leg bone. Second of all, humans have a femur bone as well. Animas have a humerus on their upper leg and humans have it on their arm. The difference between voles and humans are that other animals can have 7 cheekbones while humans only have two. Voles have thick hair all over their bosies while humans only have fine thin hair all over their bodies. Humans also have more teeth and ribs than volesz

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was about our metabolism and and digestive system, basically how our body breaks down food and absorbs food. A main part of what we learned is that digestion breaks down the food we have consumed, and then afterward, all of the nutrition is taken in through the blood stream.

I believe that this unit was interesting because I never knew about what happened after I put something in my body. I found a lot of the topics more relatable to my daily life. However, there are some of the topics that I simply found boring, like the lymphatic system, but that is all based on personal preference. I tried to also study an hour every day for this class, but unfortunately, I was unable to due to being busy with other classes.

My favorite part of this unit was the digestive system lab. It was a fun and interactive lab that teaches you to appreciate your organs and to not underestimate them. http://michelleanatomyandphysio.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-digestive-system-lab.html

I want to learn more about what happens after we fully digest a food, when it has come out of the anus. After we flush everything down the toilet, where exactly does it go?

I believe that my New Year Goal requires a lot of time and cannot be accomplished overnight. I'm working hard every day, step by step, to reach my goals. Moving forward, I just have to continue working hard.

The Digestive System Lab

1. The organs of the digestive system are all measurable and it puts into perspective on how small or big certain organs are.

Digestive System	Color and Length (cm)
Mouth	red-27cm
Esophagus	green-48cm
Stomach	green-17cm
Small Intestine	white-660.4cm
Large Intestine	white-165.1cm
Total	917.5 cm

2. The length of my digestive system is around nine times my height. Even though my digestive system is so much longer than my height, it still fits into my body because the small intestine and large intestine are folded and proportionally placed, thus fitting into one body.

3. I think food takes around 5 hours to move through my entire digestive system.
I looked it up and it actually takes 6-8 hours for food to digest. I was 1-3 hours off.
The factors that influence the time it takes for our food to digest is how well the food we ate breaks down, how each organ is functioning, and how long food contracts through each specific digestive system.

4. Digestion (mouth, stomach) is what chemically and physically breaks down food. The nutrients released is absorbed (small intestine) into the bloodstream.

5. A question I have is if we someone didn't have a well-functioning digestive system, how will that be treated?

New Year's Goals

My two SMART goals for this semester are to be more organized and to manage my time better. I think these two goals go hand-in-hand so it will be a attainable and timely goal. I'll start by waking up at one set time every day, eating at a set time every day, and to make myself drink water throughout the day. Then I will eventually transition to my school work by organizing binders, folder, pencil case, etc. I also want to stick to a strict regime of keeping my room and closet neat, organized, and clean at all times. I have a tendency to mess everything up after a couple days I clean and organize it. As for managing my time, I'll make sure to finish all of my homework right after school and study 20 minutes of each subject per day so I don't feel so crammed during test days. If I try my hardest and stick to my plan, I believe that I will grow and become and even more mature and independent individual by the end of the semester.

Monday Wellness Reflection

Monday Wellness Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VQsAD1gyAjAnpoLChrEFwpLQpaIMFZn-IrRGGS7peG0/edit#slide=id.p

I just couldn’t sit still in a chair and focus. Naturally, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Becky, asked me if I had a learning disorder. From a young age, I felt very different from the other kids.

In school, I was usually the class clown. A performer as I would like to call it. I was the kid who could even make adults cry with laughter. I was that good. I even put up shows for my family to watch, and it replaced their favorite Friday night entertainment. Little did I know that I was the costume designer, director, stage designer, and actress for my own shows.

Later on, I explored a different kind of art: drawing and painting. My ever-evolving art career began at an after school where art was offered every Friday. Once a week wasn’t enough for me. Soon, my parents started looking for art studios to see how far my talent and interest would go.

Studio 1: a small box room. There was the contagious dust of charcoal smeared everywhere, from the tables, to the shelves, and all over the students. I still remember when my art teacher, the ruthless Mr. Fang, yelled at me for blowing charcoal at the other students.

Mr. Fang was rigid, militaristic. I sketched until my paper ripped. The "ripped paper moments" was when Fang allowed me to move on to a different shape.

The strict practice from Studio 1 taught me the value of art. It molded me into a technical artist.

Studio 2: a wonderland. I began crafting 3D works with Mr. Akamichi. As I cut and hot glued my pieces together, he told me to be free and organic. I went with it. Eventually, I realized I was creating art about me.

Art has gifted me a way to express myself. It has given me the maturity and control to do simple things like sit still in a chair and focus.

Throughout my Monday Wellness, I wanted to share with my peers an influential and beautiful part of my life that has changed me for the better. I knew that not everyone is able to have years of art practice, but I did realized that something that anyone can do is adult coloring.

I was excited to share my passion to the class so I started working on my presentation very early. I made sure to make everything organized, easy to understand, and teach students about this calming activity, while teaching them about what it does to your brain. The most interesting thing that I learned while collecting all of my information is how it calms your brain from Beta waves to Alpha waves. I also found it interesting how serious and popular adult coloring has become. I had no idea there was such thing as coloring parties or gatherings!

Throughout the course, I tried to relate the topic as much as possible to class lectures—5 pillars of health (sleep, stress, social), mindfulness, anatomy and physiology of the brain due to adult coloring, and more. This topic is essential to our mental health and wellness. In the end, a healthy mind leads to a healthy body. Since adult coloring has the ability to calm your brainwaves to the state of Alpha,  you can distress and this is what gives you a better night’s sleep. Also, the act of focusing and coloring can help clear your mind from negative thoughts for a more positive mentality. Since adult coloring is an anti-technology activity, it naturally makes you more engaged with other people, thus forcing you to be more social

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate myself a 9 because I felt passionate about my topic and thought I delivered everything in an academic and fun way. However, I did feel nervous and unnatural (due to my fear of public speaking), thus the -1 on grading myself on a scale of 1-10. Despite it all, I pulled through and I couldn’t be more happier with my job.

In all, I hope my presentation inspired people to go out and try out some art. The fact that I saw how art has changed me mentally, I know that others can be changed by this phenomenon as well.

Sheep Heart Lab

Q1: What is the purpose of the pericardium?

The purpose of the pericardium is to secret fluids to lubricate the heart and reduce friction. It is basically a double sac of serous membranes.

Q2: Observe the blood vessels connecting to the heart. How do arteries differ from veins in their structure?

The arteries differ from the veins in which the walls of the arteries are thicker than that of veins.

Q3: Place your finger inside the auricle. What function do you think the auricle serves?

The auricle is an extension of the atria.

Q4: Observe the external structures of the atria and ventricles. What differences do you observe?

The walls of the ventricles are thicker than the atria.

Q5: Describe the coronary sinus, inferior vena cava, Right Atrioventricular Valve (Tricuspid Valve)

The coronary sinus receives blood from the coronary veins and it empties out to the right atrium in the heart. The inferior vena cava is a large vein that transfers blood to the heart.

Q6: Draw a picture of the tricupsid valve, including chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle.

Q7: Why is the "anchoring" of the heart valves by the chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle important to heart function?

The "anchoring of the heart valves by the chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle are important to the heart's function because it opens to allow blood to flow from the atrium to the ventricles. If it weren't for this, the heart would not be functioning properly.

Q8: Using pictures and/or words describe what you see.

As what I have learned, I see the bicuspid valve in the middle of the right atrium and the right ventricle with two cusps around the chordate tendinae attached onto in.

Q9: What is the function of the semi-lunar valves?

The semi-lunar valves have flaps that blocks blood from flowing back to the heart.

Q10: Valvular heart disease is when one of more heart valves does not work properly. Improperly functioning heart valves can lead to regurgitation, which is the backflow of blood through a leaky valve. Ultimately this can lead to congestive heart failure, a condition that can be life threatening.

a. If the valve disease occurs on the right side of the heart, it results in swelling in the feet and ankles. Why might this happen? 

The right side of the heart fails where it cannot pump blood to the lungs as fast anymore. Therefore, the blood gets clogged that causes swelling in areas like the feet and ankles.

b. If the valve disease occurs on the left side of the heart, what complications would you expect to see?

Since the left side of the heart pumps more of the blood, it has to work even harder now to pump the same amount of blood as it use to.

Q11: Using pictures and/or words describe what you see.

I see the bicuspid valve that directs to the right ventricle. Then it leads up to the aortic semilunar valve. Then I see the anterior surface of the heart where the coronary arteries are located.

Q12:Describe how the left and right sides of the heart differ from each other.

The right side of the heart pumps blood to lungs to get oxygen while the left side of the heart receives the oxygen blood. It then pumps it to the body.

Q13: Draw and label all structures visible in the interior of the cross-section.

Unit 3 Reflection

This unit was all about the cardiovascular system. Not only did we learn about the heart, but we learned about everything else that is surrounding the heart (arteries, veins, etc.) Through this, we learn the anatomy of the circulatory system as well as the physiology. This gives us insight on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle to keep these parts of our body functioning in a healthy and normal fashion.
The cardiovascular system is a complex network in our body that uses a series of tubes (vessels, veins, arteries) to transfer nutrients and removes waste within a multicellular animal.
Cardiovascular health is what we do to avoid cardiovascular diseases. This calls for living a healthy lifestyle of exercise and clean eating. Heart attacks are often caused from atherosclerosis lack of exercise, overweight, vasoconstrictor, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, HBP, or high cholesterol. Although sometimes genetics play a huge roll on whether or not you get this disease, but usually, if one is doing everything for a healthy lifestyle, they should be able to not be affected by this.

(Was absent for heart chalk walk.)

My family has a history from getting strokes/heart attacks so I am very aware of a lot that we have learned this unit. My mom had a high cholesterol and changed her lifestyle by going on marathons, eating clean, and keeping a positive mentality. The doctors tell her that she is doing great and all she has to do is keep up her good habits. My mother is teaching me about a better lifestyle and I am slowly becoming more aware about how important it is to take care of yourself.

This unit, I was gone a lot because of a hectic schedule of traveling and getting sick. I was gone for a couple lectures. But thankfully, Mr. Orre posted the lectures online and it really helped. Although it was a struggle to keep up, I felt that I learned so much more about cardiovascular diseases than what I already knew. Heart attack is a topic I take personally just because my family has a long history of it. This unit has given me a way better understanding on why it happens. I really focused on the prevention aspect of it all. I wish I focused more on the other important topics we learned this unit for a more well-rounded learning experience. I feel that I have improved as a student this unit because I think I juggled my hectic schedule with anatomy and physiology, other school classes, and extracurriculars as best as I could. I worked very hard and although not everything came out perfectly, I'm just happy that I tried and worked really hard to accomplish my set goals.

I kind of achieved my goal from unit 2 by sleeping on the airplane or at home when I was sick. I knew not to push myself too far and I was more aware of my well-being. For the remainder of the semester, I just want to finish all of my classes strong and get all my college applications sent in for a relaxing break and second semester senior year.