Thursday, October 14, 2010

Self Analysis

Hello!!! Welcome to my Anatomy Self Analysis!!!!!! =)
     It's incredible how fast the first quarter has passed by and I have learned so much regarding histology, tissues, homeostasis, the organization of the body, and much more. After sitting through slides and slides of notes, I think that it has really paid off when it comes to my understanding of all the various topics we have discussed. In the beginning I struggled to post blogs about the concepts I was understanding, however now I have become a PRO! I finally understand when and how to post my learning's in order to show you what a great teacher you are and what a great learner I am! The feedback that you provide us with is one attribute that I really do enjoy because it gives me a better understanding on what I should work on or fix. I've found that although I struggled with homeostasis a lot, I now have a good concept of what it is all about. I now am able to tell when something is showing a positive or negative feedback, and I can easily discuss how homeostasis works and some of the side-effects it causes, such as sweating and shivering.
Although I have become pretty familiar with many of the topics we have discussed, one thing I still struggle with are the different types of tissues. I have recently made flashcards regarding the different types of epithelial tissues. I hope to keep referring back to them in order to achieve a better understanding of them. Tissues compose much of the human body, and I can only imagine how many more times they will show up again throughout the year. So all I can really do is keep studying and working hard to memorize the majority of these tissues, and I plan to have a great understanding of just about everything I possible can, in order to earn that A that I have been striving for!

WISH MY LUCK!!! =)
 

"The Body Shop" A Review By Kandace!!!

Link
The article "The Body Shop," discusses the processes that scientists are now going through to grow or make replacement body parts for the human body. About 15 years ago Joseph Vacanti and Bob Langer created a new process of growing human tissues in a lab. With the contributions of Vacanti's brother and other researchers, throughout the country, they all hope to be able to make replacement organs for the many people in this world that need them.
     Skin is the largest organ in the human body, and it is no surprise that skin is the first "neo-organ" to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Many burn victims and patients with skin sores or ulcers have skin that it nearly dead and is unable to function properly to protect their body. That is where this new skin plays a major roll. This skin is able to aid both, burn victims and skin sores or ulcers. It is a hope among many that within the next couple of years, scientists will be able to produce, lab-grown cartilage and bone. Although we have the technology to do these experiments "neo-organs," are not the simplest things to grow or create.
     In order to grow tissues properly in a lab, scientist have had to literally mimic the physical environment in which cells grow naturally. Vacanti and Langer together created a scaffold on which cells can be planted or seeded. The scaffold they produced consists of biodegradable materials that are long stringy strands that attach together. The purpose of this scaffolding is to properly provide cells with a better access to waste removal and nutrients. Also these scaffoldings can be molded into many different shapes and sizes which can produce a custom grown tissue.
     Overall this was actually a very interesting subject to learn about, and I would have never thought that we would have the ability to grow human tissues in a lab. Let alone be engineering tissue that will ultimately help thousands of people throughout our world, whether it be a small or large impact this is truly an advancement in human technology!!!
    
     This picture took me by surprise because it just happens to be a real human ear growing on the back of a lab mouse. After reading this entry I was shocked on how the mouses body was able to handle the human tissue without its immune system failing to support it. However after reading further I found that this particular mouse was bred to lack an immune system so that throughout this process it would not reject the human tissue.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

HOMEOSTASIS

Have you ever wondered why when it's really hot outside your body sweats, or when its really cold you shiver?
     Well that's a form of homeostasis taking place in your body. The human body has various ways of keeping warm or cool depending on its outside world conditions. Homeostasis is the ability for the body to maintain a relatively stable condition to keep all organs functioning properly with the changing environment both internally and externally. Along with organs functioning properly blood levels of vital nutrients must be present as well. These allow the heart activity and blood pressure within the body to react efficiently in order for blood to be propelled to all body tissues. The way in which our bodies talk in this specific condition is essential for homeostasis to occur. The nervous and endocrine systems are the key contributors to this situation by sending electrical impulses by nerves or blood borne hormones. Along with this there are 3 components that in themselves help control the homeostatic control mechanisms. The first component is the receptor, which starts the path of homeostasis by sensing the conditions of the environment and responding to the changes, this is known as the stimuli. The stimuli helps by sending information to the second component of this chain, the control center. The control center determines the set point ( level or range a variable will be maintained), it then analyzes the input it receives and determines the response or course of action. Finally the last component to this homeostasis path is the effector. The effector provides the means for the control center's response to the stimulus. From there either negative or positive feedback is distributed depending on the results of the response to the stimuli from the homeostasis mechanism.