So I took my Ruminant Production test today. A lot of tricky questions were there. It was a relatively short test, but I’m afraid of those tests, because things always seem a little too easy. That’s when you start being a little arrogant in the head, meaning that you might miss the one word that changes everything. I know I missed some questions, but I hope I did alright in the end.
I have an upcoming Pathology lecture and lab exam this Friday. We had the day off this past Monday, which was supposed to be the day we were to have our last Pathology lab, so we’ll be making it up tomorrow morning for an hour and a half. Our lab classes usually last for 3 hours, but I feel like we’re getting a little shafted because we won’t be able to get the same amount of time in the lab as the other classes, just because of the random holiday. I was hoping that the exams this Friday would be moved due to the cancellation of class this past Monday, but it wasn’t. So in essence, we have an hour and a half tomorrow to go over all of the slides we need to know for the test the next day. Let’s hope we can utilize that time efficiently tomorrow.
I’ve been going over some of the material for Pathology (which right now is focusing on types of tumors and viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens) and there are a couple of things I found interesting. So since I need a break from all of this studying before my mind becomes mush, let’s see if I can list some of those things. Most of the following will be about neoplasms (tumors) so let’s list a couple…
- A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue in which the growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of normal tissues and will continue to do so even if the stimulus which caused the initial change has been removed. They can be named by their tissue of origin: Mesenchymal, Epithelial or Mixed
- Teratomas are a different kind of neoplasm in which there are several germ layers present. This includes the testes and also ovaries derived from pluripotent cells.
- The cytologic features of neoplasms are polymorphism, hyperchromasia, increased nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio and increased mitotic figures.
- Proto-oncogenes are genes those that maintain normal cell-division and differentiation. When there are problems with these genes or if the genes that regulate them are not expressed, they can cause abnormal gene products which fail to respond to the normal feedback mechanism which usually halts cell reproduction at a point.
- Things that can induce neoplasia are genetic mutations, radiation, viruses, parasites, chronic tumors and possibly heredity.
- Neoplasia is not inherited, but individuals may have hereditary factors that either inhibit or encourage growth of tumors.
There is a lot more than this, but these things were the most interesting things I could find in the material I’ve covered so far. So hopefully I’ve enlightened you all a bit. =)
Alright, back to the books!
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