Wednesday was rather brief, as we only had one lecture and a lab. The lecture covered basic concepts of drugs affecting the Central Nervous System, as well concepts of drug dependance. In the lab, we looked at dozens of slides of the brain stem and spinal cord. This was a bitch, as we have to be able to identify precisely what level of brainstem or spinal cord we are looking at just from its general appearance. We also have to be able to identify indistinct "nuclei" and "tracts" which are basically faint light or dark spots in the slide section. We have to be able to figure out how these areas correlate with the various sensory and motor pathways we will be learning in coming weeks, as well as the effects of lesioning said pathways.
Yesterday we went over vascular disorders of the brain (strokes, aneurysms, hemorrhages, etc.), followed by 3 lectures on local anesthesia, migraine therapy, and the sensory pathways of pain and temperature for the body and posterior 1/3 of the head. In the afternoon, we had an incredibly tedious and poorly organized lecture on genetic diseases of the CNS. Not fun.
Today, we had an introductory lecture to neurology, which mainly consists of diagnosing diseases of the nervous system based on the presenting symptoms. This was followed by a lab where we examined blood supply and cerebrospinal fluid circulation in the brain. In the afternoon we went over protein folding diseases involving prions (ie Mad Cow Disease), followed by the pathways that transmit all sensation from the anterior 2/3s of the head.
Now that the first week is over, it is time to pack and head to Dallas, where I will spend the night at Steve's place before starting the road trip to Dallas. No laptop = no updates until my return.
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