Weekend/Quiz2

This past weekend was really nice.  I was in West Bend, Iowa for a friend's proving and baptism.  The only negative part of it was that I had to study on the ride out and the ride back.  Studying in the car like that really puts a damper on the trip but it was well worth it, I had a really nice time.  This morning we had our second quiz of the quarter.  I was feeling decent going through it until I came to the histology part.  The histo questions were quite difficult.  I would not be surprised if the quiz grade becomes my lowest grade so far, but we will see.  Everyone I talked to agreed that it was very difficult, some believe (including myself) that it was the toughest quiz/exam we've had so far.  Then, to top it off, we had an hour of liver drug metabolism and an hour of non-drug ways to modify animal behavior.  What an exciting morning!  This is our last week of class.  Next week we have our lab exam, palpation exam, and final exam and that will be the end of this quarter.  I will be glad to put another quarter behind me!  

Random Facts

Here are a couple interesting facts that I learned in school:
1. Horses do not vomit
2. Cows produce between 100-200 liters (yes, liters) of saliva a day! 

Had my long day today, just got done studying the lectures, it takes awhile!  Will be heading to Eureka tomorrow night after I finish studying and then off to West Bend Saturday morning.  I am looking forward to the trip although I will be studying on the way out and on the way back. 

2-22

This week has, yet again, been cruising on by.  I have been really pushing to keep up on studying, although the two toughest days are tomorrow and Friday.  I have to say that it didn't give me any encouragement when I opened up the neurobiology powerpoint for tomorrow's 11-12 lecture and it was entitled: "Psychopharmacology: Chemical Neurotransmission"  Just the title sounds intense, I wonder what the lecture will be like!  Also, today our anatomy professor put up a couple tables of different arteries with names like cranial and caudal pancreaticoduodenal arteries which branch off the gastroduodenal artery and the cranial mesenteric artery and supply certain parts of the abdomen, and said "you have to know these" and "this is the part that [stinks] about vet school, you have to memorize stuff."  Thanks, Dr. Allender for your encouragement!  Tomorow morning is going to be a looooong morning with three straight hours of gastrointestinal physiology followed by the previously mentioned neurobiology lecture.  Well, I suppose I should hit the hay so I can attempt to stay awake during my exhilirating morning! 

Grades and Such

I received my new quiz 1 grade, my lab exam grade, and my midterm day 1 (100 multiple choice grade) and I did fine for which I am glad. 

Yesterday I was in Bloomington for church with my roommate Josh and then went to my great aunts visitation in Goodfield.  I enjoyed meeting new people and then seeing some of my family at the visitation. 

Today we started gastrointestinal physiology so that was super exciting (or maybe not so much!).  In anatomy lab we started working on the horse abdomen.  My group of four (Group #2) actually went and worked with live horses first while the other group of four (Group #1) worked on removing the gut from our horse.  When we swapped, my group opened the bag that was labeled "Group 1 and 2 GI Tract" and all we found were lungs.  However, we eventually figured out that they had hid the gut and thought they were pretty funny!  When we opened up the stomach there were tons of botfly larvae (cuterebras) present which is not uncommon in horses that are not given antiparasitics (drugs to prevent parasites from visiting).  We removed them all and saved them, however some of them were put to use for various extracurricular purposes. Let's just say that group number one is going to have a pleasant surprise when they open up their dog carcass next to continue working on its abdomen!!!!  That's what they get ;)

I will be working hard to keep up with my studying this week as I have a quiz Monday morning at 8AM but will be in West Bend this weekend for baptisms. 

Valentines Baby-Sitting

So tonight, some of us from the U of I young group watched some kids so the parents could have the evening to spend time together around Valentine's Day.  It was fun, I always enjoy an opportunity to get to know the kids a little better.  Here are just a few pictures I took as my camera battery died down:

Elliott and Owen playing "Pop the Pig":

Four Square

We had pizza, chips, and soda for dinner

 These two photos are specifically for Jayme.  Here is proof that your gift to me has been used!

Week 5

Five weeks of school have already passed this semester, where in the world does the time go?!  I have not received any grades from my midterm exam or lab exam so I'm patiently (sort of) waiting.  The week was relatively uneventful which is good.  In comparative anatomy this past Thursday we dissected pigeons and also an emu.  There was an emu in the refrigerator in the anatomy lab and since we were doing bird dissections we got to dissect it.  It was pretty neat seeing all the normal bird structures but a few times bigger.  We are doing the abdomen in our regular anatomy lab and most groups are already falling behind, including us.  There is just too much to do in the time they give us.  Oh well, thats just how it goes!  We have finally finished respiratory physiology in physiology which I am glad for.  Now, starting Monday, we will be doing gastrointestinal physiology.  Tomorrow my roommate and I are going to Bloomington for church and then heading to Goodfield for my great-aunt's visitation.  Then it will be back to Champaign to study some more, yippee!   

A Whoops! Story

Today, a professor was giving us a short lecture on breathing problems in newborn foals.  Near the beginning of the lecture she told us this little story:
She had been lecturing to a class and during the required ten minute break between lectures, she decided to use the restroom before beginning to lecture again.  When she walked back into the classroom the class laughed and said, "We know where you were!"  Here, she had forgotten to take the microphone off before she went to the bathroom.  It was still turned on and attached to her shirt.  Whoops!

Midterm Exam and Parent Appreciation

Well, yet another post with no pictures, oh well!  I just finished my midterm exam today.  I had the multiple choice Friday and the written today and I think it went fine. 

This past weekend was Parent Appreciation weekend for the U of I young group.  Saturday evening we had dinner, a singing, and then dessert and a slideshow of pictures from our activities from throughout the year.  It was really nice and helped to get my mind off the stresses of school and my midterm exam.  My uncle came from Eureka to be my "father" for the evening since my parents weren't able to make it.  He then stayed overnight and went to Champaign church on Sunday with me. 

I am relaxing tonight although I do have a little bit of studying to do.  This week shouldn't be too bad (hopefully) but then I will be buckling down for the final three weeks of the quarter.  It's hard to imagine that three weeks from now it will be back to studying like crazy to prepare for our final exam, our lab exam on the abdomen and our palpation exam.  Just when the stress levels drop a little, something else comes in to jack 'em back up.  Oh well, welcome to vet school I suppose!

Exam/Quiz Questions

I have deleted my old posts containing exam and quiz questions and will no longer be posting any of the questions on my blog.  The school is very picky about their exams and it can be tough to get the okay to have old exams to study for.  The school is also very stingy about what can go online and what can't and I believe that if they had found my blog with the questions on it, I may have gotten a stern talking to.  Figured I would just let you know, not that it is really that big of a loss!

Lab Exam

Today was our midterm lab exam.  The first part of my exam had thirty multiple choice exams regarding histology slides from cardiovascular and respiratory systems.  The second part was ten short answer questions regarding x-rays of the thorax (chest) and spine.  Finally, I had forty short-answer identification questions based on neck, back, and thorax of dog, cat, horse, and cow and then a few random questions on the pig.  I think I did alright, I will see when I get my grade!  Now, I will study tonight and all day tomorrow to get ready for the midterm exam.  The multiple choice portion is Friday, and the written part is Monday.  This midterm exam will have anatomy, physiology, histology, a little bit of neurobiology and some pharmacology on it.  Talk about a lot of studying!  Once Monday afternoon hits, my stress level will drop significantly!

Week 4

Well, week 4 of this quarter has already started, I cannot believe it!  This is a stressful week as we have our lab exam on the neck, back and chest of the dog, horse, and cow this Wednesday and then have the multiple choice part of our midterm on Friday.  I have spent about 9-10 hours in the anatomy lab between Friday and today and will be in there tomorrow as well!  Yippee!!  There is a literal sense of urgency in the lab these days as there seems to be a lot more information to know for this lab exam compared to the two last quarter.  We have to know the muscles, arteries, veins, and nerves of the neck, back, and chest/thoracic cavity of the dog, horse, and cow, and also have to know the bones of the vertebral column and their bony prominences, the ribs, the pig's lymph centers, the oddities of the fetal pig's blood circulation, the ligaments of the attachment of the head to the vertebral column, and the internal and external parts of the heart.  Talk about a ton of memorization! 

On a more relaxing note, yesterday I was in Eureka and went out to dinner for my uncle's birthday.  I was able to see my grandparents who I hadn't seen in awhile and got to spend some quality time with some of my family.  It was a nice break from schoolwork before this week! 

Gutter Sundaes

Last night after church, the young group was invited to a house to have a "gutter sundae."  I had never heard of that before so I had no idea what to expect.  What it ended up being was a gutter, yes a literal gutter, filled with ice cream and then toppings.  There were plenty of spoons for all and we went to town.  It was pretty neat, I thought it was a cool idea.  I do not have any pictures from it but I did find a picture online.  Here is the link if you want to see what a gutter sundae looks like:

Gutter Sundae