Sheep Heart Dissection Video

Heart Dissection Lab

     1. The purpose of the pericardium is to protect the heart.
     2. Arteries take blood away from the heart and veins bring blood to the heart. Valves have thinner walls and have one-way valves to prevent backflow.
     3. The auricle inflates when blood pumps into the heart and increases the volume of the atrium.
     4. There is more fat at the top of the heart near the atrium. The ventricles have thicker walls than the atria walls.
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     7. The chordate tendinae and the papillary muscles are important to heart function because they
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     9. The semi-lunar valves prevent blood from the atrium from entering the heart again.
    10. Valve disease on the right side of the heart results in swelling in the feet and ankles because the blood returns to that area of the body. Since the tricuspid valves stops working, blood would go back through the inferior vena cava and back to the lower part of the body.
          b) If valve disease occured on the left side of the heart, it would mess up the blood flow between the lungs and the left atrium. This would interrupt the flow of oxygenated blood to the rest of the heart.
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     12. The left side of the heart deals with oxygenated blood and the right side deals with deoxygenated blood.

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Unit 3 Reflection

      Unit 3 was about the cardiovascular system and cardiovascular health. The cardiovascular system transports materials like oxygen and glucose to cells and removes waste materials from cells. It is made up of the heart, or pump, a network of tubes, and blood. Cardiovascular health is preventing heart diseases and strokes. Heart attacks are occur when blood supply to the myocardium is reduced or completely stopped. This results in damage to heart cells. A stroke occurs when an artery which supplies the brain becomes blocked. Both strokes and heart attacks can be caused by atherosclerosis, chronic inflammation in blood vessels. To prevent atherosclerosis or any cardiovascular disease, one should control blood pressure, cholesterol,  and weight. One should eat healthfully, exercise, and manage stress as well. I would want to learn more about the treatments of heart attacks and stroke. I still have questions about the ways each treatment is different and how doctors decide which treatment they would use for their patients.

        I enjoyed this unit and it was because of the labs. For example, doing the sheep heart dissection really put everything into perspective. It was so different from the diagrams and models we had looked at in class. Having to find the parts of the heart from memory and from definitions was challenging but I learned a lot from it. Towards the end of the unit, however, I started to slack off on reviewing my lecture notes. I think this set me back a bit because I didn't remember that material very well and a few days before the test I was trying to cram all that information into my head. For the rest of the semester I will make sure I fully understand the material to be able to apply it to real life situations.

Monday Wellness: Snacking

     The healthy snack we just made had apples, peanut butter, and almonds. They all had vitamins that are essential for our well being.  I liked that we got to make our own snack. Now I have an idea of what kinds of snacks I should make instead of eating something like chips. You should snack 2 to 3 hours before lunch and dinner and eat foods with less than 200 calories. You should stay away from snacks with empty calories.

Monday Wellness: Music

     Alyssa and I chose to do music for our Monday Wellness presentation because it is a topic that we both have a great interest in. Music has always been a big part of my life and I had heard about the health benefits of listening to music. I listen to music as I do homework and I wanted to know if that had a positive or negative affect on how I was doing my work. I wondered if the lyrics or beat affected how I worked as well. I thought this project would be perfect for looking into the validity of these health benefits. I knew listening and making music made me happy but I never really knew why or how. While researching I learned that listening to music increases the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is known as the “feels good” neurotransmitter which controls the flow of information from other parts of the brain to the frontal lobes. Having a deficiency of dopamine can cause problems with memory, attention span, and problem solving. This also explains why music helps motivate people when they workout. The beat of the music can also affect how efficiently exercisers are using their oxygen. Another interesting thing I learned while preparing for this presentation was that music was used to help surgery patients with their pain. Some patients required less morphine, showing that music can be more powerful than a drug. This topic is important for health and wellness because of the way music affects the five pillars of health. Many studies have shown that music can relieve stress and anxiety by reducing heart rate and cortisol levels. Chronically elevated cortisol levels can create insulin resistance and elevate leptin levels. Managing stress is very important to our overall well-being. It is really hard to get out of the exhaustion phase of stress which can cause many health problems like headaches, impaired memory, and sleep disturbances. Music can help prevent anyone from reaching this phase of stress, keeping them healthy and happy. Music, in my opinion, plays a role in the health triangle as well. For example, music can help us cope with stress which applies to the mental side of the triangle. It motivates us and helps us function better, applying to the physical side of the triangle. It affects the social side of the health triangle as well. I have made tons of friends simply because we had the same music taste. It has brought me closer to the friends I have already too. Overall, I believe music is beneficial for our well-being. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself a 7 for a grade. I think we could have included more information on music that related back to the health unit; however, I thought our activities kept the class involved. I think they learned more from the activities rather than the actual presentation because they were actually participating. I thought it was interesting that even though everyone in the class had differing music tastes, we could all agree that music made us happier.

     Our presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GWQCxRh2lqS35KoIcmU-1ubmw8O0KsoS43_y_-aCimQ/edit#slide=id.p

Measuring Blood Pressure Lab Analysis

     The systole is the first heart sound produced as the atrioventricular valves close and the semilunar valves open. Systolic blood pressure is the number on the gauge when the first heart sound is produced. The diastole is at the end of systole as the semilunar valves close and the atrioventricular valves open. The diastolic blood pressure is the exact point when the sounds stop. The index and middle fingers or stethoscope can be used to measure heart rate. The stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, or blood pressure cuff, can be used to measure blood pressure. Using the thumb to measure pulse is not ideal because it also has a pulse and can cause confusion while counting.
    First, make sure the blood pressure cuff is completely deflated. Put the cuff on the arm, above the elbow, of the person whose blood pressure is being measured. The head of the stethoscope should be under the edge of the cuff. After making sure the valve on the pump is closed, start pumping until the gauge reaches 150 mmHg. Then open the valve of the pump so the air goes out slowly. Watch the needle on the gauge and listen for a heart sound. The time when you hear the first heart the systolic blood pressure. The last heart sound you hear is the diastolic blood pressure.

Unit 2 Reflection

     Health is a combination of mental, physical, and social well-being. In order to maintain good health, one must have a balance in the five pillars of health: exercise, nutrition, social, sleep, and stress management. I think I am a pretty healthy person; however, I could work on my sleep and stress pillars. Most of SHS has the same problem: we're all sleep deprived and stressed out. In order to promote greater health and wellness on campus, there should be more communication between teachers and students. Knowing that teachers care about the well-being of students can make a big difference.
     A big theme of this unit is working on each pillar of health. From this unit, I learned about the six nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, lipids, nutrients, minerals, and water. I learned how the phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative pathways help the body meet its energy needs. I also learned about the affects of sleep deprivation and how it messes up the body's circadian rhythm. I still don't fully understand how the stages of stress transition from alarm phase to resistance phase to exhaustion phase. For the next unit, I will try to get the more out of the labs we do in class.

Nutrition Analysis

     From monitoring my diet over three days, I learned that I do not have a very balanced diet. In order to improve my diet, I need to eat more vegetables and grains. I could also eat a bit more dairy. From the Falcon Market, I learned how to calculate macromolecule percentages. Each meal that my lab partners and I looked at this station had unbalanced amounts of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. But, by combining the meals together, there was a balance of all three macromolecules. At the seasonal produce guide station, I learned that buying produce that is in season is less expensive, more nutritious, and there are lots of variety. I eat most of the produce that was listed on the paper at the station. Although, I did see some vegetables, like kohlrabi and quince, that I have never tried before. At one of the last stations, I learned how to shop for produce when I go grocery shopping. Because of the Falcon Market, I know the best way to improve my diet. I could start by buying more vegetables that are in season like broccoli and brussel sprouts. To increase my grain intake, I could eat foods like quinoa, amaranth, and millet. I could also drink a cup of milk everyday to make sure I get enough dairy.
      If I had the opportunity to coach someone on their health, I would tell them to eat enough grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and protein foods everyday. I would also tell them to try to exercise for an hour. I would also tell them to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep and to manage their time well so they don't get too stressed out.

Three Days of Diet Monitoring:

Day 2

Day 1

Day 3

 

The 5 Pillars of Health Collage

Unit 1 Reflection

     This unit was about anatomical terms, macromolecules, the parts of a cell, and histology. One of the main themes of this unit was the relation between the structure and function of different body parts. Another was knowing the characteristics, functions, and locations of the tissues. To improve in the next unit, I plan to study my notes more and come in to tutorial to make sure I have the best understanding of the material we're learning.

     From this unit I learned how to describe where things on the body are in anatomical terms from the Hana the Banana Lab. I learned about the different organ systems and their functions. The way that each organ is structured plays a big part in the function of that organ. I also leaned about the four macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. I know what each of their monomers are and their main functions. I learned about the different parts of the cell, like the nucleus and mitochondria, and where they are in the cell. Cells work together to form functional units called tissues which I also learned out. There four different tissue types: skeletal, epithelial, nervous, and muscle. I looked at samples of all these tissue types during the Tissue Lab and that helped me get a better understanding of what each tissue looked like and how that related to it's function.

Histology Lab Relate and Review

     From this lab, I learned what epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous tissues look like. Most of the epithelial tissues that I looked at had cells closely packed together in layers. This would explain why one of epithelial tissue's main function is protection. I doubt a lot of material would be able to get through that many layers. Each connective tissue sample I looked at was very different from the others. One of the connective tissues that I looked at had lots of layers and parallel tissue, which must have been the dense regular connective tissue. Another had many different shaped cells that were very spread out. Most of the muscle tissues looked the same. The fibers were straight and flat. I could also see the intercalated discs in the cardiac muscle sample. The nervous tissue sample that I looked at had so many cells packed together. It was a peripheral nerve and in it, I could see the nerve fibers and axons.

                   

All About Skeletal Muscle Cells

The Skeletal Muscle Cell

     Skeletal muscle cells are the cells found in about 40% of the body. Skeletal muscle cells help with the movement of all the muscles in the body. The muscles give the body its shape and maintains posture. They also stabilize joints. Skeletal muscle cells form from smaller cells. This is what makes the muscles striated. Proteins, actin and myosin, in the cells make these stripes called myofibrils that can be seen under a microscope. There are hundreds of these cylindrical structures in each muscle fiber. Myofibrils give muscles the strength to move. Myofibrils are divided into sections called sarcomeres. Z discs, which look like dark stripes, mark the ends of these sarcomeres.

     Skeletal muscle cells are covered by the sarcolemma, a plasma membrane, that help with muscle contraction. Cytoplasm is found in all cells, however the cytoplasm in skeletal muscle cells is called sarcoplasm. The sarcoplasm contains lots of mitochondria, which produces ATP. ATP, or adenosine triphospate, is necessary for muscle contraction. ATP also moves around chromosomes and substances around the cell. It is essential that the many mitochondria in each cell produce a lot of ATP or the muscle cells would not be able to function. Sarcoplasmic reticulum, membrane enclosed tubules like the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, store calcium ions, which is necessary for muscle contraction as well. Transverse tubules look like tunnels and they pass through the muscle fiber. Myoglobin, which is also found in the sarcoplasm, stores oxygen and gives muscles its red/pink pigment.

Works Cited:

    "Muscles- Skeletal, Smooth, and Cardiac." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

    "Structure of a Muscle Cell." (Muscle Fibre). N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.           

    "Muscle Cell Types." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Sweetness Lab Reflection

     In this lab, we tasted different carbohydrates to test their sweetness. We found that the monosaccharides, like fructose and sucrose, were a lot sweeter than the polysaccharides were. Fructose is used as a sweetner and sucrose is found in fruit which explains why they were the sweetest carbohydrates out of the eight that we tried. Some of the disaccharides, like galactose and maltose, were slightly sweet but not as sweet as glucose or fructose. The monosaccharides were granular, while the disaccharides and the polysaccharides were powdery. Lactose is found in milk, which is not very sweet. The starch was very bland and not sweet at all. 

    Humans taste sweetness through the taste buds on their tongue. The taste buds send messages to the brain telling us whether what we are tasting is sweet or not. According to Popular Science, people who have lots of papillae on their tongues may find some flavors overwhelming. The taste buds on our tongue detect different molecules. The strength of this ability varies in different people because of evolution. The ancestors of someone who is more sensitive to bitter tastes probably would have developed different receptors depend on the plants they ate at that time.