Life in medical school

Hey, everyone! Sorry for my absence. Too much going on past few weeks. Now in the middle of prepping for a GI exam and realized how much I abandoned this blog! I have more interesting diseases/conditions to post, but lack of time is getting to me. For now, just thought I'd stop by and throw in a little medical school humor. I admit, the above sketches show what it's like in med school, at least most of the time...

What I learned in med school 6: Diving reflex

Baby holding breath under water

Man experiencing cold water shock

Hey guys! I learned something very interesting today called the diving reflex. Basically, exposure to cold water around your nose and facial region triggers apnea (cessation of breathing) and bradycardia (slow heart rate). This is a reflex meant to protect us from aspiration of water during the initial stages of drowning. During this time, most of the blood flow is diverted to the brain, heart, and lungs until we resume breathing again.
This phenomenon is what makes babies hold their breaths and open their eyes when they are submerged in water. These babies above look like they know what they're doing under water but I'm sorry to say that it's a natural protective reflex! But they still look cute either way. Ciao until next time.

Pictures courtesy of: enquetemaken.be and Reuters

What I learned in med school 5: One bronchus is more vertical

Up until today, I had thought that if I accidentally inhaled or chocked on a small pea or a loose tooth, it would go down my trachea and by chance, it would either end up lodged in my left or right bronchus- with 50-50 chance of its final destination.

Well I was wrong! It turns out, as the left and right bronchi branch into the lungs from the trachea, one is more vertical than the other, and therefore would be the more likely one to receive these unwanted objects... would you like to guess which one?

Hope you had the right answer - The right bronchus descends more vertically and the left bronchus has a more horizontal structure- which means, if you inhale something by accident, it would go down your trachea and have a much greater chance of going straight down into the right bronchi rather than taking that horizontal turn to the left! Gravity is on it's side on its way to the right.

picture courtesy of: healthhype.com

What I learned in med school 4: A pink flower can save your life

This flower is called digitalis. It's pretty, colorful, looks feminine, and it may save your life if you have heart failure and various other heart conditions. This pretty little thing is used to prepare a drug called digoxin. This medication increases the calcium concentration inside your heart cells (myocytes). Increasing the calcium in your myocytes leads to a greater force of contraction. This can be beneficial in situations where the heart can not produce enough force to pump blood to the rest of your body. And we all know the dangers of not getting enough blood supply to our body, which is also known as ischemia - it leads to tissue death. This can be life threatening.

So my conclusion, for a hurting or failing heart, in reality or figuratively speaking, pink flowers can literally and metaphorically make things feel better.

Picture courtesy of landscapia.info

What I learned in med school 3: Split brain syndrome

In split brain syndrome, a callosotomy is performed. In the previous post, I discussed the corpus callosum and how it is the bridge between our two hemispheres. This is a great thing because our two brains can communicate and work together. But in patients with epilepsy, it could be a bad thing because it facilitates the spread of the seizures from one hemisphere to the other. The callosotomy, which is a last resort procedure, interrupts or reduces these spreads of brain activity and therefore, the symptoms of the seizures.

Even though split brain patients are able to lead normal lives, the side effects of this procedure are very interesting because you essentially have two brains not talking to each other or partially ignoring each other. Sometimes, patients speak out loud what they want to communicate to the other side of the brain. Patients are unable to use just the right eye and read something because the speech center is located in the left hemisphere. These are just a couple of examples but each patient is unique and may manifest different side effects.

Picture courtesy of psych.ndsu.nodak.edu

What I learned in med school 2: Our two brain hemispheres

So I touched on this topic a little on the previous post but I thought I'd expand on it. Our two lovely brain hemispheres are like twins with completely different personalities - this is commonly known as lateralization of brain function. Much research has been done to localize certain behaviors or actions in our brains so I'm not making this up, I promise.

So before I start distinguishing between the two hemis, I want to introduce you to the corpus callosum. It is basically a collection of axons which connect the two different sides of the brain. That's why we can function smoothly and in coordination - because the two sides are in constant communication with each other. If the corpus callosum is dissected, people will have what is called "split-brain" syndrome (I'll post on that next time).

So your left side/hemisphere is the mathematician, statistician, lawyer, linguist, etc. It deals with reasoning, logic, critical thinking, and numbers. Furthermore, it houses Broca's and Wernicke's areas which are our language centers. Wernicke's area is where we interpret and understand what people are saying to us, what we are reading etc. Basically any language input has to go through the wernicke's area for us to understand it. On the other hand, Broca's area is our motor or output center for language. Our language production, whether it be in the form of speech, writing, sign language etc is processed by the Broca's area.

The right side of your Brain is the musician, the artist, the chef, the photographer etc. It houses our imaginative, creative, and expressive side. Colors, images, recognizing faces, intuition, etc are governed by the right side of the brain. I like thinking of our right hemisphere as our wild side because your interpretation of the abstract world or understanding of art can not be defined by formulas or equations.

So there you have it folks. I hope this post was not too long. Believe me, this is as brief as I could be! But I'll leave you with one question: Which one of your hemispheres is dominant?

Picture courtesy of Mercedes

What I learned in med school 1: We breath one nostril at a time

So guess what guys? We breath one nostril at a time. Take a minute now to close one nostril and breath through the other and vice-versa. You will notice how one side is much more open than the other. So our body incredibly has a 3-4 hour cycle of switching between the two nostrils. Our tissues on either side will swell up periodically and allow the other side to be the main breather.

It is really interesting because research has shown that depending on which side you are breathing, your brain activity differs as well. Breathing through the right nostril will make the left side of the brain more active. The left side of the brains is the more logical, analytic, calculative, reasoning side. And breathing through the left nostril will make the right side of your brain more active. The right side of your brain is the more creative and imaginative side.

So I learned this a couple of weeks ago and found it so interesting and wanted to share.

And it's kind of crazy because I've also found about about people who purposely block one nostril depending on what side of the brain they want to get more active. I wouldn't recommend that. I think our body knows when to use what side and it will probably facilitate the use of either side when you need it. Well, at least I hope it does.

Ciao till later!

Picture courtesy of yogitobye.com

M.I.A

So.... I disappeared off the face of this earth once I started school. It was a tide that swept me away. I really didn't expect medical school to be this difficult. Well, difficult may not be an adequate term but the amount of information we are required to absorb in such a short time is impossible. To truly grasp a context or understand the true meaning of something takes some time and hard work. But the field we are in does not allow us that "luxury." It is very rigorous and tiring.

Don't get me wrong. I am absolutely grateful to be given this opportunity and to be pursuing my life long dream. And in the moments I feel overwhelmed and absolutely exhausted with a pile of work still left, I remind myself of why I chose medicine in the first place.

Anyway, I've been thinking of how I can keep up with this blog. I really want to post regularly with fresh and informative information and something about my life here. So I will try to incorporate my education to these posts.

While in school, there have been some diseases and conditions that have really shocked me or that I found so interesting. Or even functions of our body that we are not aware of. So from now on, I will be posting a series of information titled: What I learned in medical school. I hope whoever is reading out there will find this info helpful!