Steve Rogers did what?

I would first off like to say that Chris Evans is body goals. This man is not only the definition of a handsome, but I mean c'mon, look at those chiseled abs, defined chest, and V-shaped body. Others probably have this dream of obtaining this body as well, however some people will turn to performance enhancing supplements in order to achieve this goal. On such P.E. that can help in doing so is androstenedione. This steroid can be injected into the body and is naturally found in the adrenal glands, testies and ovaries. This steroid is suggested to increase muscle mass and blood cell mass, as well as allow endurance athletes to work harder and longer by reducing catabolic effects of heavy training. Personally I might be tempted to take these supplements to achieve that ^ sexy body up there. What prevents me from taking them though is the fact that I don't want to mess with my bodies chemistry..... is it worth it..... that is the question that I ask my self everyday. "My minds telling me no, but my body, my body is telling me yes!" 

The Value Held in Stretching

"This triggers the stretch reflex (also called the myotatic reflex) which attempts to resist the change in muscle length by causing the stretched muscle to contract" 

I chose this quote because I had previously not fully considered the tension that occurs within the muscles. After reading over the sentence I grasped the concept that the contraction of muscle is a mechanism to prevent over exertion. 

"Hence when you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere, and then the connective tissue takes up the remaining slack. When this occurs, it helps to realign any disorganized fibers in the direction of the tension. This realignment is what helps to rehabilitate scarred tissue back to health."

I chose this quote as I had previously never thought about connective tissues role in muscle tension before. Apparently it takes a major role that I would have otherwise have missed.

"lasts for only a moment and is in response to the initial sudden increase in muscle length. The reason that the stretch reflex has two components is because there are actually two kinds of intrafusal muscle fibers"

I chose this quote because it really made me think about what really happened on a microscopic level. It helped bring the realization that there are more than just one type of muscle fiber and each type specializes in different functions. So not only are the muscle fibers different, anatomically, from what I had previously conceived, but is their physiology.

R&R

In this reading we learned the anatomical and physiological effects of stretching. Although the reading dives into the specific details about the fibers and their names, the reading didn't mention the long term effects of over stretching. The reading remarks that, "Only consummate professional athletes and dancers at the top of their sport (or art) are believed to actually possess this level of muscular control". What I was wondering was what specifically makes it so that these athletes are superior in their sport, for instance, would a swimmer be genetically superior in regards to flexibility than a gymnast. I was also wondering how exactly stretching could negatively impact performance. I was also wondering the effects of a warm down. We already know that by doing a warm down, our lymphatic system cleans the body, but what about the fibers in the muscle? 

Unit 6 Reflection

During this unit we learn about the bones and the processes they undergo to maintain structural integrity as well as the anatomical features of the bone. Bones are made of many parts, namely, osteons (the portion of the bones that house the osteo, -cytes, -blasts, and -clasts. Osteons also contain the blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels of the bones. This conglomeration of various vessels, canals, and cells is called the Haversian system), spongy bone, compact bone, nutrient arteries and the periosteum. There is a lot of detail that could go into the function and classification of the bones, however these are some of the more notable anatomical features. The spongy bone for instance, comes in two forms, red and yellow. Yellow contains fat and red contains blood cells. Compact bone is composed of osteons and collagen as well as several different minerals. The minerals is what gives bone its hardness and the collagen is what gives them an elastic element.

The way they keep this integrity is through constant degradation and regeneration of bones through specialized cells.These cells are known as the osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts are the cells that regenerate the bone cells that were destroyed by the osteoclasts. These cells not only maintain bone strength but also help in repairing breaks in the bones. They do this through connecting the separate pieces and then evening out the curves. Not only did we learn about the bones but the joints of bones and how they work. Labs that we did include the Owl Pellet Dissection Lab (previously blogged about) in which we dissected an Owl pellet and identified key structures.

Through the lab we were challenged on our knowledge of common structures as well as general locations of these structures. As we attempted to create a basic skeletal formation of the bones of the pellets, we were also being tested on our ability to acknowledge common joints.

These joints could come in many forms, for instance, the bones of the ribs and the sternum are connected by cartilaginous synarthroses joints. These joints are virtually immovable and are joined by cartilage. We also learned the effects of the knee cap which was really cool. Ultimately I have no further questions. I would just like to say I loved doing these labs.

Owl Pellet Disection

In this lab we worked with owl pellets and dissected them to discover the animals the owl had eaten. The purpose of the lab was to identify what type of animal our owl had eaten, weather it be a rodent or bird. To unearth the bones we had to use tweezers and a prod and slowly chip away at the vomit… gross. Once we classify as a rodent or bird, we were told to use our bone identity sheet in which we would identify key features of the bones. After identifying the key bones, we then put together as much of a skeleton as possible. For us we did not have a skull to confirm our speculations, so we had to base them off of the pelvis we found.

Claim: The animal that the owl had eaten was a shrew.

Evidence:

^ Femur joins to the target bone and the target bones parallelism of structures and the way they seem to fit together

^ bones laying flat depicts similarities. Joint location on bone above loops.

Reasoning:

We can conclude that the animal consumed by the owl was a shrew as the pelvis bones resemble that of the classification table. The bones are long and skinny, similar to that of a shrew. Another defining characteristic of the bone is the location of the loops. In the shrew the loops are very large and are composed of very little bone in comparison to the other rodents pelvis. Another defining characteristic is the # of loops found in the pelvis. The shrew only has 2 loops whereas the mole has 4. This evidence immediately eliminates a mole as the possible animal. Another defining characteristic is the smoothness of the bones. Where vole has a rigid pelvis, the shrew has a smooth one. This means that the animal that was likely consumed was a shrew.

Compare and contrast to humans:

Similarities of structures:

• Both bones serve the same function which is allowing the animal to move
• Both skeletons contain lumbar vertebrae
• Both skeletons contain ribs that protect vital organs

Differences in structures:

• elongated pelvic bone as the shrew uses all 4 limbs to move whereas humans only use our legs
• the pubis is proportionally longer
• The pelvis of humans is anatomically different as it allows the vertebrate to connect, leaving a ‘hole’ in the middle of the pelvis

Unit 5: Reflection

This unit was about the metabolism, digestive system, endocrine system, and lymphatic system. Continuing themes from last year, this unit stressed the importance of balance. Balance is important in the endocrine system and metabolism as they are both controlled by conscious decisions. The endocrine not so much, however it is effected by what we eat and the responses our body has. For example, if we were to become stressed, the adrenal glands would secrete adrenaline to prepare our body for the worst possible situation. This can be problematic as we often over react to the small things and rarely look at the big picture. Balance in diet effects the endocrine system as well as the metabolism. This is because certain chemicals are produced to digest and transport the nutrients found in the food we eat. We also learned that a major cause of diabetes is insulin-resistance. Insulin-resistance effectively decreases the permeability of the hormone, leading cells to either starve themselves or over consume. Things in this unit went generally well (besides having locked my keys in my car and having to go a day without my notebook). A weakness I foresee is my lack of memorization of specifics. By this I mean I understand everything on a basic level, however, I do not remember specific organs and what hormones they secrete. I have however learned from the temp check and memorized the track in which food flows in the digestive system, more specifically, the small intestine. Labs and exercises involving this unit include a mini-poster of the 3 stages of metabolism. A more memorable reading I did was from the book, "why do zebras not get ulcers," in which it explained the effects of insulin resistance and how the metabolism could be compared to a bank. Unanswered questions that I still have include what makes the metabolic rate increase and what foods do so. I was also wondering as to what dysfunctions on a genetic level would have on the metabolism. 

In regards to my New Years goals, I have begun eating a healthier diet, avoiding ice cream and other sweets. I have also begun to work out on a more regular basis. I am actually about to start a workout and diet program tomorrow (WAY too tired to start today). 

Digestive System Lab

In this lab our class constructed our alimentary track through the use of various string colors. The process we underwent included the measurement from our lips to the back of our jaw. This measurement would represent the mouth. Then we measured the distance of our jaw to the bottom of the rib cage. This measurement would represent our esophagus. We were then instructed to measure our height and that would represent our large intestine. Multiply our height by 4 and we received our measurement for our small intestine. My measurements were as follows: Mouth- 10 cm ; Esophagus- 48 cm ; Stomach - 21 cm; Small intestine- 731.52 cm ; Large intestine 182.88 cm. In comparison to my height, my digestive system is 5.5 times larger. The reason as to why it is able to fit is because it is able to fold and contort inside the body. To move through this monstrous system, I would guess that it would take 24 hours to move through and absorb all the nutrients. However, in actuality, it takes 53 hours to move through. I believe the factors involved in the time it takes to digest include the solubility of the substance, how well mashed up/chewed up the substance is. For instance, cellulose will move much faster through the system as it cannot be broken down. Digestion is different from absorption as digestion is the breaking down of a substance and absorption is the retention of nutrients from that same substance. Digestive organs include the stomach and mouth in which the substance is broken apart by enzymes and the mechanical grinding of teeth in the mouth. Organs involved in the absorption of a substance includes the small intestine and the large intestine. Some questions I had regarding the digestive system included what the internal structure of the large intestine looked like and if the gallbladder were to be removed, would the patient need to consume less in a day than someone who still had their gallbladder.

New Year New Me

This year I will improve my physical health. I will do this by either eating more fruits on a daily basis, a fairly measurable goal as I had eaten no fruits in my previous diet, or by following a workout routine. The work out routine will be measurable in the way that I will be able to compare my original ability to do certain exercises to my post-workout routine ability to do those same exercises.

This year I will study harder for all classes. This goal can be measured through tests and quizzes in the classes. To study harder, I will spend more quality time in each subject and do so without any distractions, i.e. Youtube, Facebook, and other forms of social media, including the use of my cell phone.