"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
11/15/2019 at 16:47 • Filed to: Brains!
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"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
11/15/2019 at 16:47 • Filed to: Brains! | 4
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Every year I prepare a brain and spinal cord dissection and display for my DH class. They get to see first hand all the structures I talk about in lecture. It so fun because they get into it and ask such interesting questions. My friend the lab director made it extra fun with a live dissection (the dissection was live, not the brain). They even made this welcome sign.
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> Chariotoflove
11/15/2019 at 17:26 |
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if you dont mind me asking, what does a brain and spinal cord dissection have to do with dental hygiene ?
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Chariotoflove
> Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
11/15/2019 at 18:01 |
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Don’t mind at all. To understand that, you have to know what a dental hygienist does. They are the dental world’s analog to a nurse . They document a medical history on a patient, look at the nutritional profile and medications a patient is taking, and in most states can be licensed to administer anesthesia. They also take medical histories and so encounter health care issues like patients with autonomic issues (eg: xerostomia, autonomic dysreflexia), heart and blood pressure diseases, and may see acute problems like stroke. To understand and deal with these things in the context of oral health, they need an understanding of anatomy and physiology, including that of the nervous system.
This is a bachelors degree program at Texas A&M University. I teach in the basic biomedical sciences course, and this is the neuroscience segment of the Fall course. I’m teaching them about the brain structures and meninges so they can understand the etiology of hematomas, meningitis, nerve palsies, stuff like that (which they will encounter in their careers) . Next week, I’ll go into autonomics, what the CNS structures are that regulate things like salivation, appetite, smell, digestive function, endocrine function, etc. This i ncludes the hypothalamus, brain stem, limbic cortices. After that, we will go into detail about the branches of the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal nerve branches that carry sensation from the teeth and oral gingivae, and the facial nerve, the branches of which carry motor and autonomic function to the head.
Today’s exercise was so that they get to see in 3D what the CNS structures look like so they can relate what I’ve been showing them in 2D slides to the real touch and feel of a body. It helps bring home the relationship of structure and function. It usually causes several light bulb moments.
facw
> Chariotoflove
11/15/2019 at 19:00 |
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That makes sense. I’m a little surprised it a course specifically for dental hygienists instead of just having them take standard bio courses. I guess there are enough students at A&M to specialize.
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Chariotoflove
> facw
11/15/2019 at 22:30 |
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Well they are an undergraduate program, but they enroll at the dental school, in the School of Dental Hygiene, which is in Dallas, not the main campus in College Station. So they get their own courses.
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Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> Chariotoflove
11/16/2019 at 20:32 |
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Thats pretty fas cinating!