Whatcha' learnin' anyway?

I keep meaning to mention this and always forget whenever I post -to tell you the overall themes of what I'm learning in any given week. So, you should know that this week we've been learning about Cancer (the Big C -that's right, at the level of oncogenes, tumor suppressors, tyrosine kinases, and clinical experiences of practicing physicians).

We have looked at Skin (or should I say, "Integument", which is skin and its appendages -i.e. nails, hair, etc. -which we have been particularly examining in a histological context -read, "labs where we look at tissues under microscopes", as well as "why/how tatoos work", "how hair regrows your skin after a 3rd degree burn", "what happens when you get goosebumps", why Collagen is the shiz, and of course how all of the above can be related back to, as our professor put it, "all the great sex you're having").

Embryology continues (as always -one of my faves, I have to admit), and we start on Nervous tissues tomorrow.

Also we have been studying genetics / epigenetics (like if this male has this disease, what is the probability that his parents were carriers -varies whether the disease is sex-linked or not -and what is the probability that his aunt and cousins will have the disease; and if he marries someone whose family history is totally unknown, then based on the population statistic and combined with the "penetrance" of the disease, what are the odds for his 3-kids to-be?).

Yeah. For reals. I can't believe our first final is next Friday. Allegedly, of our 95 multiple-choice Qs (of which none are -thank goodness -"type B" multiple choice questions -these are the multiple-choice-within-the-multiple-choice types: Blablabla. Statements 1,2,3,4. A: 1,2,3,4 B:1 and 2 only C: 2 and 3 only D: None of the above -I hate these) -some are bozo-easy, and others to quote the unit 1 director "rival War and Peace" -yes, this is a Tolstoy reference. Yes. Doctors apparently read Tolstoy (or at least know how long and complex it is!)...