Sheep Heart Dissection

Q1: What is the purpose of the pericardium?
- The pericardium is the sac outside the heart that connects the heart to the body and protects the heart; it secretes a fluid to lubricate the heart for movement.
Q2: Observe the blood vessels connecting to the heart. How do arteries differ from veins in their structure?
- Arteries differ from veins because they have thicker walls and do not have skeletal muscles to aid the process of "milking", which veins do. Veins are surrounded by skeletal muscles that help push blood through the veins against gravity. Furthermore, arteries have elastic and contractile layers in their walls; the elastic layer expands when the heart contracts and recoils when the heart relaxes, and the contractile layer is smooth muscle that causes vasodilation or vasoconstriction.
Q3: Place your finger inside the auricle. What function do you think the auricle serves?
- The auricles are wrinkled pouches on each atrium, and they each slightly increase the amount of blood that each atrium can hold.
Q4: Observe the external structures of the atria and ventricles. What differences do you observe?
- The ventricles are significantly larger than the atria, most likely because they have to pump blood to arteries that go to the rest of the body, so there needs to be space for a larger volume of blood.
Q6: Draw a picture of the tricuspid valve, including chordae tendinae and the papillary muscle.

Q7: Why is the "anchoring" of the heart valves by the chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle important to heart function?
- The "anchoring" of the heart valves by the chordae tendinae and the papillary muscle is important to heart function because these two structures help the valves function and open to allow blood to flow in from the atrium to the ventricles. If the chordae tendinae and the papillary muscle were not attached to the heart, the valves would not be able to function properly.
Q8: Using pictures and/or words, describe what you see.
- I see the bicuspid valve in between the right atrium and right ventricle, which were smaller than I expected. There are two clear flaps/cusps with the chordae tendinae attached to them, which are also attached to papillary muscles that stick out from the walls of the chambers of the heart.
Q9: What is the function of the semi-lunar valves?
- The semi-lunar valves prevent arterial blood from re-entering the heart, so it continues to be pumped around the body.
Q10: Valvular heart disease is when one of more heart valves does not work properly. Improperly functioning heart valves can lead to regurgitation, which is the backflow of blood through a leaky valve. Ultimately this can lead to congestive heart failure, a condition that can be life threatening.
a. If the valve disease occurs on the right side of the heart, it results in swelling in the feet and ankles. Why might this happen?
- This might happen because a valve malfunction may cause blood to back up in other parts of the body. This may results in fluid buildup and cause swollen hands, wrists, feet, and ankles.
b. If the valve disease occurs on the left side of the heart, what complications would you expect to see?
- I would expect to see complications in the lungs, because the left side of the heart deals with the blood that is delivered to the lungs; there may be fluid buildup in the lungs.
Q11: Using pictures and/or words describe what you see.
- I see the bicuspid valve, which leads into the right ventricle. Then, the right ventricle curves up and I see the aortic semilunar valve, which has 3 cusps and leads into the aorta. I also see the coronary arteries on the anterior surface of the heart, since they are the main arteries that supply blood to the heart itself.
Q12: Describe how the left and right sides of the heart differ from each other.
- The left and the right sides of the heart differ from each other because the left side of the heart deals with oxygenated blood and the right side of the heart deals with deoxygenated blood. Furthermore, the left side also delivers blood through the aorta to the rest of the body, and the right side delivers blood through the pulmonary trunk to the lungs.
Q13: Draw and label all structures visible in the interior of the cross-section.

Link to our sheep heart dissection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5BNrrg4xrM

Monday Wellness Reflection: Guided Imagery

This Monday, my friend, Eric Sze, and I presented a beneficial health trend called guided imagery to our class. We chose this topic because our teacher had recently introduced a concept called “mindfulness” to us. Mindfulness is the phenomenon in which a person is aware of their every move and breath, essentially a form of meditation. Furthermore, at the start of class every day, the entire class participates in a short form of meditation by listening to a bell ring, closing their eyes, and breathing deeply until the ring can no longer be heard. The most interesting things that I learned while preparing for this presentation were that it actually increased certain white blood cell counts and is very commonly used in hospitals and therapy centers all over the world. When I was researching the physical benefits of guided imagery, I discovered that guided imagery increased levels of T-cells and natural killer cells, both types of white blood cells, for breast cancer patients. I also learned that many hospitals and therapy centers use guided imagery to help their patients cope with pain and treatment that they are receiving. My topic is important for health and wellness because it can be used so widely by anyone at anytime. The way someone experience guided imagery can be changed depending on how the person prefers it, which means that it can be altered depending on the person’s problem/condition. Because of that, it can be used to help cancer patients deal with pain and treatment, but can also be used on a daily basis to reduce stress and pressures of daily life. It can also be used to improve performance, whether it be mental or physical; it can improve memory and mental agility, but it can also improve sports performances. For example, famous Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is known for thinking of a calm and relaxing place and taking deep breaths before competing in a big race. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself a 9 because I think I contributed a fair amount of work into the powerpoint presentation and tried to involve the class in the activity. However, I feel as if I could have contributed more to the powerpoint in terms of content; I contributed mainly to the content of the activity and the anatomy of guided imagery, but my partner contributed the transition slides and technological aspects of the presentation, such as the insertion of video links and sources. I think that guided imagery is a very important form of meditation that should be weaved into a person’s daily schedule due to its effectiveness. Guided imagery can take as long as one wants, whether it be one minute or two hours. However, although guided imagery can be made short, reducing duration does not reduce the effectiveness of guided imagery. In the documentary about mindfulness that we watched during class, I learned that even big corporations like Google use meditation and variations of guided imagery every morning before everyone starts their work; the Google executives truly believe that these few minutes of meditation improve their performance throughout the day. Overall, guided imagery is a great technique that everyone should try to experience at least once in their lifetime!

Powerpoint: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JMyUBnP6vkWn9Sko1xTnXCH3X8GZRDSxJ-ZAYUEkQeA/edit?usp=sharing

Unit 3 Reflection

Unit 3 of Anatomy and Physiology was all about the circulatory system and the different diseases that can affect the circulatory system; this included all of the main components of the circulatory system and its connections to other organ systems in the body. The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, arteries, veins, and most importantly, blood. The heart is the body's battery that circulates blood around the body and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the tissues in the body.

Furthermore, the circulatory system also disposes of waste material from cells. The heart receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and is distributed to the rest of the body; the heart also receives oxygen-poor blood from the rest of the body and brings it to the lungs to dispose of carbon dioxide and other wastes collected. Cardiovascular health is the well-being of the functions and organ of the circulatory system, making sure that there is no disease present and that the person maintains a healthy lifestyle. However, many people in the world suffer from cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. Heart disease, which comes in many kinds (heart attack, aneurysm, atherosclerosis, etc.), is mostly caused by an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, family history of heart disease, and unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking.

Stroke occurs when atherosclerosis or an aneurysm are present in the brain, cutting off circulation to a certain area of the brain. Since atherosclerosis and aneurysms are also considered as heart diseases, stroke is also caused by many of the factors that cause heart disease. In order to promote cardiovascular health, one should maintain a healthy lifestyle by controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and managing stress. After finishing this unit, I still want to learn more about how HDL cholesterol clears up LDL cholesterol from clogging up the arteries. I also want to learn about the public's common misconceptions of atherosclerosis and other forms of heart disease, so I can inform people about them in order to promote cardiovascular health.

In this unit, I had trouble remembering the path of blood throughout the heart and the body; specifically, the fact that the pulmonary artery contains oxygen-poor blood confused me, since arteries typically carry oxygen-rich blood. However, I thought that I was more engaged in this unit since learning about all of the different types of cardiovascular diseases fascinated me; learning how to prevent them will also be beneficial in the future. Because of that, I thought that I retained the most information about the different cardiovascular diseases and was the most strong in that aspect. From the labs and activities from this unit, I learned that it is very hard to work on a collaborative project unless you assign each person in the group to a specific job/responsibility. For example, when we dissected the sheep heart for a lab, each person was assigned a responsibility, so the process went along quite smoothly.

My Unit 2 health goals were mainly to reduce my intake of carbohydrates and pearl milk tea and sleep at a more regular time every day. Personally, I think I have actually increased my intake of carbohydrates and pearl milk tea due to the heightened levels of stress from schoolwork and extracurricular activities. However, I do think that I have slept at a more regular time since I set my health goals for last unit. For the remainder of the semester, a few goals I have are to stay on top of my schoolwork without being overwhelmed by stress, increasing my intake of fiber/vegetables, and getting more exercising by going outside more.

Blood Pressure Lab

In this lab, a partner and I measured each other's blood pressure and pulse. Using a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer, we first measured each other's systolic blood pressure.
The systolic blood pressure was measured by pumping the air bulb until the pressure reached about 150 mmHg, and then slowly releasing the pressure until a "whoosh" sound from the blood was heard. When we heard the "whoosh", we recorded the pressure (systolic). On the other hand, in order to measure the diastolic pressure, we listen through the stethoscope until the "whoosh" sound fades away; this point is called the diastolic pressure.
The heart rate is measured by a stethoscope, and the blood pressure is measured by a sphygmomanometer, a device with an air bulb, arm cuff, and a pressure reader.
Using your thumb to measure pulse is not ideal because the thumb has a pulse of its own, so it could confuse the pulse reader and make the findings inaccurate.
A sphygomomanometer requires careful and meticulous work in order to record an accurate blood pressure. First, make sure the air bladder of the cuff is deflated before wrapping it around anyone's arm. Next, wrap i around the upper arm so it fits well and make sure the velcro sticks well to ensure the cuff's position. Then, place the head of the stethoscope right under the edge of the cuff, just a small distance above the elbow crease. Inflate the cuff with quick pumps of the air bulb until the pressure reads about 150 mmHg or until the the pulse cannot be heard. Once the pressure reaches about 150 mmHg, slightly open the air flow and release some air very slowly, ensuring that the air is not released too suddenly. At this point, listen closely for any sign of blood flow while watching the pressure gauge fall. Once you hear a "whoosh" of blood flow, look at the pressure gauge and record this pressure as the systolic blood pressure. Next, watch the stethoscope and listen to the pulse until the "whoosh" sound disappears; at this point, look at the pressure gauge and record this number as the diastolic blood pressure.

Data:

	Test 1	Test 2	Average for All Subjects
Pulse Rate (radial)	60 bpm	68 bpm	64 bpm
Pulse Rate (carotid)	74 bpm	66 bpm	70 bpm
Stethoscope	66 bpm	70 bpm	68 bpm
Average for Individual Subjects	66.7 bpm	68 bpm	67.3 bpm

	Subject 1	Subject 2
Blood Pressure (test 1)	120/70	110/74
Blood Pressure (test 2)	122/76	107/80

Unit 2 Reflection

Health is the physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being of a person, including five pillars of health: sleep, stress, exercise, nutrition, and social. Personally, I do not consider myself healthy; I eat very healthy occasionally when I feel like I have been too unhealthy, but I typically eat lots of carbohydrates and empty calories. Furthermore, I exercise very little, not even reaching the bare minimum recommended amount for every day: 60 minutes of exercise. On the other hand, there are some very healthy people at SHS who watch their nutrition like nutritionists and exercise a lot more than the minimum required amount. I believe that the health and anatomy classes in SHS do an excellent job of emphasizing the importance of health and exercise, especially emphasizing the pillars of stress and sleep. SHS is a very academically rigorous school, and as a result, many students are sleep deprived and are loaded with stress, leading to emotional instability and physiological issues. In order to promote greater health on campus, there should be more healthy options in the cafeteria that are more affordable; many students buy the very unhealthy choices that the cafeteria has because they have run out of money. However, I believe that our school has done an excellent job of promoting health and offering resources to support health.

From this unit, I learned about health and the five pillars of health: sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress, and social. We learned about the general definition of health and how to maintain a good balance in life, but we also learned about details on the physiological and mental effects of each of the five pillars of health on one's body. For nutrition, we learned about the four macromolecules and how to maintain a balanced diet; for this process, I used the SuperTracker to really see how someone's balanced diet changes from person to person. For the pillar of exercise, I learned about the different types of exercise and how they benefit different parts of the human body. For the pillar of stress, I learned about the three stages of stress, and how continuous stress on one's body will lead to the general adaption syndrome and chronic exhaustion. For sleep, I learned about non-REM and REM sleep and the dangers of little sleep. Lastly, for the pillar of social, I learned about the importance of social connection and the benefits of having support from peers.

Despite all of the things that I learned, I still do not understand why getting enough protein in one's diet is more important than getting enough vegetables. Ever since I was young, I was taught to eat less protein and more vegetables, since protein would apparently lead to high cholesterol. During class, there was not a detailed explanation behind this concept, so I am still confused about this concept. In the next unit, I will try to improve by raising more questions during class and on the sides of the notes and also participating more during class; I am usually too sleepy in the morning to actively participate and listen closely to the lectures. Due to my early morning sleepiness, I eat a hearty breakfast to wake me up and thus allow me to learn more efficiently.

A real-world application of these concepts is found in a CNN Article titled "How Strong is the science behind the U.S. Dietary Guidelines" (http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/health/dietary-guidelines-science/index.html) , which is about the faults of the current US Dietary Guidelines. This article reminds me about a reading from this unit about nutrition and the society's over-complication of dietary guidelines. In reality, eating healthy is not that difficult to do, but now the nutrition labels and details of food over-complicate things and make us have misunderstandings about what is healthy and what is not.

My health goals are...to eat healthier more consistently and reduce my carb intake. I also wish to sleep earlier and manage my time better in order to do so.

A healthy life is important to me because...I want to live a long and happy life with good emotional and physical health; I think my life will be much more enjoyable when I feel healthy and good about my state of being.

Actions I will take...I plan to drink less pearl milk tea because I drink it every day and it is full of empty calories, Furthermore, I plan to sleep earlier and get at least 7-9 hours of sleep every night in order to wake up more refreshed and not feel as drowsy during the school day.

I will know I have reached my goals when...I stop being extremely drowsy during the day and my school performance becomes better. I will also know when I am not in a bad mood as often as I am now, since more sleep and a healthier diet contributes to one's mood and overall well-being.

Personal Nutrition Analysis

From tracking my food using Super Tracker over the span of three days, I have learned about the deficiencies in my diet and what I need to cut down on. As I entered in the food that I ate, there was a bar graph showing my progress in fulfilling my daily requirements for each of the food groups (whole fruit, grains, vegetables, protein, dairy). According to my weight, height, sex, and age, Super Tracker calculated that I needed 1600 calories a day. For the first day, I did not have enough grains, having only fulfilled 61% of my daily requirements. Furthermore, almost all the grains I ate that day were refined, from the crust of my pizza from lunch. I also did not have enough vegetables, dairy, or protein. However, I had an excess of fruit, eating 115% of my daily requirement. For the second day, I fulfilled my daily requirements much better than the previous day. I ate an excess of grains and vegetables, while I had just a little less than my daily requirements of protein, fruit, and dairy. Although I was closer to meeting my nutrition guidelines this day, I surpassed the allowed amount of empty calories by 34 calories, meaning that I should cut down on refined grains and foods that have no real nutrients in them, like processed foods. For the third and last day of my tracking, I was also quite close to meeting my nutritional requirements. For once, I had an excess of vegetables and basically met my requirement for grains. However, for fruits, protein, and dairy, I needed almost 50% more of my recommended amount to meet my requirements. Overall, over the span of three days, I realized that I definitely eat enough vegetables. However, I do need to increase my intake of the other four food groups, especially proteins. I should be eating seafood two times a week and be getting a full 8 ounces of seafood, but I only ate 1.5 ounces, well under the requirement. Furthermore, I need more dairy in my diet; over the three days, I had 2.25 ounces, when the requirement for me is 3 ounces. From this, I know that I should eat more yogurt/cheese, or in general low fat dairy. Lastly, my overall calorie count is low; on average, I only ate 1198 calories a day, when my recommended amount is 1600 calories. From this, I know that I should fill up the rest of my needed calories with non-empty calories, while also filling up the food groups that I need.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

I also learned a lot from the Falcon Market activity we did during class. From the Falcon Market activity, I looked up the nutrition of a lot of the foods that I eat every day (fast food, Starbucks, processed food) and realized that they added lots of unnecessary fat and sugar in order to make the food taste better. I also discovered that although many foods say that they have zero trans fat, they in fact have a small amount in the form of hydrogenated oil listed in the ingredients. For example, in peanut butter, which is a supposedly somewhat healthy food and one that I eat very often, has hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredients although the trans fat on the nutrition label says zero. From the Falcon Market, I also learned about the benefits of seasonal produce, both nutritionally and financially. I also learned about the importance of glycemic index and load in determining how healthy a food is. Furthermore, I learned about the inaccuracy of BMI, since a muscular and healthy person can have the same BMI as someone who is morbidly obese. 

In order to improve my diet, I could replace many of the refined grains that I eat with multi/whole grains in order to reduce the number of empty calories that I consume and increase my intake of dietary fiber. From my nutrient report of my intake of vitamins, it shows that I need more Vitamin A, which I can get in carrots to also contribute to my intake of fiber. I also need much more choline, which is found in fish. In order to meet this requirement, I should eat more seafood (recommended 2x per week) to fulfill my choline and protein requirement as well. Furthermore, when ordering drinks, I should order the low fat/nonfat version in order to cut down my intake on empty calories and oils. 

If I had the opportunity to coach someone on proper health and nutrition, I would advise them to eat only foods that have nutrients in them, or foods that are not processed with no added sugar. Furthermore, I would tell them to eat more protein than vegetables if possible, since from the Falcon Market, I learned that consuming protein is more important to maintain a body's energy than consuming vegetables. I would also tell them to eat more fresh and raw foods, since they retain more vitamins than cooked vegetables; if they buy produce to eat, then they should also buy seasonal produce for better taste, more vitamins, and a lower price.

What is Health?

What is health? According to my lecture notes, there are five pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and social.

However, according to me, health is something that I need to improve on radically. Although I am the strongest at the social and sleep aspects of health, the other pillars are in need of dire improvement. Outside of school, I hang out with my friends and get food with them very often, so I do have healthy social relationships with my peers. I also sleep very often, since I take a brief nap everyday after school and try not to go to sleep too late. However, for nutrition, I try to eat a balanced diet with vegetables and other nutrients, but I end up eating chips, candy, and other empty calories. Furthermore, I do not exercise that often; I occasionally walk home from school (a 30 minute walk) or bike to my friend's house to spend time with them, but I definitely do not get the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day. Lastly, I have many extracurricular activities and lots of homework from school classes, so it is hard to complete everything and end with a calm mind; however, I am trying to take small breaks in between tasks to keep a tranquil mind.
In this unit of health, I want to learn about the perfect routine of exercise and nutrition in order to help my body function at its best ability. I also hope to improve my mood and spirit in general by improving the my exercise, diet, and stress control, so I can learn how to live a happier life with less effort. Furthermore, I want to learn about the accuracy of the food pyramid, since I have heard many assertions that the food pyramid is actually inaccurate. I am truly excited for this unit about health! :)

A&P Unit 1 Reflection

Over these past four weeks, I have completed Unit 1 of my Anatomy and Physiology course and learned many things that I did not know before. Unit 1 was somewhat a review of biology that I learned during my freshman year, but also an introduction to anatomy and physiology. In this unit, I learned the basic anatomical terms and essential structures/functions in the body that are needed to learn about the other structures of the body in depth.
The themes and essential understandings in this unit were anatomical terms, types and functions of tissues, macromolecules, and the structure of a cell. Through the vodcasts, I learned about the different organelles in a eukaryotic cell and their functions, which is a review from freshman year biology. I also reviewed macromolecules and their uses in our body. The other themes that I learned were new to me: anatomical terms and the types and functions of tissues. For anatomical terms, I learned how to refer to the specific location of body parts using terminology. I also learned about the different types and functions of the body tissues (connective, epithelial, muscle, nerve), which I did not know about before.

Abstract Illustration of Cells in Mitosis or Multiplication of Cells. Digital image. Shutterstock. Fusebulb, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. <http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/466870/466870,1302593488,1/stock-photo-abstract-illustration-of-cells-in-mitosis-or-multiplication-of-cells-75090052.jpg>.

Although I learned a lot in just this first unit of anatomy and physiology, I feel like I still do not understand very well the concept of an extracellular matrix and how to distinguish the different tissues by looking at a diagram. I do not really understand the purpose of having a small or large extracellular matrix or what is in the matrix that aids the cells' function. I also have still have trouble distinguishing the different tissues just by looking at a diagram, especially between epithelial and muscle tissue, since they look very similar in certain diagrams.

Light Micrograph Showing a Simple Columnar Epithelium. Digital image.Shutterstock. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. <http://thumb1.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/1350394/185476790/stock-photo-light-micrograph-showing-a-simple-columnar-epithelium-human-gallbladder-h-e-stain-185476790.jpg>.

Illustration of the Types of Muscles. Digital image. Shutterstock. BlueRingMedia, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. <http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/1185467/155583245/stock-vector-illustration-of-the-types-of-muscles-155583245.jpg>.

In the next unit, I hope to take more notes on what my teacher says during class and not just copy down the information in the lecture notes. I also hope to use my textbook more often as a study tool, since there is a lot of useful information in the textbook that is tested that is not covered in depth in the lecture notes. Furthermore, I want to pay attention more in class and keep track of my labs, since I did not really use my labs to study for the test this unit.
The material I learned in Unit 1 also has real world applications, such as a recent drug that could possible rejuvenate aging brain and muscle tissue. According to iflscience (http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/drug-could-rejuvenate-aging-brain-and-muscle-tissue), there is a new molecular drug that may stop the degeneration of stem cells as a person ages. From test trials on mice, this drug apparently contributes to to the tissues' ability to repair itself and to the maintenance of homestasis in the body. This recent discovery relates to the material I learned in class, such as the function of muscle tissue and how the body degenerates as it ages. By taking this drug, muscle tissue's function improves, helping the body repair itself easily. Furthermore, the article describes how the body ages and how stem cells degenerate more and more the older a person gets, as we learned during class.

Stem Cell Sphere. Digital image. Pixabay. Public Domain, n.d. Web. <https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/07/18/10/59/stem-cell-163711_640.jpg>.

Tissue Lab Write-Up

In the tissue lab conducted today, I looked at twelve different types of tissue samples under microscopes, including all four types of tissues. For each tissue sample, I recorded the slide name, magnification, tissue type, and drew a detailed sketch of the sample. After drawing a sketch of the sample, I related the tissue sample to the text written on an informational poster. Through this lab, I learned about the general structures of connective, epithelial, muscle, and nervous tissue, and the differences between them.
From lectures in class, I learned that skeletal muscle tissue had a rod-like structure, smooth muscle had a spindle-shaped structure, and cardiac muscle had a branch-like structure, which matched my observations of the muscle tissue samples. However, I expected the nervous tissue to be shaped with branches on all sides, but I saw circle-shaped cells in large clusters in the microscope.
From my observations, muscle tissue is red, long, and skinny. Depending on the type of muscle tissue, these long cells branch out or stay straight as rods. For nervous tissue, there is a small cluster of cells with branches coming off. Next, for epithelial cells, there are several different shapes (squamous, columnar, cuboidal) of cells and different layers , usually with a base of cells on the bottom. For connective tissue, there are many different types: bone, blood, cartilage, etc. All of these connective tissues look different, so there is no one structure/look to connective tissue.
There are very definitive connections between the anatomy of a tissue and its location/function. For example, nervous tissue is a cluster of cells and that has many branches around it. These branches function to relay signals to other nerves, somewhat like a domino effect. Since there are many branches on each nerve, it allows for the relaying of signals very quickly and efficiently. Another example of a connection between the anatomy of a tissue and its location/function is bone, a specialized type of connective tissue. In compact bone especially, the cells are very tightly packed together, with very little space in between the cells. The structure is so dense because it is made of 80% minerals and 20% matrix. From this tissue lab, I learned lots about the difference among the four types of tissues!

Cardiac Muscle Cells

Cardiac muscle cells are rectangular shaped cells connected by regions called intercalated discs. The cardiac muscle cells are located only in the heart and contain one nucleus and lots of mitochondria, which account for the energy of the cell. It does not have the same organelles as the typical eukaryotic cell; it is missing many. These muscle cells help to pump blood throughout the body, developing the ability to spread electrochemical signals so all of the cells in the heart can pump at the same time. The intercalated disks connecting the cardiac muscle cells keep the cells together under the strain of pumping blood every single day. Cardiac muscle tissue can also set its own contraction rhythm because there are pacemaker cells that stimulate the other cardiac muscle cells. Although there is usually nervous system stimulation to regulate the heart beat, when there is no stimulation, the cardiac muscle cells can also produce a regular heart rhythm. Cardiac muscle cells are one of the three types of muscle tissue.

Sources:

JENNETT, COLIN BLAKEMORE;SHELIA, "cardiac Muscle." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004, Michael Allaby, "cardiac Muscle." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008, and "cardiac Muscle." World Encyclopedia. 2005. "Cardiac Muscle." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2001. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

"Pearson - The Biology Place." Pearson - The Biology Place. Pearson Education Inc., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Taylor, Tim. "Cardiac Muscle Tissue." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Adipose Cells

Adipose cells, also known as fat cells, is a type of connective tissue that contains large globules of fat. There are two different types of adipose cells: white and brown adipose cells. White adipose cells, also known as adipocytes, contain large globules of fat, a very small amount of cytoplasm, and flattened nuclei that are not located in the center of the cell. Brown adipose cells, on the other hand, contain fat globules of different sizes, a large amount of cytoplasm, lots of mitochondria, and round nuclei that are located in the center of the cell; adipose cells do not have all the organelles of the typical eukaryotic cell. Both brown and white adipose cells are polygonal in shape, but their size differs depending on the amount in a person's body. Whenever someone gains weight, the number of fat cells in his/her body increases, and the fat cells fill up with fat and increase in size. Whenever someone loses weight, the number of fat cells stay the same, but they shrink in size.
Adipose cells are most commonly located right underneath the skin, between muscles, around the kidneys and heart, behind the eyeballs, in abdominal membranes. They fill up space between organs and tissues and provide structural and metabolic support, functioning as a cushion against trauma for the tissues of the body. Most of the organs in the human body are wrapped in a layer of fat to protect them from trauma. Adipose cells are also used in the storing of fat that comes directly from our diet. When food is eaten and it is not burned as energy, it is stored in the adipose cells, used when exercising for a long time. Adipose cells help to protect our body and store the fat from our diet.
(all information taken from http://study.com/academy/lesson/adipose-tissue-function-location-definition.html)

Sweetness Lab Write-up (yum~)

In this lab, I first took notes about eight different sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, lactose, starch, and cellulose), drew their structure, and tasted them, ranking the sweetness level and texture of the different sugars. Before, I predicted which sugars would taste sweet and which would NOT taste sweet, but it seems that my predictions turned out wrong. 

Will Taste Sweet: sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose

Will NOT Taste Sweet: galactose, lactose, starch, cellulose

After tasting all of the sugars and comparing the sweetness level to the number of rings in the sugar, I noticed that the more rings there are in the sugar, the less sweet it becomes; all of the sweeter sugars were monosaccharides, and the sugars with the lowest sweetness levels were polysaccharides. I have also seen and heard of a few of the carbohydrates that I tasted today, like sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, and starch. I already knew that sucrose was plain table sugar, and I had seen fructose in high fructose corn syrup, which is added into candy gummies for sugar. I have also seen maltose in malt beer and lactose on milk cartons, as a warning for people who are lactose intolerant. Lastly, I have eaten starch in my mother's own corn soup, in which she puts corn starch to make the soup more viscous. 

Humans can taste sweetness and other types of taste through taste buds on the tongue. According to Sarah Dowdey on howstuffworks (http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/tongue2.htm), every taste bud has fifty gustatory receptor cells, which respond to different tastes: sweet, savory, bitter, etc. When the food/stimulus touches the gustatory cell, it sends a message to the brain, which interprets the sensation as taste, whether it be sweet, sour, etc. These cells vary from person to person, depending on what the person ate right before or how sweet the foods they normally eat are. The varying gustatory cells explain how different people can rank the sweetness level of the same food/sugar differently.