Human Anatomy at Colby

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by Madeline O’Neil

When I signed up to take Anatomy and Physiology during my final JanPlan term, I knew that I would have to work hard and have a lot of material thrown at me in a short amount of time. Despite this, I was incredibly excited about the opportunity to take this course as it was not previously offered as a semester course, and it is critical knowledge for any medical professional. As a senior taking my final major requirement, I came into the course confident in my ability to quickly learn the material and succeed on assessments. However, during the last month, challenges posed both in the course and in my personal life, have caused me to grow as both a student and person and expand my mind to what success and balance look like.

During the first week of January, I got very sick, and this illness began a month-long series of sicknesses that I could not shake. While I spent much of the month being annoyed that I could not get well, this forced me to reflect on my routines and approaches to succeeding as a student and its effect on my health. When your body is that run down, it is clear that you need to treat it better, which is even related to the material we learned in this course and the message that Dr. K gave us. For the first half of the month, I tried to half focus on recovery and half keep up with this fast pace course because I did not want to let anyone or myself. Looking back, I would advise anyone to take a full week, or even two if you need it, and rest as you will be able to make up for lost time better once you are recovered. Dr. K definitely helped me to realize this and was probably the most understanding professor I have ever had at Colby.

My second piece of advice I would give to students in this course is some studying tips that I have learned, which help specifically when the material is delivered at a rapid pace and you have to absorb a lot at once. Firstly, prepare prior to the class by looking over the slides and flagging any topics that you are confused about. Write down specific questions from these sections that you do not understand and be prepared to speak up during class (a lot of times questions might be answered during the lecture, but this is still helpful because you will be more aware during this part of the class and less overwhelmed because not all of the material is brand new). Secondly, I would suggest that you utilize space repetition. This is a tool that I have always found helpful, but I was unsure how to do this when we were taking quizzes every day. You can still utilize space repetition though, even if you study for 30 minutes, break, come back, studying again for 30 minutes. I find the break to be so helpful and tests if I really understand and will remember the material long-term. Finally, study with a partner and take turns teaching material to one another. This was very helpful to me and speaking it out loud made me realize what parts I did not understand. Additionally, listening to someone else explain material allowed me to see it in a new way and uncovered some misunderstandings. Also, it makes it more fun to study with a partner 🙂

This course taught me that you need to prioritize your health and get well before anything else. If you keep pushing yourself too soon, your body will not be able to handle it. Additionally, it taught me that success in a course is not necessarily only what we usually consider an “A”, but rather it is measured by what you learn to better yourself as a learner and person and how you will apply that in the future. I have years and countless classes before I am officially a medical professional, and now, in addition to learning the material in those courses, I will be more intentional about developing habits that will make me the best healthcare provider I can be. This class has excited me for a career in medicine!

On the first day of class, I was overwhelmed with how much we would have to cover in just a few short weeks. I was unsure if the course would even count for the anatomy and physiology prerequisite I needed for veterinary school, and I thought I would most likely drop the class due to this. However, after the first two lectures, I realized that I wanted to take the course whether it was able to count or not because of how interesting and engaging I found it. Luckily, after discussing the systems I needed to cover in order to fill my pre-requisite with Dr. Klepach, he was incredibly accommodating and was able to fit in an extra lecture in order to cover GI and reproductive systems. As well, through meeting with Dr. Klepach, I was able to find different methods of taking notes, reviewing, and studying that were most successful for me. I am now going into veterinary school with the confidence of knowing how to take notes and study anatomy and other similar classes that I will be taking in the future. I also know that the ways that Dr. Klepach taught us to remember the origins of different words will stick with me throughout my schooling, and I will definitely be keeping my notes to reference later!

As a part of this course, we had to track our sleep, stress, nutrition, and more. I had never done this before and it was eye-opening for me. I knew I had a bad diet, but I have never tracked it before and this showed me patterns I had never realized. The simple act of creating that time each day to think back through the day helped to improve my mindfulness and left me making more intentional decisions about my sleep and diet. This was an aspect of this class that I was not expecting at all, but am so glad that it is included.

During this class, we had a three and a half hour blocks of lab and lecture from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm each day. Then, directly after class, I would drive to my job as a veterinary assistant. Each day at my job, I was able to apply numerous concepts from class. For example, one day a woman brought in her young cat who had unexpectedly and suddenly died that morning. It was a busy day at the clinic, so I was the one in charge of the necropsy. Doing a necropsy with a classroom anatomy background helped me incredibly. I was able to point out specific muscles and bones, which I would have normally had to ask the veterinarian about. As well, I knew the purpose of the structures and was able to pinpoint the problem with ease due to this course. Coincidentally, that same day we had gone over the heart. When I opened the cat up, I looked at the large heart and noticed a great amount of fluid in the pericardium. I realized the cat most likely had pericarditis, pericardial effusion, and an enlarged heart, which the veterinarian later confirmed. As well as the strain this had on the heart, it most likely also constricted the lungs, as I could tell that the lungs were not where they were meant to be due to the knowledge I gained from this class. This was an incredible moment that linked my classroom learning to my hands-on learning. I have included a video of this heart, but it does not even show the full extent of the fluid. Almost every single thing I learned in this class I have been able to apply in a similar way already, from the ears to the GI tract and everything in between.

– Lily Chapman

  The first day of the class was the most stressful for me, when every single concept was unheard of, and there was a fair chance I would have to drop the course due to over-enrollment. Thankfully Dr.K was an angel on earth. I got to have my first wet dissection and it was as expected. I also got to learn a bunch of weird Latin words that will probably never be brought up again but linger in my head nevertheless. Having a 3-hour class plus quiz per day was intense and my messed-up sleep schedule wasn’t prepared for it. To not disappoint Dr.K after everything, I’ve been dealing with my insomnia with the A & P basics in mind, by researching the nutritional components of my meals and meds, managing my breathing patterns, etc. Let's hope they work.
  All I wanted from the course was to know more about the human body, so overall I am very satisfied with how things ended up. I felt my improvement from how I was able to catch up with my GR groupmates with relative ease while reading and discussing our case study. Despite being just a glimpse into the whole A & P field, the course helped me familiarize with the body and thereby form ideas on how other intricate and natural systems on this planet might work. 

Andi Li

Coming into BI265, I didn’t know what to expect at first. Sitting in the first class, I felt really intimidated by the amount of work that we were going to do. All I saw flashing in front of my eyes was the number of quizzes and tests that we were going to be taking in three weeks! However, I talked with one of the TAs, Charlie Furlong, and he reassured my anxious feelings. He told me that the focus of this class wasn’t just a number next to my name in some grade book; it was about how much I could push myself as a student to learn one of the toughest concepts in science in a really short period of time.

 Dr. Klepach was very understanding of this daunting task in front of us, and he kept our stress to a minimum, telling us not to worry about how we would do on assignments, but rather understand why the question was asked in the sense of a big picture. My favorite part of BI265 was doing the pig heart dissection. Coming from a summer where a worked as a Dental Assistant and an Oral Surgery Clinic, I was excited to delve into more live anatomy rather than just looking at diagrams. Cutting a window into my heart to expose the papillary muscle was a super cool experience, and when I showed the pictures to all of my friends, they thought it was just as cool.

Thank you Dr. Klepach for an amazing Jan-Plan. He made the time well worth it and I enjoyed every one of his labs and lectures. I enjoyed his class so much that I am going to become one of his Teaching Assistants for the Anatomy class in the fall.

The A&P JanPlan was a great learning experience, not only academically, but also in terms of learning about my own health and wellness as a student. One of the activities that I felt taught me the most was the lifestyle log that we were encouraged to keep throughout the length of the course. Each day, we would record our hours of sleep, exercise, level of stress, and meals. This encouraged me to form healthier habits and learn to balance my schoolwork with my personal health. As a student, it is easy to try to sacrifice things like sleep or healthy eating in the pursuit of good grades, but this class taught me that those things should be prioritized, as they are the keys to longevity, and grades are just fleeting. 

My favorite activity of the semester was easily the pig heart dissection. Getting the hands-on experience was great, because there is no better way to learn the anatomy than to get to see into the organ yourself. I really enjoyed how Dr. K allowed us to explore the hearts on our own, dissecting them however we thought would be interesting/insightful, and provided us guidance/answers when we requested it. 

A topic that I found really interesting was the problematic history of BMI. Prior to the course, I knew a little bit about the BMI controversy, but I enjoyed being able to go in depth and learn about it in a course activity. I think it is our responsibility as future healthcare professionals to know about and acknowledge the discriminatory aspects of the field, such as BMI, and to strive to improve the industry. I look forward to learning more about this issue on my own, now that I have a better understanding provided to me by the A&P course. 

The course definitely flew by. Each lecture was packed with copious amounts of information, but once you find a learning strategy that works for you it becomes much easier to digest all the content coming at you. Moving forward, I will definitely be applying everything I learned in this course to my future academic experiences, not just the content that we covered but also the habits I developed to work toward being the healthiest version of myself while balancing a busy schedule. 

Elle Lincoln

Going in A and P sounded pretty intimidating, learning a semester of complex biological structures and processes, it seemed daunting to say the least. When I walked in the first day I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was bracing myself to get crushed by a tsunami of information. Immediately, Dr. K put our minds at ease by emphasizing that first and foremost, our mental health is what mattered most, and that the ultimate goal of the class would be to hone our studying skills so that we were able to retain information, but more importantly keeping our stress levels low. I can say at first, it was not an easy task, but by the end of the semester I can say without that I have found some very effective ways to do just that. Another fascinating part of the class, was the lifestyle log. It allowed one to log their hours of sleep, exercise, etc. and reflect on how their stress levels were effected based on these factors. Another way Dr. K was tremendously helpful was out of class answering the endless questions I had about the various anatomical features of the lab models and how they corresponded to the diagrams he had shown us in class. Also, starting off every lecture with the history of the study of the organ system we were studying that day was always fascinating. To see how various cultures and civilizations tackled the complex task of understanding the human body with much more limited resources than we have today was also amazing to see. Finally, the haikus to start every lecture were always amusing and brought a smile to my face.

Looking into the future, I am hoping to retain some of the information as I continue on my pre-med journey, but regardless I am beyond grateful for how this class affirmed my interest in medicine and the human body, and made me crave to dive deeper into every single topic we covered. Dr. K’s seemingly endless pool of knowledge even about the most minutiae details of various organ systems is awe inspiring and shows me just how information is out there to learn and the grand rounds showed me the countless ways this information can be applied in a clinical setting to help people. However, one thing I know I will retain is the joyful feeling I got on the days where I managed to be productive academically, athletically, and get a good nights sleep. I see how it makes me feel the following days, and thanks to the opportunity this month I have been able to begin some habits for my success in this coming spring and beyond. Thank you Dr. K for a challenging, but so so much more rewarding Jan Plan.

I was not sure what to expect coming into this Janplan. I have always been a scientifically minded person and the opportunity to learn more about the human body and how it worked is what made me choose the class on name alone. There was a bit of doubt seeping into my mind when I first looked at the syllabus as to if I had made the right decision. The sheer amount of material that we would be going into made me question if I would be able to keep up or retain all of the information that was going to be thrown at me for the next month. Within the first thirty minutes of class, these worries went away. The overall environment of Olin 01 was presented right off the bat as a place to try new methods of learning without the fear of failing weighing me down. For the first time, a class was about maximizing efficiency and minimizing stress instead of cramming for a passing grade. I didn’t know this was what I needed to reset the bad study habits that had been collecting since my freshman year of highschool, but I have learned (and genuinely retained) more information in the past month than I have in any class in my Colby experience. Don’t get me wrong, this class was a lot of work, but it never felt like a chore to review my notes or stay in the lab late Sunday night in preparation for a practical exam. A lot of that is due to how interesting the subject matter was. I want to work closely with the human body in my future career so everything I learned seemed useful to know instead of mandatory for a good grade. The way information was presented made me fascinated to learn more. Learning about the human heart by getting to dig into one in front of me made it fun, but more importantly, memorable in a useful way. The history aspect of this information stood out to me, like the Flemish  guy who collected piss in his basement to discover white phosphorus or the barely capable civil war doctor who accidentally created a hole to uncover the secrets of the stomach. The ways of remembering parts of the body by decoding their greek origin and making sense of the name (ie. the gracilis being the part of the leg that a graceful dancer uses) made these things I had never heard of before make sense. It was fun to listen to the mechanisms of how each body system works because it felt like I was genuinely getting the information and piecing together complex relationships that seemed so daunting a task to understand. I’m not saying that I will remember everything that I heard, but for the amount covered I retained far more than I thought I would. I would credit this to the stress free atmosphere in the class, as I wasn’t worried about not learning something but excited to learn as much as I could. From this class, I am taking with me a slew of knowledge about anatomy and physiology but more importantly an ability to learn in a way that doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. 

The 4-week January course Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology taught by Dr. K was fast-paced and academically rigorous. Despite this, the daily information was presented in an understandable and easily digestible way by Dr. K to ease initial stress. Whether it was late nights in the lab before a practical exam or during one of the many quizzes, Dr. K was always accessible and rooting for everyone in the class with a comforting smile.

The first day of class felt overwhelming as we went through the syllabus for both lecture and lab, and I imagined how many terms and accompanying functions I would have to learn in such a short amount of time. However, once I learned how to best prepare myself for the quizzes and lab practicals, I felt much more confident in my abilities. I found that studying with a partner who was also in the class was the best way for me to learn, as we could quiz each other and both explain general concepts to the other.

Something that Dr. K emphasized throughout the duration of this course was to prioritize your mental and physical well-being above all else. He said something on the first day that really resonated with me that was along the lines of “create a routine that you enjoy, such as working out in the morning or reading before bed, and never let anyone change it or take it away from you.” This stuck with me because I think it is so important to always make time for yourself in your day to do something for you, that you enjoy and that fills your cup, because you should never be pouring from an empty cup. For me, these things include reading, writing, going outside, spending time with family/friends, being with animals, working out, and having self care nights. This is especially pertinent if you are someone going into a medical profession or health field, as Dr. K also mentioned.

A specific class activity that I enjoyed in particular was when we had the option to use a heart rate monitor to track our heart rate variability, and our heart rate after some deep breathing yoga exercises (Ujjayi breathing). I thoroughly appreciate meditative practices and practice yoga myself so having this allotted time designated solely to focusing on the breath and slowing my heart rate was very peaceful and fulfilling. I also enjoyed it when we learned how to take a partner’s blood pressure in the lab using a handheld sphygmomanometer, as well as the open pig heart dissection (photo shown below). There was a lot of freedom during these labs, as well as hands-on learning which helps me personally retain information so much more than just writing it down.

I will definitely take the lessons I learned in this class, not only the anatomy and physiology aspects but also the life teaching moments from Dr. K, with me as I move forward in my academic, personal, and professional life. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much in this class, and be taught by such a caring, interactive, down to earth person. 

Bri Michaud-Nolan

I signed up for this class knowing that it would be a lot of material to learn in a short period of time. But I was still shocked after the first week of class by just how much we had to learn and the fact that we had already taken our first lab practical. Since this is my first time taking an anatomy class, I was excited to learn about the human body and was fascinated by just how in depth we went as a class, in terms of learning the anatomical structures in the human body.

I appreciated how this class’ purpose was not only to learn about the human body but to also discover how to maintain a healthy study schedule while in a rigorous course. Because of this, I was able to experience what it is like to study for the sake of learning, rather than to get a good grade. During this time, I learned that I work best when studying in a public space, such as Miller library, and studying in 25 minute increments with 5 minute breaks in between to destress. I felt comfortable trying different studying habits and learning to set aside time for relaxation and self care. I would often knit and watch netflix shows to destress and hang out with friends on the weekends. I learned that just spending all your time trying to cram your head with information isn’t effective and you need to take small breaks in between. 

During Janplan, I realized that I had developed a habit of trying to study up until bedtime. I had been struggling with insomnia for quite some time and I realized that I should try taking better care of myself by developing healthy sleep habits. This is something I’m still working on but I’ve tried to implement new habits such as stopping electronic usage 30 minutes before bed and following a relaxing bedtime routine.

I really liked the pig heart dissection (though it was very smelly), and seeing all the different vessels and parts of the heart helped me to memorize the anatomy of the heart and flow of blood. Dr. K was very accommodating throughout the course and frequently offered to provide us with additional help if needed. I really appreciated his emphasis on our mental health throughout the course and focusing on developing sustainable, healthy studying habits, as mentioned earlier. 

This class really has flown by and I can’t believe it’s the end of Janplan already. As mentioned earlier, I not only learned a lot about the Human Body but also learned about what works best for me in terms of studying. This is really helpful for me because I will be graduating in the spring and I hope that I will continue to use the skills I learnt throughout this course at graduate school.

-Sarah Kim

When I decided to take BI265 Anatomy and Physiology for my sophomore year Jan plan class I knew that it was going to come with a certain degree of difficulty. Just from the name, the class sounds work-intensive and serious. Even though I knew I wasn’t signing up for the typical ‘easy’ or ‘quirky’ Jan Plan class, I did not truly know the amount of work and effort I was about to put into a course over the next three and a half weeks. Despite the large amount of hours spent rewriting notes for lecture quizzes, in the lab preparing for a lab exam or with my partner preparing for our Grand Rounds Presentation, during this course I learned a lot of valuable lessons about myself as a student, and even as a person overall. 

First, I think that this class taught me a valuable lesson in the importance of studying broken-up and often, rather than late and all at once. Due to my class and lacrosse schedule I typically had two study sessions every day to prepare for the next day’s lecture quiz. One, right after lunch for 2-2.5 hours and one after dinner for 1-2 hours. I was able to get more intense studying done right after the lecture, which allowed my brain to start cementing the knowledge. Breaking up my studying into two study sessions really allowed the information to sink in and made the whole lecture feel much more manageable. On the rare occasion I did not have time for the second nightly session I would also wake up before class to get my final hour of studying in. Overall, this type of study plan and repeated sessions demonstrated to myself the importance of studying more often rather than cramming. I’ve never been the type of student to cram but this January really displayed to me how good time management can lead to better learning as well as more overall school-life balance. 

The next thing that this class taught me was the value of a good study partner in a difficult and work-intensive course. Throughout the semester I had a great study partner who spent many hours in the lab with me. Our study method allowed us to better prepare for the lab tests as we were able to quiz each other in a way that was more representative of what we were going to be asked to do for the lab tests. Further, after we had both individually studied for the quizzes, we used each other to perform active recall of the information in verbal quizzes. This type of learning really helped me to stay engaged and stay accountable during my semester in A&P. 

Finally, I learned that when I am interested in a topic, learning mass amounts of information really isn’t so hard. Even though this class took countless hours and required a high level of engagement and effort every single day, the whole experience did not ‘burn me out’ or discourage me because I enjoyed the content and topics. I learned the value of engagement and interest if you are going to commit to something that is difficult. Overall, I am very glad that I took BI265 this semester as it taught me many valuable lessons that I will take with me through my next 5 semesters at Colby, into my Graduate school, and finally into my life as a Medical Professional. 

• Julia Jardina

The first week of A and P was a little bit of a shock when it came to work load, however the words of Dr. Klepach about the importance of self care and stress management resonated with me. Also I wasn’t scared of the workload because my last jan plan was the 8 am to 4 pm emt jan plan that was monday through friday so I wasn’t used to the normal jan plan experience like the other students. The class is full of mostly pre med students who are driven into a mode of stress and grade fixation in order to get into med school. This makes it hard for these students to truly listen to Dr. K when he tells you that it isn’t the grade that matters in this class, and rather it is about learning how to manage all the information that he is throwing at you in a healthy way that is sustainable. In this way I believe that this class is truly one of the best classes for pre med students in that you are not only learning an immense amount of information that will prove useful later on in your career but you are more importantly given the opportunity to practice healthy life skills and habits that prioritize your mental and physical health without the stress of getting 100 percent on every assignment. The life skills that this class as well as the resource of Dr. K himself provides is arguably more important than all the anatomy and crazy historical stories that contextualize the a and p through the semester. The workload is intense however it is manageable. I suggest using the resources of the lab and the models it has to study along with other classmates in order to study for the lab practicals in a way that is not only more fun but also more effective. 

Over this jan plan, I feel like I have definitely grown as a student in becoming more efficient with my studying in order to free myself to do more stuff that I enjoy. Prioritizing giving myself time for me to clear my head and get some exercise has not only helped with physical health but I think helped my mental health as well. This combined with my management of stress as well as sleep prioritization I think has helped me and can be seen in my growth academically at managing the material. I am very appreciative for the way Dr. K runs this class and I think it is a refreshing change of pace that can honestly benefit any student.

– Elliot Hammerness

I signed up for the Anatomy and Physiology Janplan course to fulfill my final lab credit for the biology major. In all honesty though, it provided me with so much more. I had never taken an anatomy class before, even back in high school, so I was very excited to learn more about the human body and its complex yet advanced nature. While I am a biology major, I think I was one of the only, if not, the only student in the class who is not on the pre-med track or pursuing a career related to biology. Because of this, I was a little intimidated by the course initially, especially upon looking at the syllabus the night before the first day of class. Dr. Klepach also mentioned on the first day of class that this course is good preparation for medical school, something that did not cross my mind since I am going into the computer science field. Having friends drop the class in the first week also made the course seem a little more stressful than I thought it would be. In the first few days I felt a little discouraged about what was ahead, and whether or not I’d be able to enjoy my last January on campus. I even had a couple students ask me why I took this course if it is not a post-grad requirement for me, but I am so glad that I did. This course exceeded my expectations and ended up being very manageable and enjoyable too. 

Since A&P was the only class I had to worry about, instead of normally having assignments for three other courses, the workload was not too overwhelming. I also do not ski, so I had the time to study for lab practicals and review the material that others may have had to sacrifice. After the first week flew by, I knew that the course was not going to be as intimidating as I previously thought. Once I had a few of the quizzes under my belt, I started to get the hang of the questions and my stress levels decreased. I will admit though, the pig dissection did scare me a little. I had never done a dissection like the one we did in class before, especially a pig heart. I was nervous that it was going to freak me out, but it was actually extremely interesting and helpful in understanding the anatomy of the heart. Cutting open the right ventricle and finding the moderator band was the highlight of that experience. 

I also really liked how Dr. Klepach had us complete a daily lifestyle log, because it made me more aware about living a healthier lifestyle when I was writing down my meals and the hours of sleep and exercise I was completing everyday. I thought that going into the course with not much knowledge of anatomy would make a lot of the material feel difficult and complex, but as the course progressed, I realized that I knew more than I thought I did. I recognized a lot of the processes we discussed not only from other courses, but also because many occur daily in my own body. I learned a lot about the physical parts of the body and their names, but I learned more about how they all work together successfully so that I can live the way I do. More importantly though, I learned about things I can do to improve their function and improve myself in general which I believe was the most beneficial part of the course.

Lexi Hammer

When I decided to take the Anatomy and Physiology class, I was thinking about learning more about the human body. I plan to pursue a career as a neuroscience researcher, but I believed an overall, more comprehensive, knowledge of the body would come in handy. The thing I was not expecting was that the body I learned the most about was mine.

During our first week, we talked about bones and muscles. We talked about the piezoelectricity effect, in which applying force to the bone allows twisted fibers of collagen to open, presenting their charges, that attract osteoblasts, increasing bone density. My bones are here to protect and support me. If I don’t apply some force on them, they will become weak, bringing me issues in the future. We also talked about some muscles that we don’t usually think about when stretching or doing strength training, but that can help us in supporting our body, and doing different tasks. We even discussed some yoga poses that could help in stretching and strengthening those muscles, and the benefits that this could bring, such as less back pain. In summary, not exercising prejudices the balance of my body. And that is not even mentioning all the other benefits, such as the release of positive hormones.

In the cardiovascular unity, we explored the concept of heart rate variation (HRV). The higher your HRV, the more benefits you have, such as resistance to stress and a positive emotional base. While scrolling through your phone, your HRV is usually low; but you can increase it with a few minutes of mindful respiration. Once again, a simple change in my habits could bring positive impacts down the line.

We also learned about the risks of a high-fat diet. When there is excess fat in the liver, for example, our white blood cells can start absorbing the fat, creating plaques that can occlude our coronary artery, causing infarcts. This is also true about the high ingestion of sugar, which can make our brain resistant to insulin, and later, to leptin. The resistance would make us feel hungry all the time, which could lead to metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease, atherosclerosis, and even cancer. These lectures helped me to understand the importance of a healthy and balanced diet.

Besides learning about all these features and necessities of my body, I had the chance personally experience the class content. Looking at the personal health log, I realized that, besides the evident lack of sleep and exercise, all of my meals looked the same (and highly dependent on sugar). Even though water intake and motivation levels were not in the chart, I noticed that my motivation levels were getting lower, and I was not drinking enough water. After a few weeks of procrastination, I decided to put myself back on track. I slept earlier one day, to wake up and go for a run before class the next day. It is insane how my motivation was already improved in the day itself. The sleep and exercise also motivated me to eat better and drink more water, which in turn kept me determined to do exercise. The motivation also allowed me to accomplish my tasks faster, enabling me to sleep longer: it was a great cycle to get into.

I believe this class reminded me of how the body is such a perfect balance, in which so many things could go wrong. My major takeaway from this month is to value my body more, be more grateful for it, but also to take better care of it.

Reading the syllabus the day before the first class, I was pretty intimidated by the workload and how much material we were covering in less than a month. On the first morning, Professor Klepach told us that it is more important to prioritize our health and wellbeing over academic success, before even introducing yourself. Finishing up my last year at Colby, I have never had a professor do that and was both surprised and thankful at his approach to teaching and our learning. I also appreciate his eagerness to help us learn how to study better and absorb information, since this is perhaps the most useful thing I learned all month. At first, I started off trying to memorize every detail from the lecture, but slowly learned that understanding big-picture concepts and quizzing myself on the material was a much more effective method. 

As an athlete, I am always drawn to science material that relates to kinesiology, so I particularly liked the muscle lecture. Specifically, I loved learning about tension production and the length-tension relationship. When discussing resting muscle length and how its optimization can increase power output, Professor Klepach even gave specific examples of exercises that lengthen muscles without adding muscle mass. I also enjoyed learning about muscle fiber composition, and how it varies based on your activity level. It’s crazy how many more slow type muscle fibers endurance athletes have than the average person; I have always heard about “fast twitch muscle fibers” and was surprised about this graph. 

My favorite lab activity was definitely the heart dissection. I think constantly seeing cartoons and animations of body structures, it’s easy to forget what these structures actually look like in real life beings. Getting the freedom to explore the heart on our own and identify parts that we had only seen in graphics was a pretty cool experience that I am thankful to have had this Jan plan. Also, holding an organ in your hands made me appreciate all of the cool physiology that it can perform. It reminds me how complex of a level our bodies can operate at – without our conscience even knowing. I took a picture which I will attach below! 

I also enjoyed the blood pressure and MAP activity. I don’t have much clinical experience, but getting to take someone else’s blood pressure after having it performed on me by nurses countless times was much more difficult than I thought. They make it look so easy! As an aspiring doctor, I’ll admit I have overlooked the crucial role of nurses (especially before COVID hit). It makes me appreciate them that much more and all they do for the entire medical team. I know the point of the experiment was probably less significant, but it really forced me to reflect on people I hope to be working with everyday, and for that I am grateful. 

Overall, this class was a lot of work, but it was the closest I have felt to medical school and so I never felt unmotivated to do it. I am impressed by Professor Klepach’s ability to cover so much in such a short time, and thank him for never making us feel overwhelmed or stressed about how much we were learning. I feel well versed in anatomy and physiology, but also well versed in how to absorb and retain large amounts of material, which is a crucial skill I can’t wait to hopefully apply one day in med school. 

Elizabeth Hennessey

Spina bifida arises from abnormalities in the process that is responsible for the development of the central nervous system. It is apparent visually as a defect in the posterior of the vertebrae, which results in a protrusion of the meninges. Essentially, the spinal column does not close completely. While documentation of this disease dates back to the 17^th century, it was understudied until recently. In this presentation, we will discuss spina bifida and show how the diagnosis and treatment has changed over time, as well as touch upon new, cutting edge techniques for treatment.

There are multiple types of spina bifida, including myelomeningocele, which is the most common and also one of the most severe. Myelomeningocele can be diagnosed in utero, or seen at birth. Children born with spina bifida can experience a range of physical impairments, from bladder and bowel dysfunction to lower limb paralysis. Due to the defect of the vertebrae, other clinical diagnoses are linked to spina bifida, including hydrocephalus and meningitis which feed into a staggeringly high early mortality rate. In truth, the treatment of spina bifida occurs through the treatment and prevention of other disorders linked to the disease in order to ensure a long, fulfilling life for the patient.

             Though the term spina bifida was coined in the 17^th century, no effective treatment was found for hundreds of years. At one point, it was determined that spina bifida was untreatable due to the overwhelming amount of failed attempts by surgeons to treat the disease. It wasn’t until the 1950’s, with the case of Casey Holter, that a shunt which helped to relieve the fluid on the brain was created. The shunt worked by implanting a tube with one end in the brain, the other in the jugular vein. Via this channel, the cerebrospinal fluid was able to drain from the brain and enter the bloodstream. The 1960’s showed the first drastic progress in spina bifida treatment due to this Spitz-Holter shunt. While previous survival rates were 10-12%, the introduction of this shunt caused early mortality rates to rapidly declined to about 20%.

            Although the future for spina bifida seemed bright with the drastic shift in mortality rates, the 1970s and 80s proved as challenging times for parents and the medical community. While shunts had allowed early mortality rates to decline, the life expectancy for children of spina bifida were not living long lives and the medical community questioned the quality of life as well. This led to discussions about whether children born with more severe forms of spina bifida should receive treatment. With the help of research which tracked parental input, it was decided that treatment would be standard for children born with spina bifida.

            In 2003, the National Institutes of Health broke group with more medical advancements to better treat spina bifida. In this study, 183 fetuses were randomized and 91 received fetal repair, 92 postnatal. Repair includes such procedures as closing the defect over the spinal cord or reconstructing any spinal deformities. This study was promising, showing that children who had undergone fetal repair were 50% as likely to need a ventricular shunt, were less likely to develop a Chiari malformation, a condition in which the cerebellum and brainstem push into the spinal canal. Additionally, children that underwent fetal repair showed higher standardized test scores, indicating a lesser cognitive impairment.  

            New advancements in the field with spina bifida include eliminating the need for patients to need shunts, which have not been updated since the 1950s when they were created. This treatment, ETV/CPC treatment, was developed by Benjamin Ward from Boston Children’s Hospital. In ETV/CPC treatment, ETV is used to create a passageway in the third ventricle of the brain, which allows cerebrospinal fluid to drain. CPC is then used to reduce the choroid plexus so less cerebrospinal fluid is produced.

Kiana Chabot, Kacey LaBonte, Merel van Gijzen, Annabelle Fischer

Sources:

About Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida (Myelomeningocele). Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (Accessed 17 January, 2018 at http://www.chop.edu/treatments/fetal-surgery-spina-bifida/about)

Fletcher JM, Brei TJ. Introduction: Spina Bifida: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Developmental Disabilities Research Review 2011; 16(1)

ETV/CPC Procedure. Boston Children’s Hospital. (Accessed 17 January, 2018 at http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/treatments/etv-cpc-procedure)

Laurence KM. The Natural History of Spina Bifida Cystica. Archives of Diseases in Childhood 1964;39.

Mertens P. Spina Bifida and primary prevention. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 2012; 7(2).

Mohd-Zin SQ, Marwan AI, Abou Chaar MK, Ahman-Annuar A, Abdul-Aziz NM. Spina Bifida: Pathogenesis, Mechanisms, and Genes in Mice and Humans. Scientifica 2017; 2017.

Pruitt LJ. Living With Spina Bifida: A Historical Perspective. Pediatrics 2012; 130(2).

I believe that all humans who have access to education should be required to learn about what exists inside our bodies and how they work. Isn’t who we are also what we are? I approached human anatomy and physiology more as a discovery of myself. There was this deep-rooted desire to explore each groove of the vertebrae and each curvature of the organs. I knew that in class we were learning a basic template for the body, and that in reality, each individuals’ anatomy had its own features that made us unique, such as the shapes of our skulls or the muscular divots in our backs.

One way I experienced this was during the pig heart dissection. I compared my pig heart, which was tightly packed with adipose tissue and had narrow pulmonary arteries, to a classmate’s, which in turn had a large aortic arch and clear coronary arteries that wrapped around the base. We concluded that these characteristics were not only important in making each individual pig, or organism in general, unique, but also because it gave us information about its superficial appearance and the life it had.

We further challenged this idea on a skull we had in the laboratory. The date of the skull and the presence of a rare sutural bone suggested the person was indigenous to a certain Peruvian tribe that has been historically known for sutural bones and laboratory donations. Additionally, the loss of teeth in the skull implied that the person had been a mouth breather, which was further explained by a crooked nasal bone, which had potentially been broken during his or her life time. As I continued to compare the special characteristics that distinguished each individual’s anatomy, I was brought back to this feeling of curiosity about myself.     

It struck me that, although I saw the class as more of a self-discovery, I would never actually be able to see these unique features that made up my own body on the anatomical and physiological level at which I was learning about them. In fact, the only people that had the opportunity to actively witness and handle the billions of possible variations our bodies take are surgeons. On January 31, Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist Dr. K. Nathan Parthasarathy presented as a guest speaker and talked a little about the benefits of being a surgeon. One especially powerful story he told was about perhaps the only man ever to have safely handled and observed his own deep anatomy. Leonid Rogozov, 27 years old at the time, was the only surgeon stationed at the Soviet base in Antarctica in 1961. He had the misfortune of getting appendicitis and, being the only surgeon, saved his own life by performing an appendectomy on himself. Dr. Parthasarathy mentioned Rogozov’s story to make the point that a doctor is not more skilled because he or she has had the experience, and therefore, empathizes with the patient. If this is true, I thought, then a skilled physician must be the product purely curiosity, and originally, the innate desire to understand the self.   

January, 2018 – Annabelle Fischer

Hmm…where do I even begin to describe my experience with A&P. Well on the very first day of JanPlan, I overslept and awkwardly took a seat in the back. This was obviously not the best first impression to give your professor. As the class continued though, I felt that this month that I had was more than just a regular old JanPlan course.  It was more of a bildungsroman in a way. Professor Klepach gave insight to all of his students with his stories and practical applications in life. He essentially taught me how to maintain stress and manage time well while also studying not only efficiently but effectively.

Yeah, there were times where I just outright did not do well on quizzes or a lab test, but if there was one lesson to be learned, it was to not be discouraged. Just kinda keep your head up and in the game. Why and how? Grades aren’t the end of the world even if you’re pre-medicine like the majority of us taking A&P. Yes, it does make you feel hopeless when you don’t get the grade you expected given the effort and time you put in but improvement is definitely more important as Prof. Klepach told us. That being said, the class was not easy nor impossible. It just depends on your effort and mindset. So if you are looking for a sick JanPlan, take A&P.

-Leon

Though it definitely didn’t feel like it, taking this class was one of the best decisions I have made during my time at Colby. During that first week I struggled a with the material. Despite studying I found myself unable to memorise all the necessary physiological details and anatomical structures we went over in our lectures and labs. This was quite disheartening and led to a lot of anxiety on what the rest of Jan Plan would be like. However, with every class session Professor Klepach continued to encourage all the students. he was very adamant on putting one’s health first and then adjusting academics and other lifestyle choices in a way that would cause minimum stress. I thought this was something I wouldn’t be able to do but as I continued to review the course materials and take the quizzes and labs tests, I found myself adjusting my study habits and eventually saw some improvement. I saw improvement in my life outside of class as well. I started a regular workout routine, which is something I hadn’t maintained before. This January was also probably the most consistent month of adequate sleep that I’ve had so far during my time at Colby. I usually experience periods where it’s difficult for me to sleep and I expected this to to be an issue during Jan Plan as well. however, as I fell into a routine, I found myself getting a consistent seven to eight hours of sleep every night which was quite shocking.

This class gave me a lot of hope for the upcoming spring semester. Fall semester was not the best experience due to a combination of personal and academic issues. Yet, despite the heavy workload, I find that this class has motivated me to look forward to spring semester. I have learned more about myself as a student and I really hope I can use what I have learned to do well in my upcoming courses, especially in the ones with similar difficult concepts and a lot of memorisation. I hope to consistently improve in my classes while also maintaining minimum stress. I know this will be challenging since spring semester will be much busier than Jan Plan was, but I am hopeful nonetheless. A&P also helped me to change how I think about exams and quizzes. The grade is important yes, and I hope I do well on my tests this semester, but typically I would view a bad grade as a simply that, a bad grade – a failure. With the structure of A&P I began to view a bad grade as a learning experience. I really liked the scratch off quizzes because the point of the quiz was that even if I didn’t know the answer to a question, I would know by the end of the quiz. It was an assessment, but also a learning experience. I hope to use that view this semester to drive myself to constantly improve. Fall semester, one of my biggest challenges was motivation. I wanted to learn, but I was so stressed about my grades that that anxiety ironically started to affect my performance in classes. Now that I have had a class that showed me assessments can be less stress inducing, I hope I can use a similar approach of viewing every test as a learning experience to motivate myself.

Overall, this course taught me a lot about myself. I’m really glad I was able to take it even though at times I was still very stressed. However that just means that there is always room for improvement in my personal and academic habits and I look forward to using everything my experience in this course and all the wonderful advice Professor Klepach gave to make the best use of the rest of my time at Colby.

– Roshauna

Taking this JanPlan course was a decision made after the JanPlan started, which meant that my personal experience in the first week and less in the second involved immense amounts of stress mixed with fascination at the lecture material-the physiology material. I was quite overwhelmed and sleep deprived the first week. Gradually I saw myself catching up, filling up what felt like gaps in the exploration of different systems of the human body and I began to focus more on my studying techniques. I would advise everyone taking a complex and heavy on memorization Biology (or otherwise) class to follow Professor Klepach’s advice on studying methods. Going through the material prior to the class worked very very effectively for me, as during the lecture the material was not only reviewed right then, but also solidified and therefore resonated with me.

Perhaps, the most enriching activity was the visit to Inland Hospital in Waterville, that involved the tour of the hospital and the presentations we delivered. Medical cases upgrade the level of difficulty and thoroughness required to present them in an audience that may or may not know much about your particular case. Understanding and comprehending the medical case is crucial to the efficiency and clarity of your presentation and it was that part that I very much enjoyed. Immersion in the different strategies, parameters that medical doctors have to consider when diagnosing and acting accordingly amazed me in its intricacy and its abundance of possibilities. This course allowed me and equipped me to approach such an elevated topic with moderate confidence and certainly some of the necessary basic knowledge. Regarding the actual presentation, I was overwhelmed when considering the expertise of part of the audience, but I realized that if you are passionate (or at least interested in the case) and have prepared well enough, the fear/stress is needless.

Another aspect of this class that fascinated me is the histology we had the opportunity to study during the lab portion of the class. Not just physical models of different organs but also slides of healthy and unhealthy tissues were elements that we had to identify. Never before had I had interacted so intensely and closely with histological specimens and I loved the microscopic view I gained. One of the systems that I enjoyed learning about is the nervous system. Its efficiency and delicacy I had not realized to this extent before. In particular, I was very intrigued by the pathology of this particular system that I consider exploring neuroscience in the future. When it comes to anatomy, the anatomy of the ear, along with its cooperation with other systems’ anatomical features to allow for hearing was the most surprising to me. Later on, I went on to see some of the technology used for hearing loss, understanding now how the ear functions.

Finally, the cooperation of the EMS and the hospital staff was elemental in my medical case and made me consider a career of a paramedic.

-Iliana G.