Amber's Anatomy

My Reaction Phantom Limb Pain and the Mirror Box #3

2008-06-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

On the sensory cortex, the gentiles and feet are next to each other. The hands and feet are next to each other. When an arm is lost, the brain still wants information from it to process. The brain steals information from the face because it is the closest thing to the arm. This causes the person to feel sensations of their phantom arm when something happens to their face. This allows Mr. Austin to map out where the limb is and manipulate the phantom limb. These videos are being used to help out those who are going through pain from phantom limbs. These videos have made me want to study phantom limbs.

My Reaction to Phantom Limb Pain and The Mirror Box #2

2008-06-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

If an arm is contracted and the is also a head injury, then the problem is not in the arm, but in the brain. The change in information processing causes the contraction in the arm. When a person loses an upper limb, the brain will cause the development of a contracted limb. If a person does have a contracted limb, they will be unable to put both their arms into the box. Mr. Austin tries to help these kind of people by having them form mirror images with their real arm, so he can see what the contraction looks like. He then has the patient close their eyes and he will slowly manipulate part of their limb. Then once he was done, their arm would not be so contracted that it would be able to fit into the mirror box. How interesting! :D I enjoyed this video much more then the first one.

My Reaction to Mirror Box and Phantom Limb Pain #1

2008-06-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

The mirror box is a wooden box that has exactly ninety degree angles and a mirror right in the middle of it. The mirror acts as an allusion of having a limb. The allusion was very convincing. This box is like therapy for those who suffer pain from phantom limbs. The patient would put both limbs in the box. The mirror would make it look like the person is moving both limbs. This allows the contracted limb to loosen up. The patient feels automatic relief. I also learned that a lot of the phantom limb pain that patients feels is due to the contraction of the limb. I enjoyed watching this video.

What I Learned From Doing My Health Project

2008-06-12T16:56:00.001-07:00

Through this experience, I have learned how to read nutritional labels. Before, I did never took the time to look at the labels of the foods I ate. When I did, it did not make any sense to me. Now, I always look at the labels. My friends and family actually get annoyed by my new habit. I have also learned that oranges are better fruits then I thought. It is ranked as the number 1 healthiest fruit. I learned that it is better to eat four to five small meals, rather then two big meals. I have adjusted to eating multiple small meals. This project has been very beneficial for me. I am very happy I participated in it.

Summary of Chapter 2

2008-06-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

This chapter was in depth and introduced the science that involved in phantom limbs. The doctor also introduced his two theories about phantom limbs. I hope these two theories will help uncover the mystery in phantim limbs. It is not normal when a person feels pain for a limb that is no there anymore.

The Most Interesting Story in Phantoms

2008-06-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

It is not everyday where I come across a person who tried to keep her own hand from choking herself. This was one of the stories in Phantoms. I loved the desciption in the book. i could actually picture the woman trying to take her own hand off her neck. I read that she also had to sit on her arm to prevent that from happening. I cannot imagine the amount of pain this poor woman went through. She constantly had to be cautious of her arm. That is a very hard life to live.

Phantoms

2008-06-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

These book is very good! I have never been so interested in a book since the book, The Elephant Man. I never realized that phantoms in the body could actually be real. It is funny how the mind can trick itself into thinking that a limb that has been amputated is still there. This shows me that the brain is capable of extraordinary things. If I had a phantom limb, I would actually be very annoyed by it. Imagine trying to open a refrigerator with a phantom limb?!

My Strongest Sense

2008-06-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Since I have glasses, sight is not going to be one of my strongest senses. I also tend to say "what?" whenever people speak to me because I am sometimes unable to hear what they are saying. I think is due to the fact the I listen to my music very loud. So hearing cannot be a strong sense of mine either. But I do believe that smell is a strong sense of mine. I am usually the person who says, "do you smell that?" It is both positive and negative to have a good sense of smell. For example during dissections I am able sense the horrid smell of the dead animal, but I am also able to block the smell out of mind.

St Scholatica Podcasts (June 16 & 18)

2008-06-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed listening to this podcast. It was different from what I was used to listening to. This podcast started out the description of cardiac output. I learned that caraic output is the measure of blood being pumped by the heart. Cardiac output is equal to the stroke volume multiplied by the heart rate. SV is the volume of blood pumped per beat and the HR is the number of beats per minute. I also learned that humans flow about five liters per minute of blood. In some cases, it can increase almost over 25 liters! That is a lot of blood!

You Don't Scare Me Cancer!

2008-05-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display the traits of uncontrolled growth. Cancer causes about 13% of all deaths.According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007. One of the most popular cancer is breast cancer.It is one of the top ten diseases that takes the lives of woman. My great aunt was one of the victims of breast cancer, who lost her battle with breast cancer. Along with my great aunt, my grandmother,grandfather, and oldest aunt have all been diagnosed with cancer throughout their lives. Luckily, they were all able to defeat this disease. As you can probably tell, cancer is a deadly disease that runs in my family. Since many of my close family members have been diagnosed with it, their is a high chance that I might get it sometime is my life. Though this disease is deadly, I am not scared of it.If a day should come where I am given the news that I have cancer, I will do my best to defeat it. If My grandmother and grandfather can defeat it so can I.

Short of Breath

2008-05-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately I have been a victim of shortness of breath. My last vivid memory of this was during one of my softball practices. I believe it was my first week of softball practice, after making the team. The practice was very hard and tiring. I was not used to using every muscle in my body. I was used to playing tennis and basketball in my regular physical education class, not softball. This softball practice included running,drills, and batting practice. Now the great thing about a team sport (*sarcasm) is that if one person messes up during a drill, then the whole team was required to redo the drill. After the practice, the team huddled up, while the coaches gave an inspirational speech. I was unable to focus on the coaches' words because I was too busy having trouble with breathing. I also felt dizzy. This caused me to ask one of my coaches if I could sit down. This was very embarrassing but necessary. This is an experience that I will probably remember for a long time

2nd Semester

2008-05-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

This semester, I am hoping to to get an A in this class. Last semester, I received a B because I did not turn in all my work and some of it was late. Hopefully, this semester I will somehow keep up with all the work. Junior year for me has been a harsh lesson of time management. I really need to prioritize my homework and activities. Besides receiving an A in this class, I also want to gain more knowledge on how the body works and different diseases.

Bone Health & Care

2007-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

It is very important to take care of our bones because bones store minerals and allow us to move. They also protect our hearts, lungs, and other organs. If you do not take care of your bones there is a higher risk of fracturing one. Poor bone health is also very expensive. One of the most common bone diseases is Osteoporosis.It is characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone structure. To prevent bone diseases such as Osteroprosis it is recommended that you do daily physical activity and drink plenty of milk. Also it is recommended that you have annual bone density tests.

Bones

2007-10-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Bones are very important for the human body. Without bones we would not be able to do our daily functions. This includes moving your head, walking, and writing. Without bones we would not be able to stand up. We would just be on the floor all day, everyday for the rest of our lives.

Cancer/AIDS

2007-10-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

In this class I wish to further my knowledge on breast cancer . Breast Cancer is a disease that runs in my family. Both my grandma and oldest aunt are survivors of breast cancer. Lucky for them the doctors were able to catch it in its early stages. I know the effects of breast cancer, but I want know the causes of it and other valuable information. I am also interested in AIDS. I want to know everything there is to know about AIDS.

Me

2007-10-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

I am a fun loving girl who one day wants to be a doctor. That is one of the reasons why I am taking this class. I am also interested in in joining the Peace Corps after college. I love 80s music and movies also. My favorite shows are House, Grey's Anatomy, and Ugly Betty.