Not Dead...

...but not for lack of effort on school's part.

This semester is kicking my trash. Right now, I'm so burnt out, the only way I can study is to draw diagrams over and over. Even if my conscious brain isn't acknowledging receipt of information, my hands will know what to do on the exam and it'll be sort of like I have a note card there with me, if I can draw them right.

All faculty hazing aside, now that I'm seeing it applied I am really enjoying anatomy. It's fascinating. I am hopefully studying better for this exam than for the last one, but only time (ie, next Friday at 8 am) will tell. For now, here are a few of the less cadaverific things I'm learning:

Manual muscle testing.

If someone comes to you with a limitation, say, of the shoulder, there are a series of steps to take to determine what's causing the limitation. You first ask them to make whatever motion is limited (for kicks, let's say flexion, which is bringing your arm out in front of you) using both arms, to compare the two.

Clearly the limited side is his right side. 

You then "passively move the arm through the arc of motion". Translation: tell them to relax their arm, the bring it out in front of them as far as possible.

Now comes the Choose Your Own Adventure part of things.

If you can get the shoulder into full flexion (about 170 degrees), you test the shoulder flexor muscles' strength.

DON"T DO THIS EVER.

If you can't get the shoulder into full flexion, you pay attention to whether the patient is actively resisting (which might indicate pain) or if they simply can't go any further (which might indicate muscle shortness or tightness).

From there, you do stuff we haven't gotten to yet.

Anyway, that's my update. I'm still alive. School is kicking my trash. Tomorrow is an exam. Next week there are effectively 3 more (FOR THE SAME CLASS). The week after that there are 3 more, two of which make up 75% of my grade in one class.

So.

You know.

Still alive.

Surviving.