A&P II

This week has marked the beginning of a new class, A&P II. We've started by examining the nervous system. We've learned what a neuron is from it's dendrites, cell body, axon and to it's synaptic end bulbs. The second half of the week we started to dive into the physiology behind the nerve. How the neurotransmitters, receptors, and the action potential exceeding the threshold causes a nerve impulse to be generated. There has been an abundance of information and details about the nervous system and I'm afraid we've only begun.
Personally, I've always been intrigued with biology and how our bodies function. Oftentimes it's impossible for me to grasp the reality of what is going on in our bodies at any given moment. There are so many processes taken place, within our bodies, yet without our knowledge or permission. When I try to wrap my brain around what is going on, it boggles me. I can't fathom that I don't have control over my body, it controls itself and me. If I touch a hot burner, my reflexes kick in before I even realize it. After the incident, of course I am fully aware of what has happened but I didn't make it happen, my body knows how to protect itself. I was impressed with a new bit of info about the neurons. Although each neuron only produces one type of neurotransmitter yet the receptors in its' dendrites may allow more than one type of NT to bind to it. That's really smart. Since this whole thing happens in such a phenomenally short period of time, the ability to accept more then one NT increases the neurons efficiency and working capabilities. Wow! Yet, this is only the beginning.
I must say that the format of this class does have me a bit apprehensive. I'm used to reading the text, being tested, moving on, accepting my grade at the end of the course. This won't be so black and white. I'm nervous about my ability to keep up and meet the creative expectations this course outlines is necessary. It's a big change in the way I've learned in the past. I've already had difficulties navigating on the computer programs we are required to use. All that said, I'm optimistic this will prove to be a worthwhile journey!