Encounter #3

One of the requirements of one my classes called HLSC 101 – Intro to Health Care involves shadowing a health care professional of your choosing. After several obstacles, I was given the opportunity to shadow a physician assistant at Holy Cross Hospital. However, Dr. McKenzie told me, this past Monday, that I needed a recent documentation of my current flu shot as well as a tuberculosis (TB) test document. This would ensure the safety of the people that I would come into contact with and myself.

            Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. One of the main issues with this disease is that it can be easily transmitted from person to person through the air. This disease can be fatal and is currently affecting about one-third of the world’s population. (To learn more about tuberculosis read my blog entry for February 21, 2014 titled Investigations #1). I had a flu shot before but I have never had a TB test to my knowledge. I will receive a tuberculin skin test next week from my doctor. Basically I learned that the doctor would inject a fluid into my skin called tuberculin and after 2-3 days I will come back to have my arm checked for a reaction. If a person has a positive skin test, they would have a raised, hard area or swelling that is present in the skin. If they do not, then there would not be any hard area or swelling that is present in the skin.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/testing/default.htm 

Dictionary #3

1. a) Exogenous pathway: Intracellular route taken by antigen that is processed for presentation by MHC class II, typically associate with proteins that are endocytosed.
b) Endogenous pathway: Intracellular route taken by antigen that is processed for presentation by MHC class I, typically associated with proteins generated in the cytosol.

2. Lipid Rafts: Parts of the membrane characterized by highly ordered, detergent-insoluble, sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich regions. 

3. Periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS): A collar of lymphocytes encasing small arterioles of the spleen. 

Reflections #2

We are closing in on the half way mark of the semester with spring break next week. I have to say that the first half of Immunology has been quite the learning experience. Immunology is my first of many 400 level classes in college and although this class requires a lot of work, everything that Dr. V assigns are relevant and serves a purpose. I have encountered many teachers who assign work just to show that they are doing something in their class, even though the work may not be helpful (busy work). However, this is not the case with Dr. V. 

Immunology has really changed the way I observe things around me. For example, if I see a person who is sick I start diagnosing what is wrong with their immune system. All of the labs for this class are well organized and it actually fits perfectly into what we were learning in class. This is a big deal for me because I have been in quite a few labs in years past that were not organized and/or fit into what we were learning in class. The material that I learn in both lecture and lab will surely help me as I advance to more higher-level science courses and eventually my career as a medical laboratory scientist and a physician assistant. I am excited for what the second half of Immunology has in store.