Eye Dissection Analysis

In the eye dissection, we dissected a sheep eye and walked through the different parts of the eye and learned about what each part did. Below are some pictures of the eye from our lab:

Here is a diagram of the eye, which is much easier to follow: 

Let's go through the anatomy of the eye. All the major parts of the eye are labeled in the diagram:
Structure A is vitreous humor, structure B is the lens, structure C is cornea, structure D is pupil, structure E is iris, structure F is retina, structure H is the choroid, and structure G is the optic nerve. My favorite part is the choroid because I really like the shimmery blue/green color of it. It also looks so cool when light shines through it because there is almost a fingerprint like "watermark" that shows up.

For the physiology of the eye, there are several major components. For example, there are many muscles around the eye that allow for eye movement, and fat that acts as cushion around the eye. The cornea protects the eye and allows light to pass through. large region of vitreous humor is the fluid between the cornea and the lens, and its function is to support eye shape. The lens focus images on the retina, and the retina is filled with rods and cones to take in different images of light that are then funneled to the back of the eye to the optical disk/blind spot. Finally, at the very back of the eye is the optic nerve cross (optic chiasm) that crosses over to the respective left and right hemispheres of the brain. The left eye's optic nerve crosses over to the right brain hemisphere, and the right eye's optic nerve crosses over to the left brain hemisphere.

The Clay Brain

In this lab we used play dough to reconstruct different views of the brain. We used the play dough to label different parts of the brain in each view. This lab was really fun in that it helped me learn where the parts of the brain are in a very hands on way. Below is a picture of our clay brain:

The Woman With A Hole In Her Brain

A women in her 20s was discovered to be missing her entire cerebellum. Prior to finding out that her cerebellum was missing, she had experienced dizziness and nausea, and had trouble learning to walk and talk. I thought this was really interesting because she was disabled her entire life with one of the most well known and important parts of the brain and yet she was not affected too severely and could still carry out normal everyday life. The cerebellum's primary job is to control voluntary actions of the body, and problems with the cerebellum can lead to severe mental disabilities. Therefore, the fact that this woman could survive quite normally without her entire cerebellum was very fascinating to me.

My part of the brain is the medulla oblongata. It is a continuation of the spinal chord within the skull and is a cone shaped nerve mass. It is responsible for autonomic actions such as digestion, breathing, and heart rate. Without the medulla oblongata, it would be impossible to survive without life support since other parts of the brain cannot take over and voluntarily produce a heart beat or digest food. The medulla Oblongata is definitely one of the most important parts of the brain, and one would definitely not want to be without it!