TRI-5, Wk3, Day 282 - Memorial Service

Friday started with the typical Physical Dx I, Diversified IV, Physical Dx I sequence of classes. Through Physical Dx I learned that the waif super model from the mid to late 60s, aptly named "Twiggy" had amenohhrea which is an absence of menstrual periods. Also, Barabra Bush had Graves' Dz which pertains to hyperthyroidism.

After those three classes we normally have Logan Basic Technique III but our teacher wanted us to attend a memorial service for veterans. It was a nice presentation and several of our student veterans were honored. The presentation also included some heavy hitters including Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan as well as representatives from MO governor Kit Bond. A slight downside related to the event was that I ended up missing our 11 a.m. Dx Imaging tutoring session.

There was a very impressive military lady who talked during the later portions of the event. She was a 2001 Logan graduate. One of the things that made her talk so impressive were her references to things previous speakers had said so we knew hers was not a canned talk. One of the things she referred back to was a resolution that had just passed in the house which would mandate access to chiropractic care for all veterans. We learned may soldiers may carry up to 85 pounds of equipment and gear on a regular basis and low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common complaints among soldiers.

Previous studies by the government have already established the best treatment for LBP is chiropractic and exercise but maybe the branch of the government which concluded that study didn't adequately communicate their results to the arm of the government called our military.

Another interesting thing was a new program Logan College is implementing which would provide for free chiropractic care to all veterans, police, fire and EMS personal.

The study session after school went well. The person I'm studying with attended Dx Tutoring. I found out that the daughter of Terry Yochum is our tutor on Thur & Fri. Dr. Yochum is the main author of our radiology book and his daughter is a Tri-6 student at Logan.

Our Dx Imaging teacher was in the classroom at the beginning of tutoring and mentioned the best way to get a good grade out of his class was to attend the tutoring.

I'm still trying to make sense of everything but it appears our midterm will test us over things we aren't formally going over in class but need to learn on our own. Essentially, a big part of the midterm includes normal anatomy found on x-rays as well as roentgenometrics which are various measurements used on x-ray films.

The 12-188 page reading assignment contains much of the normal anatomy we'll need to be familiar with but there is no reading assignment for the roentgenometrics. So, even though it's not formally assigned we took it upon ourselves to start reading chapter 2 which covers measurements. That chapter is 60 pages long and we knocked out 20 pages with a plan to knock out another 20 on Saturday and the final 20 on Monday. We have about 3 weeks before our midterm. I think I'll use today's blog for a little review and list the roentgenometrics recently covered.

For the Skull:

1. Vastine-Kinney Method of Pineal Gland Localization
2. Sella Turcica Size aka Pituitary fossa size(the sella turcica is the location of the pituitary gland)
3. Basilar Angle
4. McGregor's Line, aka Basil Line
5. Chamberlains Line, aka Palato-occipital line
6. Macrae's Line, aka Foramen magnum line - The foramen magnum is the big hold that the spinal cord comes out of. Through this reading we learned the anterior or front portion of that hole is called the basion and the rear portion of that hole (foramen) is called the opisthion.
7. Digastric Line
8. Height Index of Klaus
9. Boogard's Line & Angle
10. Anterior Atlanto-Occipital Dislocation Measurement, aka Power's Index

In the Cervical Spine:

1. Atlantodental Interspace (ADI), aka Atlas-odontoid space, predental interspace, stlas-dens interval
2. Method of Bull
3. George's line, aka posterior vertebral alignment line, posterior body line (this line is pretty popular and one I'd heard of before this class)
4. Posterior Cervical Line, aka spinolaminar junction line, arch-body line.
5. Sagittal Dimension of the Cervical Spinal Canal
6. Atlantoaxial Alignment, aka spread of the atlas
7. Cervical Gravity Line
8. Cervical Lordosis, aka angle of hte cervical curve, cervical (lordotic) angle
9. Stress Lines of the Cervical Spine, aka Ruth Jackson's Lines
10. Prevertebral Soft Tissues, aka Retropharyngeal interspace (RPI), retrolaryngeal Interspace (RLI), retrotracheal interspace (RTI)

Thoracic Spine:

1. Cobb's Method of Scoliosis Evaluation, aka Cobb-Lippman method
2. Risser-Ferguson Method of Scoliosis Evaluation
3. Thoracic Kyphosis
4. Thoracic Cage Dimension

Lumbar Spine:

1. Intervertebral Disc Height
2. Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Angles
3. Lumbar Lordosis
4. ...

There are many more pages for the lumbar spine but, that's where our 20 pages ended for the day. The next 20 pages of reading are almost exclusively devoted to lumbar spinal measurements.

I think Netter's Flashcards may be available in the bookstore for radiography.

We're coming up on week 4 in school. We're off Monday due to Memorial Day. In week 5 we have our homecoming and will only have classes on Monday, Tuesday and the first half of Wednesday. Our Physical Lab Dx practical will be in week 4 and we will have many of our first test in other classes in Week 5 before homecoming. I should know exactly which test are forthcoming in week 5 ...no time like the present to figure it out - I'll consult my spreadsheet ...

Week 4 -

Wed, 6/2 - Physical Dx Lab Practical

Week 5 -

Diversified Practical

Physical Dx Exam I

Cardiopulmonary Dx, Exam I

Laboratory Dx, Exam I

I'm not sure about toxicology or HCP and I believe our two radiology classes will be testing around week 7. That Diversified practical in week 5 kind of took me by surprise. We've got a lot of work to do to get ready for these exams - thank goodness we've got Monday off to help boost our study times.

Today's picture is of the Missouri Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan.