adding pictures soon
I keep itching to add pictures, especially of some of my old shoots, though i do find the 250x250 a little restrictive :(. However, I rarely have time when I'm at home, and that's where all my pics are. aaaargh.
This next part may offend some, so if you are easily offended, don't read on. You have been warned.
I'm a biologist, and hoping to be a vet. I do not squick easily. I am currently taking endocrinology, and our first lab was intense, to sya the least. each group of three people (12 in the class) had 2 albino rats, eityher male or female (4 of each total, 2 small, 2 large). We first learned how to handle them (no problem for me since I've done it before, but you should have seen some of the squealy little girl-beasts - ugh). Then we had to learn how to give injections of saline both intraperitoneally and subcutaneously. again, no problem, but my group members were another story. I finally coached the guy through, but the girl is a wreck. however, to her credit, she is slightly less of a wreck than a few of the other girls. why must girls be so wussy? *shakes head* and THEN, the prof cam around, injected the rats with an anaesthetic, and once they had just barely been totally anaesthetized, we got a body weight and brought them over to be decapitated. the blood had to be collected while the heart was still pumping to get it all, so we were soon handed a head and then he squeezed the last of the blood out while the legs still kicked a few times. people kinda freaked out a bit, but overall, they handled it well. then we had to dissect out some organs, and weight those.
now I know some people will freak out, but please, do not go all zealot on me. There are what i consider very good reasons for doing what we did, and I'd really rather not have people jump all over me for it. I will not bug you about your beliefs, I ask you to not bug me. We made the entire procedure as painless and stressless as possible for the animals, and we did not waste the animals. the organs we collected (and data) will be used as controls for the rest of the semester, sparing countless other rats. The bodies will be fed to the snakes downstairs, where I also work. And the experience will train many many vets and future health care providers-so everyone who's ever seen a doctor or vet, this is an essential part of training for them. Oh, and everything we do is CLOSELY monitored by IACUC. We all have to have at least level 2 training, if not level 3 (of 3 total), and the prof. has been doing this kind of work for 35 years or so.
but all in all, i think many people found it pretty intense for the first lab of the semester-quite some intro, huh?
This next part may offend some, so if you are easily offended, don't read on. You have been warned.
I'm a biologist, and hoping to be a vet. I do not squick easily. I am currently taking endocrinology, and our first lab was intense, to sya the least. each group of three people (12 in the class) had 2 albino rats, eityher male or female (4 of each total, 2 small, 2 large). We first learned how to handle them (no problem for me since I've done it before, but you should have seen some of the squealy little girl-beasts - ugh). Then we had to learn how to give injections of saline both intraperitoneally and subcutaneously. again, no problem, but my group members were another story. I finally coached the guy through, but the girl is a wreck. however, to her credit, she is slightly less of a wreck than a few of the other girls. why must girls be so wussy? *shakes head* and THEN, the prof cam around, injected the rats with an anaesthetic, and once they had just barely been totally anaesthetized, we got a body weight and brought them over to be decapitated. the blood had to be collected while the heart was still pumping to get it all, so we were soon handed a head and then he squeezed the last of the blood out while the legs still kicked a few times. people kinda freaked out a bit, but overall, they handled it well. then we had to dissect out some organs, and weight those.
now I know some people will freak out, but please, do not go all zealot on me. There are what i consider very good reasons for doing what we did, and I'd really rather not have people jump all over me for it. I will not bug you about your beliefs, I ask you to not bug me. We made the entire procedure as painless and stressless as possible for the animals, and we did not waste the animals. the organs we collected (and data) will be used as controls for the rest of the semester, sparing countless other rats. The bodies will be fed to the snakes downstairs, where I also work. And the experience will train many many vets and future health care providers-so everyone who's ever seen a doctor or vet, this is an essential part of training for them. Oh, and everything we do is CLOSELY monitored by IACUC. We all have to have at least level 2 training, if not level 3 (of 3 total), and the prof. has been doing this kind of work for 35 years or so.
but all in all, i think many people found it pretty intense for the first lab of the semester-quite some intro, huh?