Brain Dissection

In this lab, we dissected a sheep brain and identified the different parts of the brain; in particular, the cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, thalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, corpus callous, hypothalamus, gray matter, and white matter. We made two cuts on the brain; first we cut it in half longitudinally so that we could observe the medial plane of the brain. Then we made a cross sectional cut of the cerebrum which allowed us to see the gray matter and white matter more distinctly. We did notes on the brain structure, so this lab was a good follow up to understand more about the physiology and anatomy of the brain and how they work together. We learned in the notes that the parts of the brain are the cerebrum, diencephalon, brainstem, and cerebellum. In this lab, we got to visually see the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem.

Table of Functions:

Question 1: Sketch of Brain / Picture of Brain

Sketch of Brain parts

Blue pin is the brain stem. Green pin is the cerebellum. Yellow Pin is the Cerebrum. White pin is the anterior part of brain and black pin is the posterior part of brain.

Question 2: Functions of each of the structures

Question 3: What is the function of myelin in a neuron?

The myelin sheet is very essential to the proper functioning of the nervous system. When the myelin is not functioning properly, nerve impulses slow down and begins to shrivel. A disease that result from damaged myelin sheath is sclerosis. The myelin sheath increases the speed at which impulses spread along the myelinated fiber.

Question 4: Sketch of Cross-Section / Picture of Cross Section

Sketch of Important Brain Parts

This is a picture showing the specific parts of the brain visible in the medial brain. To identify the structures, look at the table of functions above.

Question 5: Functions of Structures

Question 6: Detailed Sketch/Picture of Cross Section with Gray Matter and White Matter

Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

I worked with Mary and Eric in this lab, so we have the same pictures:)

The eye contains many important parts that have to work together to produce clear vision. In this lab, we dissected a sheep eye and identified the different parts of the eye and how they all worked together (aka we observed the Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye)

The sclera is the white outer coat of the eye that protects the eye from injury because it is very tough (observed by feeling  the sclera in the eye). It also serves as an attachment for muscles that move the eye. 

The cornea is the transparent part of the sclera so you can see. It begins the light focusing process and does not contain any blood vessels. It receives nutrients from the aqueous humor. 

We noticed that the eye was covered with fat, which we did not expect. It took us a long time to peel off all the fat from the sheep eye.

Identified in the picture is the external eye muscle. It controls the movement of the eyeball and directs the eye to a point of interest. 

The vitreous humor is a large gel like portion of the eyeball that occupies the space behind the lens and in front of the retina at the back of the eye.

The Retina is located near the optic nerve and it receives light that the lens has focused and converts it into neural signals which it sends on to the brain for processing. It looks like a thin layer of tissues.

The Choroid lies between the retina and sclera and provides nourishment for the back of the eye. The choroid is interesting because there are pigment cells within the choroid that absorb stray light.

The Blind Spot is a small portion of the visual field of each eye.

The lens is important because it is involved in changing the focal distance of the eye so that it can focus on objects at various distances. The lens changes shape.

The Ciliary Body  produces and secretes aqueous humor that is essential to regulate the pressure within the eye. It contains muscles that act on the crystalline lens to change its shape and shift the focus of the eye from far to near. The Ciliary Body has two portions called the pars plicate and the pars plana.




The suspensory ligament of the eyeball functions to support the eye and prevents downward displacement of the eyeball



The iris is the colored part of the eye that controls light levels inside the eye. The pupil os the round opening in the center of the iris. The size of the pupil determines the amount of light that enters the eye.

Below is a picture of all the parts of the eye clearly identified in one picture. Notice that this is a human eye.

Bringing More Awareness to Important Organizations/Charities

I have learned a lot about the different organizations and charities that are tying to help make people's lives better and easier. This week, I decided to make a website where I describe and list the different charities that most people are unaware of, so hopefully people can realize the significance to donate to these organizations. It was very interesting to research different charities for children because I was not aware of mostly all of them and now I feel that I know more about all these charities. I have learned that I used to not really care about learning all the organizations and donating to more charities, but now I know that helping others is important. In other poorer countries, people live much harder lives and these organizations help them, so I learned that life for me is definitely not as hard what others are going through, so I need to help bring more awareness so other people can realize how important donating is. I also started to make charms of pencils to raise more money for Pencils of Promise, which I plan to sell sometime this month.

I have had a lot of setbacks. For example, it took me a really long to make the charm, but after a lot of practice, I finally got it. The next step in my process is continuing to lengthen my website and sell my charms to people.  I was thinking of selling my charms to patients at my mom's work. I can apply what I have learned to my community because in Saratoga, life is easy and we don't have to worry about getting enough food for the family; our priorities are nothing compared to the people in other countries who are dying of starvation. I think our community needs to realize how important it is to help others in their community and also outside.
This is my website so far:
Charities/Organizations Weebly

The Clay Brain

To make the clay brain, we used play-doh to make a model of the brain and the different parts of the brain. It was a 2-d brain, so we used cardboard for a template to put the brain on. I really liked this activity because it helped me understand the brain parts more. We made two models of the brain: one on the left hemisphere from the right looking at the sagittal plane and the other was a lateral view of the right cerebral hemisphere.

"The Woman with a hole in her Brain" Analysis

This article talked about a rare occasion where a woman is alive without a cerebellum in her brain. The cerebellum's main job is to control voluntary movements and balance and also is involved in our ability to learn specific motor actions and speak. If the cerebellum is not functioning properly, it can lead to severe mental impairment and movement disorders. However, the woman he was missing her cerebellum only summered mild to moderate motor deficiency. This is important because it highlights the remarkable plasticity of the brain. The brain is a very complex organ, and it is interesting to understand how the brain circuity works and compensates for missing arts. This article is not relatable to a lot of people because there are few people in the world who live without their cerebellum and survive their early years of life. This article relates to what we are learning because we are learning about the different parts of the brain and their functions; this article teaches us the importance of the cerebellum and its function.  

The Frontal Lobe is the front part of the brain that is involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, and selective attention. The Frontal lobe is considered our emotional control center and home to our personality. 

You can technically live without a front lobe, but you would have paralysis of motor control and cognitive abilities. You would not be able to have any reasoning skills and form simple thoughts. You also would not be able to move. Frontal lobe damage can lead to lack of initiation and movement, memory loss, sequencing difficulties, behavior changes, distractibility, and reduced attention and concentration. No other parts of the brain could take over.