A and P Block 5
November 11, 2013
On November 9, 2013 the classes of Forensics and Anatomy and Physiology went on a field trip to the University of Dubuque to visit the campus and learn a few things. The classes learned about things in the cadaver lab, a few things about testing blood samples in forensics, they also got to see some tissues under a microscope and a couple things about geology. The classes also took a campus tour, and had the chance to stay for a football game against Loras College. The students who attended had the chance to learn many new and exciting things that day. Some things may have been cleared in their minds, by seeing hands on what substances looked like. The first place that my group visited was the geology seminar. The professor first showed us a 3-D map of the world. He talked about tectonic plates and how they shift and move to form mountains, and how they are moving all the time and still growing. He also talked about how Hawaii formed, by volcanic islands protruding out of the ocean. It was interesting to see in 3-D a map of the world. It was easier for me to see the differences in the heights of the land, because it was 3-D so you saw the different heights of the land. The professor also talked to us about the different kinds of rocks and minerals there are in the Earth. He talked about the founder of Dubuque and what brought him to Dubuque. Turns out that there was lead in the rock. The professor explained how they melted down the lead and used it for pencils. The second place we visited was the cadaver lab. As soon as we started walking towards the lab, I could smell the preservatives they use to preserve the cadaver. The smell was uncomfortable for me because it smelled like chemicals. Seeing the cadaver made my insides churn, because for one the smell, and I felt bad for the guy. I know he didn’t die just to be observed, but I still felt bad. When the college students started to explain where the muscles were and the layers, I was kind of confused, because in the book I thought the muscle layers were a lot thicker. However, in reality, the muscle layers are very thin. It was good for me to see how the muscles looked in reality. The college students went from top to bottom, and it was cool to see the different muscles throughout the body. They also allowed us to touch the muscles, (with gloves on, of course). At first, I didn’t want to touch it, but then I thought of what I would be missing if I didn’t. So, I put on some gloves and tried it. The college students had a piece of skin for us to feel and touch. I thought the skin would be thinner than it was, but it was really thick. It was also really tough. We got to touch the body and feel the different muscles, and there was some fat on the body too. Some of the muscles were really hard, and some were squishy. The third place that we went was to see different pieces of tissue under the microscope. I really liked this station because it cleared so many things up