With two midterms this week, my friends and I were hard at work studying for our exams. We had Cardio, Renal, & Respiratory Physiology and Systems Pathologies. Our physiology exam was all about pulmonary regulation. We needed to know how sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation affected the pulmonary circuit. There were also questions on ventilation and perfusion matching. To quickly summarize this topic, the human body compensates to match ventilation and perfusion. If perfusion exceeds ventilation, it results in something called hypoxic vasoconstriction. There is not enough oxygen diffusing into the blood therefore less blood is sent to the lung to match the amount of ventilation and respiration. Why would we need to know about ventilation as chiropractors?

One thing I learned is that ventilation (the process of breathing air in and out) depends on proper breathing mechanics and breathing mechanics are influenced by anatomy. Posture can influence breathing as well as body position due to pressure gradients.

In addition to physiology, we had our pathologies exam. It was on the diseases of the cardiovascular system. One thing I really want to stress is that both thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms can present as severe back pain. Knowing that is vital to chiropractors because we need to be able to properly diagnose when back pain is actually a symptom of a much more serious issue. With all the information I had to learn, I was happy that I performed well on both exams.

Thankfully, I had a major stress reliever this past weekend! I celebrated my 24thbirthday with many of my friends from NUHS. We went to the beach to start the day. It was a beautiful beach day and we enjoyed the sunny weather all morning before heading out for lunch.

I invited my friends to a local brewery in Saint Petersburg for some corn hole, Ping-Pong, and giant jenga! Many of my classmates showed up and partook in the festivities. Afterwards we went to a local restaurant for some Mexican food and then out for karaoke at another bar. It was a blast! I was so happy to share my birthday with my friends from school.

A few days later my friend Dave treated me to 10throw seats for the Tampa Bay Lightning vs San Jose Sharks game in Tampa. He is a marine biologist and is actually a Sharks fan because of his love for sharks. The game was fantastic. A very close game and Dave’s favorite team, the Sharks, won! I was just happy to see a great game for my birthday.

Next week is the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) in Washington D.C. so be sure to check back next week to read all about it!

Thanks for reading if you have any questions email me at [email protected]