Yesterday was Christmas and six days since I last had to focus on anatomy - yet, I find myself thinking about it constantly. One relative showed me his ventral hernia - where his intestines poke through his abdominal muscles, which were cut and never healed from a previous operation, so that you can feel the intestines right under his skin. And I think of all the ways a hernia can be defined: direct, indirect, complete, incomplete.
Another relative talked to me about her struggle with the side effects of her antidepressant medication (weight gain, high blood pressure, nausea) and how she was weighing them against the symptoms of her depression. I think of what I'm learning about how your stomach has even more receptors for seretonin than your brain.
A friend pointed to the part of her knee that hurts her when she runs and even though I don't know anything about pathology yet, I could tell her that it was her patellar tendon and it was an extension of the muscle that runs down the front of her leg and makes up her quadriceps.
I explained the differences between the different types of tonsils and how you only call your pharyngeal tonsils adenoids if they're inflamed. I talked to my sister about how mono works and why they would be so worried about ones spleen bursting.
I find myself having moments where I just sit still and feel so lucky that everything in my body is somehow managing to work correctly.
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