Exam 2 results

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

Hi everyone –

Nice job on the exam!! Everyone is done with the exam, and so I wanted to let you know that there are several questions that I will be rescoring/adjusting. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I check and recheck my exams, it seems that there is always the possibility of a typo I didn’t catch, or some additional answer being correct, or some other thing like confusing wording.

Here are the questions that posed problems, along with my solution for resolving each question.

Question 14

This question stem was worded in a way that could be interpreted as “which cell is the last to always contain a nucleus?” In that case, the correct answer would be A) polychromatic erythroblast (same thing as polychromatic normoblast), since the orthochromatic erythroblast only contains a nucleus for part of its lifespan (it then gets extruded). So I am accepting both A and C as correct answers.

Question 20

In class, we talked about selection occurring in the cortex. However, someone brought up that you guys learned in another class that positive selection occurs in the cortex, while negative selection occurs in the medulla. So since D is correct, I am also accepting that as a correct answer (and changing my slides for next year!).

Question 27

This was confusing to some because although the histology slide showing thyroid tissue showed eosinophilic fluid (colloid) within the follicles, the text slide didn’t use the word eosinophilic. And I’ve said several times that I don’t want you memorizing slides. There were people who picked other answers too for different reasons. So I think it was confusing enough that I am adding a point to everyone’s score for this question. The reason I don’t just throw the question out, by the way, is because that in a way punishes the people who got the right answer. So I feel this is the most fair way to handle questions like these.

Question 28

This question stem confused some people, because instead of “islets” I said “islands” which is not a word we used in lecture. So I am adding a point to everyone’s score for this question as well.

Question 38

I didn’t realize this, but there was a typo on slide 51 of the Cardiovascular System lecture:

The last bullet point should say “…from right to left atrium.” So I am giving credit for A (right ventricle to left ventricle), even though it’s incorrect, in addition to the correct answer (C: right atrium to left atrium), because of the typo on this slide.

Please read this next paragraph!

Regarding this last question, I want to make sure you all understand this concept, because maybe I didn’t explain it well enough in class. The foramen ovale is a valve-covered hole that exists between the two atria, allowing blood to flow from the high-pressure right atrium into the low-pressure left atrium. It is one of the cool little heart structures (like the ductus arteriosus) that exist in utero to take some pressure of the right side of the heart (so it doesn’t get gigantic) and puts a little more pressure on the left side of the heart (to allow it to become big and strong enough to pump blood through the body after birth). These structures almost always close after birth (if they don’t, you can run into problems – but we’ll talk about those next year in Systemic Pathology. Please let me know if you have any questions on this!

Bottom line

Okay – that’s it for questions – whew! I’m not allowed to rescore the exam until I return from vacation – so unfortunately you won’t see your Canvas score change for a few weeks. But you can determine, from the above information, what your new score will be on your own 🙂

Email me if you have any questions or comments!

Passcode for Histo exam 2 today + no iPads!

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

Two new things have come up today: one has to do with randomly appearing passcodes, and the other is just a reminder that you have to use a laptop (not an iPad) for the exam.

Passcode

I found another glitch in the system: no matter how many times I turn OFF the student passcode setting in Canvas, and saving the exam, Canvas keeps turning it on. Not sure why this is an issue with this exam (it didn’t happen for our first exam).

So I’ve decided to leave the Passcode setting on, and set it to “HistoExam2.” I will do this for everyone’s exam, including those with accommodations. Hopefully Canvas keeps it that way and doesn’t pick another random passcode. If it does, Dr. G. can look in Canvas and let you know what the new passcode is. For those with accommodations, I am sending you a separate email with instructions on how to reach me if this is an issue.

iPads

I was reminded today that iPads do not work with HonorLock. There were some issues with this during our Mock Exam, and we were all reminded that you need to use a laptop, not an iPad, for taking the exam. If you need a laptop, you can borrow one from Dental IT. They are on the 16th floor of Moos Tower; if you get off the elevators, and walk in the opposite direction from the big face, IT is the second door on the right.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions about this stuff or anything else!

Histology exam 2 details

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

Hi everyone –

I’ve finalized the exam to make sure (and then double sure) that all the questions look really clear to me – and I wanted to let you know the total number of questions and the breakdown per lecture, along with a few things to keep in mind as you’re reviewing the material.

There are 40 questions, roughly distributed according to the amount and density of information in each lecture:

  • Skin: 7
  • Blood: 6
  • Hematopoietic system: 4
  • Lymphoid system: 8
  • Endocrine system: 8
  • Cardiovascular system: 7

All questions are multiple choice, one correct answer, no photos.

When you’re studying, please make sure you know the answers to the lecture objectives for each lecture. And it would be a good idea to go through the five kahoots listed under Exam 2 on our Kahoots page. I just ran through each of the existing kahoots to make sure there weren’t any mistakes or questions covering material we didn’t cover this year. So they’re accurate. Also, take a look at this post which explains why there are some different words listed for the same erythroid precursors in our lecture diagrams.

Remember: the exam is now in-person, in our classroom, during our normally-scheduled class time (Tuesday, 9/29, from 1:00 – 3:00). Be sure to bring your privacy screen. If you want to double check the classroom settings for Honorlock we’ll be using, you can take the mock exam on Canvas entitled “Practice Exam with Honorlock Proctoring Settings Off.”

And also: feel free to email me anytime with questions or concerns.

Change in delivery of Exam 2

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

As you know by now from my email yesterday, I got word from administration yesterday that I needed to change our exam 2 to an in-person exam, in our classroom, during our normally scheduled class time (Tuesday, 9/29, 1:00 – 2:55). I just wanted to put that information here, too, so it would be in writing on our website. I’ve updated our schedule page to reflect this change.

Please remember to bring your privacy screen with you on Monday.

Exam 1 went well, it seemed – so I don’t anticipate issues with th

I will also post a list of the number of questions on this exam, and the breakdown by lecture here as soon as possible.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Final Exam 1 rescore finished, correct scores on Canvas

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

Hi everyone –

Well, it took waaay longer than I expected, but I finally finished manually rescoring everyone’s Exam 1. It was SO weird the way Canvas did it – for most people, it actually added an extra point (out of nowhere, not related to any of the rescored questions). For some people, it took away anywhere from 1 to 8 points (again, out of flipping nowhere). For a few people, the score listed turned out to be correct.

Soooo I went through and applied the exam question corrections I mentioned in this post, double checked my work, and posted the correct final scores on Canvas.

I reopened the function in the exam that allows you to see the questions you got wrong (and the correct answers). I’m leaving it open from now (about 1:25 am Sunday) until the same time on Tuesday. I trust you guys not to write down the questions or answers and pass them along to next year’s class. It’s so hard to write a good exam question that I do end up reusing some questions from year to year – so I appreciate you sticking to the honor code.

If you feel that your score is off, let me know, and we’ll take a look so we’re both confident that the rescore is correct.

Any questions, email me!

Polychromatic erythrocyte vs. reticulocyte vs. polychromatic normoblast…wtf?

/ dentalstudentpathology / 1 Comment

Here are two very astute questions I just got by email. They draw attention to two annoying things about histology (and occasionally pathology): 

  1. People/books sometimes use different words to describe the same thing. 
  2. Different things sometimes have annoyingly similar names.

Here are the student questions (in headings) with my answers underneath each one. I’m sorry for the length of my responses – but I want to be sure to be very clear so that we can put this issue to rest.

I’m REALLY grateful to the student who sent in these questions, because these are JUST the kind of nagging things that can drive you nuts. Or – even worse – you don’t notice the inconsistencies, and then later, much later, you realize you have a gap in your knowledge.

So let’s close those gaps.

I wanted to clarify a few things from the lecture today about the different names used in the intro diagram vs. the text in the slides that proceed.

1) Are polychromatic erythrocytes the same as reticulocytes?

Short answer: Yes!

Longer answer: “Polychromatic erythrocyte” and “reticulocyte” both refer to the stage of red cell development just before the normal erythrocyte stage. In this stage, the red cell has lost its nucleus, but it still has a little extra RNA and it’s a little bigger than a normal, fully-developed erythrocyte. (Erythrocyte and red cell, by the way, are interchangeable terms.)

Sometimes, these cells are also called “polychromatophilic erythrocytes” just to make things a little more confusing. 

All three terms can be used interchangeably, though, and people will know what you’re talking about. 

If you want to be TOTALLY accurate, though, you really should only use the words “polychromatic erythrocyte” and “polychromatophilic erythrocyte” to refer to these cells when they have been stained with a Wright-Giemsa stain (the typical stain we use for blood smears).

“Reticulocyte” should be reserved for when you’re referring to these cells when they have been stained with a special stain that highlights the RNA a dark blue color. 

That being said, the three terms are used interchangeably. And I notice, looking back at my lecture notes now, that I have done just that: I’ve used “reticulocyte” to label a Wright-Giemsa stained cell, when the fussily accurate label should be “reticulocyte.”

The most commonly-used term of all three (polychromatic erythrocyte, polychromatophilic erythrocyte, and reticulocyte) is by far “reticulocyte.” I think the reason for that is because “reticulocyte” sounds so different than the other terms – and it prevents confusion of this cell with the polychromatophilic erythroblast (which we’ll look at in your next question), which is a different cell entirely. 

Here are some photos from the lecture slides today just to illustrate my points above:

Here, the term “polychromatophilic erythrocyte” is used in its most correct way (to refer to a Wright-Giemsa-stained version of this cell).

Here, “reticulocyte” is the absolutely correct term, since they are stained here with a special stain that highlights their web-like RNA pattern.

I should have used “polychromatic erythrocyte” here, since this is a Wright-Giemsa stain. But “reticulocyte” is so much more common, I just went with it.

2) Are polychromatic erythrocytes the same as polychromatic normoblasts?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Polychromatic erythrocytes are the cells we were talking about above. Polychromatic normoblasts refer to an earlier stage of development – specifically, the stage of red cell maturation in which hemoglobin starts to appear in the cytoplasm (I like the term “polychromatic erythroblast” for this cell).

So what’s the deal with the word normoblast? It’s a term that is used interchangeably with erythroblast. Frankly, I prefer the term “erythroblast” – because it has the prefix “erythro” in it, and that says “red cell” to me. “Normo” just doesn’t mean anything to me. I have no idea why that term arose – but it is a term that some books like to use in place of the word erythroblast.

And, now that I look at my beloved drawing, I am noticing for the first time that it says “normoblast” instead of “erythroblast” in each of the developmental stages of the red cell all the way up to “polychromatic erythrocyte.”

Here’s the drawing:

Ugh! They’re using “normoblast” instead of “erythroblast” – I don’t like it.

Here are two cute little polychromatic erythroblasts. See how they’re just starting to get a little pink in their cytoplasm? So cute! They’re making hemoglobin!

And now, just to round out the names for this cell, here is “polychromatophilic erythroblast.”
At least this diagram has the decency to call the developing red cells “erythroblasts” and not “normoblasts.”

I hope all of this makes sense, and I also hope that it doesn’t make you hate heme. Blood is really so beautiful – and these small annoyances can get resolved pretty easily and you can go on to appreciate the way things look (and WHY they look the way they do).

I think for the sake of reducing your cognitive load, I’m going to make a little summary of this lecture, hitting those points I feel are important enough for you to commit to memory. I know there are objectives – but I got a few questions after class today that made me realize maybe I should be more specific in stating my expectations.

I will do that as soon as possible – my day tomorrow is nuts, so if I’m being realistic, I probably will only have time over the weekend. I’ll post it here and let you know when I do so.

By the way – this is probably overkill, as I’ve already said that I try to keep my questions clean and non-confusing – but I will use ALL the terms in any questions related to these cells, just so you know EXACTLY which cell I’m referring to.

What a mess! But also, what joy!

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

I took a look at the exam, and also heard from a few of you about some of the questions, and I’m making adjustments to your scores as a result.

Please see this post on the questions that required rescoring. 

And then please see this post on what happened when I let Canvas automatically regrade everyone’s exam. UGH. 

Since Canvas made a royal mess out of everything, I am going to go in and manually regrade everyone’s exams, and then manually repost your grades. I will do this tomorrow morning when I am in a less foul mood (and more rested).

I’m so sorry for the confusion. Fortunately, this is a relatively easy (though time-consuming) fix – and once it’s done, I will rest easy knowing that everyone’s score is accurate. 

I’ll email you as soon as I’ve finished regrading everyone’s exams and reposting the correct scores tomorrow. 

Thanks for your patience! 

And now, here are some pictures of my dad and me with the blanket 🙂 I just realized that the last picture shows a sign above his head that says “blessed.” And I think that is very appropriate; he was in tears when he saw the blanket and your card. You guys made a HUGE difference in his day (and mine). He was so happy 🙂

Canvas sucks

/ dentalstudentpathology / 1 Comment

I’ve already heard back from a few of you that your exam score went way out of whack.

It appears that there is a “fudge factor” box for each person, and Canvas has decided to randomly select a “fudge factor” for each student, throwing their grade off by that amount. I have no idea why this happens – and it sucks because now I’m going to go back in and regrade each of your exams manually (I can see which answers you picked for each question) and then post the REAL corrected scores manually.

I apologize for this problem. Clearly, Canvas sucks when you add correct answers. Actually, I’m just going to say it sucks, period.

Please give me some time – I will try to do this asap – but as it is already 10 pm, I am thinking that it may not be a good idea to mess with scores when I’m pissed off and tired. I’m liable to make a mistake, and we don’t need any more of those.

So I think the best solution is for me to do this tomorrow when I’ve calmed down and had some coffee.

I’m so sorry this happened – but at least your original exam answers are preserved, and I can actually go in and do the grading accurately.

Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll post here and also email you when I’ve finished the regrading process.

A few updates to some exam questions

/ dentalstudentpathology / 2 Comments

Hi all –

Sorry this is coming later than I intended – but I spent the day with my dad at a doctor’s appointment and then we went to dinner.

By the way, I showed him the gorg blanket you guys gave me, and read him the card, and also told him about all the emails I got from you guys, and he teared up. He said “You have a really nice class.” I said, “I know!”

Back to the exam. You guys did REALLY well – great job!

There are three questions that were among new ones I wrote this year (= not tested on previous classes) that had some issues. Here they are, along with my resolution for each of the questions. Note that the order of the distractors may be different than you remember, because Canvas shuffles the distractors for each exam.

Question 4.
Which of the following most accurately describes the notochord?
A. It merges with the neural tube and becomes part of the spinal cord
B. It is a signaling structure that tells the three germ cells what to do
C. It is a linear structure within the epiblast that helps cells differentiate into the three germ cell layers
D. It forms part of the placenta and supporting structures

The correct answer was marked as B. The problem is that I forgot the word “layers” after the word “cells” – and that mistake caused some of you to pick different answers. So I am giving everyone a point for this question. That way the people who answered incorrectly get that point back, and the people who chose the correct answer don’t get penalized.

Question 21.
Each skeletal muscle cell is composed of a bunch of:
A. Myofibers
B. Myofibrils
C. Fascicles
D. Myofilaments

I had listed the correct answer as B, but even after double checking the question, I didn’t realize that D is technically a correct answer too, as myofibrils are composed of myofilaments. So I am accepting both B and D as correct for this question.

Question 31.
Proteoglycans are composed of:
A. A carbohydrate core with a bunch of attached proteins
B. A glycosaminoglycan core with a bunch of attached carbohydrates
C. A glycosaminoglycan core with a bunch of attached proteins
D. A protein core with a bunch of attached carbohydrates
E. A protein core with a bunch of attached glycosaminoglycans

I had listed the correct answer as E, but some of you picked D, as we talked in class about how proteoglycans are composed of a lot of glycans (carbohydrates) with a relatively lesser amount of protein. And technically, D is true – because what are glycosaminoglycans but a bunch of carbohydrates? (Granted, they come in pairs, and one has an amino group, but still). So I am accepting both D and E as correct for this question.

I have made the changes above in Canvas. For question 4, I went in and manually increased everyone’s score by one. So you should see that your exam score has gone up by AT LEAST 1 point. But if you remember answering questions 21 or 31 with the previously incorrect answers, and do NOT see your score updated for those now-accepted-as-correct answers, please let me know, as Canvas did that re-grading automatically, and frankly, I don’t trust it.

So bottom line: please check your score in Canvas and let me know if you think it’s wrong!

Sorry for the confusion. No matter how hard I try when I write new questions, checking and re-checking, it’s not uncommon for me to make a typo, or miss seeing that two answers are actually correct.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

/ dentalstudentpathology / Leave a comment

Oh my gosh you guys – this blanket is so amazing.

It feels like a mink coat (not that I want a mink coat but just saying)

You’re SO SO thoughtful!!

I tried really hard to get this message up right away on the projector screen so you guys could see it, but with all the weird Zoom meeting stuff and new tech stuff it took forever 😦

I’m just speechless.

I’m cozy, I’m navy, and I can’t wait to have you guys in class this year and next year.

You’re incredible.

❤