Integumentary System: Tattoos

     If you are considering getting a tattoo, you might want to think about what you are doing to your body and what you want. Remember tattoos are permanent and if you're not happy, not many people can afford or bear the pain when it comes to tattoo removal(laser surgery). I will split this blog into certain parts so you can see which part you're interested in reading:

How tattoos are done

A tattoo is a permanent mark or design made on your skin with pigments inserted through pricks into the skin's top layer. Typically, the tattoo artist uses a hand-held machine that acts much like a sewing machine, with one or more needles piercing the skin repeatedly. With every puncture, the needles insert tiny ink droplets. The process — which is done without anesthetics — causes a small amount of bleeding and slight to potentially significant pain.

     Now, you might be wondering, since you're puncturing your skin with a needle, are there any risks? The answer is absolutely! There are way more risks than you might have thought possible. That is why if you get a tattoo, check the place out first, if it is a dark room with one light on in someone's basement, you might not want to get a tattoo there! Sanitation is key in the tattoo process. Look for a very clean place that has high recommendations and great reviews. Remember, tattoos aren't suppose to be cheap since they will be on your body forever. So, in the tattoo business you are getting what you pay for. Here is what you should think over before getting a tattoo:

• Allergic reactions. Tattoo dyes — especially red, green, yellow and blue dyes — can cause allergic skin reactions, such as an itchy rash at the tattoo site. This can occur even years after you get the tattoo.
• Skin infections. A skin infection — which might cause redness, swelling, pain and a pus-like drainage — is possible after tattooing.
• Other skin problems. Sometimes bumps called granulomas form around tattoo ink. Tattooing can also lead to keloids — raised areas caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue.
• Bloodborne diseases. If the equipment used to create your tattoo is contaminated with infected blood, you can contract various bloodborne diseases — including tetanus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
• MRI complications. Rarely, tattoos or permanent makeup might cause swelling or burning in the affected areas during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams. In some cases, tattoo pigments can interfere with the quality of the image — such as when a person who has permanent eyeliner has an MRI of the eye.

Medication or other treatment — including possible removal of the tattoo — might be needed if you experience an allergic reaction to the tattoo ink or you develop an infection or other skin problem near a tattoo. 

An example of a tattoo gone bad( not done professionally):

Now, an example of a terrible artist! I hope nobody's kids look like this! Haha!:

Tissue Engineering: New Approaches and Advancements

     We were just assigned an assignment in class to look and research more about the youtube video Tissue Engineering: New approaches and advancements. I have to say, this video is amazing! What scientists are actually doing is looking into creating artificial organs for the human body! People are dying because they cant get organs from donors quick enough, and with this new scientific breakthrough, that might not be an issue anymore. Scientists actually took a lab rat and injected cells to where an ear was actually growing on its back! it was so wild because it had cartilage growing into its back to form the ear as well. I had never imagined the world of science was so complex and technologically advanced! Another example was a woman named Claudia. She had tuberculosis and she was having a very difficult time breathing. What scientists did was get a trachea from a human cadaver, disinfect it, and insert cells from Claudia's own body into this new trachea. This was amazing because not only did she get to go home 4 days after, but she never has had a problem breathing since! She also doesn't have to worry about her body rejecting the surgery since she has the cadavers trachea embedded into her body. I have done research on this scientific topic, and the most useful one was an article from http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061010-114257. This article said the tissue engineering is mainly focused on skin replacement and cartilage repair right now, but is gradually growing into a breakthrough for organ engineering! The skin and cartilage engineering now will help wounded soldiers and thousands of people right now! The most amazing thing I  have ever heard of was 3-D printing. The scientists actually took a inkjet printer, and injected cells into the ink cartridge. The scary part of this process is they are able to print organs, and they function! I am not going into detail about how the scientists do this because I don't think you should just take my word, you need to check this out for yourself! The link is posted below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YiKI3ppo0pM

Epithelial Tissues

     Epithelial tissue is made up of cells that covers the whole body! It is made up of cells closely packed and ranged in one or more layers. This tissue is designed to form the covering or lining of all internal and external body surfaces. Epithelial tissue that occurs on surfaces on the interior of the body is known as endothelium. There are 6 types of epithelium: Squamous, simple cuboidal, simple columnar, ciliated columnar, glandular, and stratified epithelium. Epithelial tissue actually has a lot more functions than you would imagine. These functions being: protection, sensation, secretion, absorption, excretion, diffuses, cleaning, and it reduces friction. So as you can see, these tissues can serve a lot of purposes great for living organisms. The picture below was added into this blog so you can visually see the different types of epithelial tissues.

The picture above is a simple squamous tissue. The reason for having this kind of tissue for filtration and diffusion.

Next, we have simple cuboidal tissues. The group members are trying to look like a cube as much as possible. The purpose the cuboidal tissue serves is for excretion and absorption.

This is a simple columnar tissue. As you can see in the image, the group members are standing straight up and trying to represent columns. Columnar tissue is most likely found in anything that has to do with digestion in the human body. It's purpose is absorption.

 

Above is a transitional tissue. You can see the diagram really does represent the name. The "cell" is transitioning between two different flows. I have done research and asked other classmates for help; the best way I can describe this cell is it swells up and plays a role in the urinary tract.

This is a pseudostratified columnar tissue! Even this little guy's name sounds killer! Actually What is does is travel through airways and respiratory systems. Its main purpose is to remove dust and particles from the airways. Therefore, making it easier for you to breathe!

This is a stratified columnar tissue. It is used for protection and secretion in the body. Therefore, it is most likely found in the male urethra, but can also be found in the male or female urinary tract.

Organization of the Body

Above is an anterior view of the human anatomy. It shows a better angle and view of the human body standing up. It also names some good body parts you might not know. Below is the definitions that were in the powerpoint video.

Body Erect- feet slightly apart, palms facing forward, thumbs pointing away from body.

Superior- Towards the head or upper part of the body

Inferior-  Away from the head or toward the lower end of the body

Anterior- Toward the front of the body

Posterior- Toward the back of the body

Medial- toward the midline of the body

Lateral- Away from the midline of the body

Intermediate- Between a medial and lateral structure

Proximal- Closer to the origin of the body

Distal- Father from the origin of the body

Superficial- Toward the surface of the body. The skin is more superficial than the heart.

Deep- away from the body surface, more interior

Sagittal- divides the body into right and left parts

Midsagittal- Sagittal plane that lies on the midline

Transverse or horizontal- divides the body to interior and superior parts

Oblique Sections- Cuts made diagonally