The Histology slide show has been updated.

I've updated the Membrane Transport slide show. I'll be updating the slide shows gradually, so that each is updated by the time I use it in lecture. Therefore, you should hold off printing each chapter's slide show until it is updated.

The official laboratory schedule has been added. The brief overview of laboratory topics (which appears on the Notes for Downloading page and which is NOT the official laboratory schedule) has changed. The schedule that appears on the course syllabus has changed as well.

There is now a link for Practicum Videos under Course Materials.

The Lecture Slide Shows might change between now and the beginning of the semester. If you intend to print them, you should save paper by holding off until the first day of class.

I've revised the Course Syllabus.

IMPORTANT END-OF-THE-SEMESTER ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. If you begin the Practicum, then you will NOT be allowed to withdraw (and you will receive a letter grade, which will affect your GPA). If you choose to withdraw instead of taking the practicum, please let me know. A withdrawal will appear as a W on your transcript, but it will not affect your GPA. It is your responsibility to check the class standings to see what score will be required for you to get your desired grade.

2. Pay close attention to the Blowoff Score and the Maximum Score. If they both lie within the same grade range, then taking the practicum (or not taking it) will make no difference. Your maximum score is what you will get if you take the practicum and get 100%. Your blowoff score is what you will receive if you take a zero on the practicum. So if both of those scores are within the same range (for instance the C range, from 66% up to 76%), then you might as well stay home.

The Sheep Brain Practice Practicum has been fixed (the hints and numbering now agree with the answer sheet). Be sure you're looking at the current versions.

I added the Sheep Brain and Sheep Eye Practice Practica. I also updated the checklists. The old checklists should no longer be used, because their numbers don't correspond perfectly to the practice practica.

I've updated the Potentially Useful Study Links. Specifically, I've changed the links under Websites for A & P Textbooks. If, despite my initial prodding, you've never bothered to check out the various resources available at those textbook sites, you should take a look. There are PowerPoint slide shows, study outlines, labeling exercises, et cetera.

I corrected a couple of spelling errors in the Cadaver Muscle Slide Show.

I posted a corrected version of the Appendicular Skeleton Practice Practicum. Station 35 had no Part A indicated, and Station 43 had "intercondylar" misspelled.

Practicum 2 (which, of course, will occur on Tuesday) will feature thirty-five answers. The practicum is worth a maximum of seventy-five points. Obviously, then, each answer is worth fifteen sevenths. Enjoy the weekend.

Since some students had already left the laboratory before I made this announcement, I want to repeat it here. Lecture Examination 3 is Wednesday, and you won't have a weekend over which to study. But you can "prestudy" over this weekend by listening to my muscular-system lectures from a previous semester. Just look under the Archived Lecture Recordings heading on the main page:

http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/Biology/thoffman

The recordings of 03 March and 05 March will correspond to the lecture I will give on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend.

The corrected versions of the Axial Skeleton Practice Practicum have been uploaded.

One of your colleagues astutely noticed last night that Station 21 of the Axial Skeleton Practice Practicum slide show uses a lumbar vertebra to indicate articular facets for the rib head and for the rib tubercle. Of course, only thoracic vertebrae feature those facets. I have sent notice of the error to the creator of the slide show, and I will post a new version when she makes the correction. For now, you should realize that the facets are indicated in the correct POSITIONS, but they should be on a "giraffe head", not on a "moose head".

Circa 23.8% of the class members have not yet submitted the Rules Consent Form. Those students' scores for the impending examination will not be available on the Class Standings page.

Sorry, folks, but I just noticed that the schedule listed on the Notes for Downloading page was wrong. I fixed it, and it now agrees with the syllabus. The most immediate effect is that Practicum 1 will occur on 16 June, not 11 June. Of course, the syllabus has indicated that all along.

I have added a mandatory form to be submitted from the main website.

IMPORTANT END-OF-THE-SEMESTER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Read ALL of these, and act on all that apply to you.

1. You may opt to retake whichever lecture examination you scored lowest on, and if you opt to retake it, doing so can not hurt you. If you score higher the second time, I'll replace your original score. If you do not score higher, nothing will change. You will take the retake immediately upon submitting Examination 6, and the retake will be multiple-choice.

2. If you know that you will not be opting for the retake, it would be cool to let me know now, just to save a bit of paper.

3. If two or more lecture examinations are tied for your lowest scores, you must tell me which test you prefer to retake. Otherwise, I'll choose one.

4. The Final Examination will be given on 12 May at 4:00 pm (NOT 5:30). It will be given in the usual lecture room.

5. If you missed a lecture examination, you need to complete your make-up examination(s) by 13 May. If you complete a make-up examination before 12 May AND if that is your lowest test score, you may opt for the multiple-choice retake of that examination.

6. If you need to take a make-up examination, you must contact me and tell me whether you need to take it in my presence (in which case you'll need to make an appointment with me) or whether I should leave the test in the Testing Center, where you can take it any time they are open (as long as it's by 13 May).

7. If you look at or touch Lecture Examination 6, then you will NOT be allowed to withdraw (and you will receive a letter grade, which will affect your GPA). If you choose to withdraw before Examination 6, please let me know. A withdrawal will appear as a W on your transcript, but it will not affect your GPA. It is your responsibility to check the class standings to see what score will be required for you to get your desired grade.