Behold The Gastric Rainbow. Sounds Gross, But It’s Actually Beautiful. This Cross-section Of A Mouse

I read case files on dogs with serology positive for Ehrlichia co-infections all day today. Sooo many CBCs, blood chem panels, and cytology reports from clin path. All the things. And at the end of the day, I was like

This is Phthirus pubis, a human louse, commonly known as “crabs" — it is known to infect pubic hair but can infect the EYELASHES. 

I came across this while making a high yield vector borne disease lecture for an upcoming talk. On the clinical pathology boards, they apparently really like to show “gross" gross photographs of bugs and ask what is it or what disease does it cause. I have a fascination with tick born disease, so it felt natural to expand and learn some more entomology. My attending was looking through my lecture and said I needed to add an example of a louse and a flea, since people commonly mix them up. Well, I naturally started to google… and ended up grossing myself AND my attending out. 

A job well done. Another excellent day on clinical microbiology. 

PS - up until a year ago, I thought that “crabs" were actually miniature crabs. What? I wasn’t that far off! Both are apart of the phylum arthropoda!

my PI when she reads my writing

my PI when she listens to me talk

my PI

(Image: U. Müeller)

New neurons (in green) are guided to the neocortex  - responsible for controlling language and movement - not by glial cells, but by a protein called reelin.

Journal reference: Neuron, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.01.003

Impression smears of brain tissue are rarely rewarding on cytology as most neuronal cells rupture with the slightest amount of pressure.  What results is a Vast Pink Wasteland of Myelin…

Nothing spices up your love life like the scientific method!

This bad little boy is super rare to find!!!  This is a mitotically active cell present in peripheral blood circulation from a dog - only the second one I have ever seen!!

As a game, in the diagnostic lab we yell KABLAM! anytime we see a mitotic figure.  The first one to say kablam wins :-P  We should so turn it into a drinking game…

drowning in that lovin gendrya and braime juice

Me whenever I see a corporate ad trying to say “we’re all in this together”:

underappreciated form of humor: using incorrect long forms of proper names i.e. Craigory, Bobert, Barold, etc.