This week in my animal biology lab we covered embryology (OK, I know there is no way to cover all of embryology in one three hour lab but this is an introductory class, people). As you may remember from my post on robin embryology, this is one of my all-time favorite subjects. I was in heaven. There were slides of chicken embryos-- it is amazing the drastic changes a chicken embryo undergoes from 24 to 48 hours of development. There was a cross-section of a fetal pig. A jar containing developing chickens from day two after fertilization to just before hatching. Models of morulas, blastulas, you name it. Drawings depicting comparative anatomy of developing embryos of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals (as you would guess, they all start out looking basically the same). Pictures of human fetal development. A smorgasbord of random items relating to embryology and fetal development.
I gushed with enthusiasm. When I got to examine the 24 hour chicken embryo under the microscope I asked if other people at my table wanted to see the bright pink structure with the obvious primitive streak. No one did. I kind of strong-armed them into looking, saying, "When else in your life are you going to get to see a chicken embryo? This might be your only chance!" So they looked, but they didn't share my amazement.
Thank goodness for my friend L. She gets it. The next day she was telling me excitedly about her histology class and how a cross-section of a human lip looks like a Van Gogh painting under the microscope because of all the swirls. Histology is so aesthetically pleasing. As she raved about the microscopic structure of the human lip, I listened raptly, happily realizing yet again that I was not the only one to become enraptured and absorbed by the beauty of biology.
I'm grateful I have this passion for life, the study of life and biology. I can't imagine being numb to the world, there is so much that just amazes me.
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