First week of Medical School in Riga

Time really flies when everything is new, exciting and fun. I can't believe that I've already been here for over two weeks! This week was kinda soft landing, at least for me. I didn't have many classes and I had no school on Friday (yay).

On first week I had Latvian language, Medical Chemistry and Medical Physics, Histology and Medical Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Anatomy. Before summer I am also going to have some First Aid, Medical History and Philosophy. My school ends in the end of June or possibly in the beginning of July.. in Finland I guess many uni students have their holiday from the beginning of June until the beginning of August or even until the beginning of September? Here, at RSU we have our summer holiday from the end of June until the end of August.

We have classes and lectures. Classes are usually in our study groups (11 ppl) and they are mandatory. Lectures are optional but recommended. I have 1-4 lectures or classes a day. The shortest take 1,5h and the longest 2,25h. In some of them we get to wear white coats which is kinda weird but also cool, you really feel like a future doctor when wearing it 😍

We have to know a list of Latin words by Thursday (in four days) so gotta go and study.. but I love studying medical things so I don't mind 😊 I am still so happy that I got in and that I finally have a direction in my life. Right now, I feel so excited about studying, that the future huge workload doesn't really scare me. Yet.

Here is The List if you are interested.

"Prerequisites:
Questions for self-controlling: 
1. Basic structures of vertebra.
2. Structure of typical thoracal vertebra. 
3. Structure of atypical thoracal vertebra.
4. Structure of the typical cervical vertebra. 
5. Atypical cervical vertebra: structure. 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae. 
6. Structure of lumbar vertebra. 
7. Os sacrum.
8. Parts of vertebral column.
9. Structure of typical and atypical ribs.. 
10. 1st rib.
11. Sternum.
12. To show on the used anatomical material: 

Corpus vertebrae, arcus vertebrae
Foramen vertebrale
Processus spinosus
Processus transversus
Pocessus articularis superior, inferior
Incisura vertebralis superior, inferior
Foramen intervertebrale
Arcus anterior / posterior atlantis
Fovea dentis atlantis
Dens axis
Sulcus a. vertebralis
Foramen transversarium
Massa lateralis
Facies articularis superior, inferior atlantis
Fovea costalis superior
Fovea costalis inferior
Fovea costalis processus transversi 
Processus costalis 
Facies auricularis ossis sacri
Foramina sacralia anteriora, posteriora
Promontorium
Tuberositas sacralis
Lineae transversae
Processus articularis superior
Crista sacralis mediana
Canalis sacralis, hiatus sacralis
Caput costae, crista capitis costae
Collum costae, tuberculum costae
Corpus costae, sulcus costae, angulus costae
Tuberculum m. scaleni anterioris 
Sulcus a. subclaviae, sulcus v. subclaviae 
Manubrium sterni
Incisura clavicularis, incisurae costales 
Incisura jugularis
Corpus sterni, processus xiphoideus
Angulus sterni, angulus infrasternalis
Sulcus pulmonalis
Apertura thoracis superior, inferior 


Knowledge and skills: To be able name of the bone, to describe it’s parts and structures, using the Latin terminology. To show structures on the bones and recognize vertebrae in different vertebral column`s parts, to recognize first rib from the other."