Ruff Guide to First Year

Biomolecular Science

Remember those days, in your dim and distant past, when you sat in a chemistry lab learning of the joys of magnesium, sulphuric acid and the structure of a molecule of carbon... Well this subject is about as exciting, but without the benchtop gas taps to set on fire!!!
These lectures, along with physiology, and some anatomy, happen up at the main university, so you can pretend to be one of the proper students, at least for a while. The actual subject itself, well, most folk wouldn't describe it as riveting, in fact some folk would probably chew off their right hand rather than sit through some of Dr Ekersall's lectures again. Mind you, the fact that he's the spitting image of Mr Burns from the Simpsons does have some entertainment value.
Topics include hormones, bacteria, protein, stuff like that, so all in all it's a bit of a dull subject, but hopefully you won't suffer from recurring nightmares about 1,2,73,461/2L,D, monotricarbomethlydehydroxy-homogenase. Until June that is.

Anatomy

How's your Latin??? Its OK, it doesn't really help anyway!!! This is a great subject, mainly cos you get practicals every week where you actually get to do stuff. Stuff does mean cut up a dead dog, but its better than endlessly pippetting alkaline phosphatase into little wells on a dish, like in the biochem practicals. That first dog will become your and your dissection group's best friend, and will always remain with you, or at least the smell of it will after the fourth week of chopping it up!!!
The lectures are OK, though I don't think you are going to get the legendary Prof Boyd (he can stand on his head and neck a pint!!!). Unfortunately there's a bit more to it than "the foot bone's connected to the leg bone" (apparently there's an ankle bone in there too or something, so I'm reliably informed) but I'm sure you'll all get the hang of it no bother.
The other part of anatomy is histology, also known as staring down a microscope at pink and purple, em, things. It doesn't really seem to matter what the tissue is, or even what the stain is, its all just pink and purple. These aren't the most exciting practicals, but somewhat easier on the stomach than the dead pooches for those who have been sampling the joys of the union the night before.
Miller's Guide to the Dissection of the Dog is a must have book, and Dyce, and the colour atlases, both histology and dead dog are very useful.
Oh, and before I forget, your dead dog gets a name on the first day, so get your thinking caps on. "Lucky" has always been a past favourite...