Coffin Lids on Acid

November 1, 2007, 7:25 pmkendra6 comments

struvite My brain is seriously beginning to melt. I’ve spent the entire afternoon shoving renal pathology information into my brain. I’m at the point where I’m questioning the point of it all. Who cares if struvite crystals in your urine are shaped like coffin lids?! I’ll never be able to have normal conversations with people at parties again (oh wait, I never did in the first place). I mean, what kind of conversation starter is, “hey, did you know that calcium oxalate crystals are shaped like envelopes?” That just kind of sucks. Anyway, since I had to memorize this stuff, I came up with my own mnemonics (which I always do). Not that anyone cares, but here they are:

Calcium oxalate – envelope shaped – Put your CO in the envelope to the PO
Struvite – coffin lid shaped – Coffin lid made out of struvite (okay this shouldn’t help, but it does for me)
Uric acid – rhomboid shaped – Ate some Acid and now seeing rhomboids
Cystine – hexagonal – Cystine has SIXteen
Urate – needle shaped – U Rate my needle

Okay, I seriously need to get a life.

6 comments:

  1. Circus Boy, November 1, 2007, 11:57 pm

    oh you bring me back to art history days when an object, a brush stroke, or perhaps a nipple in a painting would allow me to memorize the painter, genre, and date using this same great madness!

     
  2. Alex, November 2, 2007, 3:23 pm

    Hay Kindra,

    I appreciate the hard core study you’re doing….however hard core protein chemistry is my life. protein cristallography and crystallization in general is a facinating field. It is a huge field that attracts thousands of sientics from the different parts of the globe to share thier neat cute pictures of the different morphologies of crystals.

     
  3. The Island Med Student, November 2, 2007, 3:49 pm

    Hi Alex,

    Thanks for the comment. I totally understand what you’re saying. Honestly, if I did that for a living, I’m sure I’d love it. And it is very interesting actually (and they do look really neat). But after hours and hours of studying and thousands of pieces of information, nothing really seems interesting anymore!

     
  4. Neha, November 4, 2007, 10:58 pm

    hey Kendra,
    thanx for the mnemonic, they will come handy for tomorrows mini….see you after at tomatos.

     
  5. meech, November 5, 2007, 2:03 am

    Hey Neha,
    I think the mini is on Tuesday this time! But don’t take my word for it…
    -meech

     
  6. hannah, November 9, 2007, 2:31 pm

    Calcium oxalate – envelope shaped – Put your CO in the envelope to the PO

    haha nice one :]

     

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