A & P

by Greg Crowther

This is a goodbye song for my students in human anatomy and physiology ("A&P"). I originally wrote it in 2017 while at UW-Bothell and revised it in 2019 after moving to Everett Community College. It consists of spoken verses and a sung chorus, and may be performed with Shawn Mullins' "Lullaby" (1998) as a template.

Like the epithelium
That lines the intestines,
You've absorbed a lot
Throughout this course.
But like synovial joints
With a single axis of rotation,
You'll pivot, soon,
Toward a different source.

Your prefrontal cortex
Is planning your next move;
Your proprioceptors
Sense your position right now.
My parting wish for you,
No matter what you do,
Is that the present and your future connect somehow.

Take this knowledge with you to the clinic;
You will see
A and P!
Save your textbook, and understand what's in it!
You will see what you need: A and P!

You've seen many figures
With your cones and rods;
You've heard many terms
With the hair cells in your inner ear.
And if your hippocampus
Has been doing its job,
You'll recall these things
When they come up again next year.

Take this knowledge with you to the clinic;
You will see (Lacrimal glands...)
A and P! (...lubricate the eyes.)
Save your textbook, and understand what's in it!
You will see what you need: A and P!

[repeat and fade]

• MP3

• music video

(1) What specific type of epithelium lines the intestines?

(2) What is a synovial joint?

(3) Where is your prefrontal cortex located?

(4) Where are your proprioceptors located?

(5) Where are your rods and cones found? Be specific.

(6) What kind of sensory receptors are your hair cells? That is, to what modality of stimulus do they respond?

(7) Concisely summarize the function of the hippocampus.

(Answers may be found on the answers page.)