About the Instructor: Mary Bath-Balogh

Favorite Quote: “Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins.

Which of the two has the grander view?”

--Victor Hugo, Les Miserables (1862)

In presenting myself to you as the Instructor of this Biology& 241 // 242

series of Lecture/Lab Human Anatomy and Physiology courses,

it seems appropriate to begin with a brief summary of the factors that

have prepared me for this privilege.

Even in elementary school (and throughout junior high and high school),

Biology was a most favorite subject of mine. So was Spanish. After high

school, I was an exchange student for one year in the city of Cochabamba,

Bolivia. That year was a uniquely broad cultural, social, and intellectual

education all of its own. Then, it was on to the University of Washington

where, after four years as a happy “Husky”, I attained double degrees: a

B.A. in Spanish and a B.S. in Biology.

All the while I was an undergraduate student, I worked part-time at several different jobs. One of these was as a medical transcriptionist in the Central Dictation Department, University of Washington Hospital. With its total dependence upon knowing medical terminology (and knowing how to spell the words!), it was this job that helped me cultivate an intense interest in human anatomy and physiology. Thus, when presented with the opportunity for graduate studies, I pursued these in the Department of Biological Structure, again at the University of Washington. The field of Biological Structure encompasses both microscopic and gross anatomy; from that which is visible only with assistance of microscopes to that which is visible with the naked eye. I earned a Master of Science de-gree in this field with primary emphasis on cytology, histology, and histochemistry. Specifically, I focused on trying to discern the very first stages of calcification in calcified connective tissue – chiefly osseous connective tissue, aka bone. My thesis advisor and I wanted to answer the question: “Does calcification start as an intra-cellular process and then proceed to the extracellular compartment; or is it initiated extracellularly? and “Exactly how does the process begin? After two-and-a-half years of intensive original research employing several different methods of investigation including infrared spectrophotometric analysis, biochemical assays (both colorimetric and manometric methods) and histochemical localization, we were much closer to the answer: calcification starts as an extracellular process with mineralized structures called “calcospherules” that precipitate down onto the organic matrix! Also, while a graduate student, I served as a teaching assistant and assisted undergraduate students with anatomy courses, both lectures and labs, that utilized human cadavers. That is the most impressive way to study human anatomy!

That brings me to my favorite quote. Both the telescope and the microscope are powerful research tools! So is this computer technology. Which one provides the grander view? Ah, that depends upon one’s perspective. Let’s make them ALL provide the GRANDEST VIEW!

My own philosophy of education/instruction emphasizes experiential learning and self-knowledge along with facts and theory. There must be development of subjective as well as objective thinking; an active pursuit of relative as well as absolute judgment; an appreciation of the abstract as well as the concrete; and a sampling of structured as well as freeform learning activities. Once an individual integrates basic facts and creative thinking with real-life problems and, somewhere along the way, discovers his/her relationship to the whole and how he/she best fits in, then the goal of education is reached. At that point, he/she may be able to answer the question: “Which has given the grander view?”